3 Reasons why meditation through dance is the best

Have you told anyone: “I don't think meditation is my cup of tea. I can’t even sit still for a few minutes, let alone finding harmony in my body!?” Or maybe “How can I focus on ‘nothing’, when I have so many things to think about?”

I hear this very often when I talk to my clients about mindfulness and what I coach people on.

And I’m telling you the same thing I’m telling them:

Anybody can meditate.

There are so many types of meditations, you just need to find the one that ‘works’ for you, one that complements your personality.

My clients are usually very surprised when I explain that they don't have to sit on the floor in a lotus position to achieve a calm mind and heightened levels of consciousness.

If you are like me, sitting down might feel uncomfortable if not torturous. My body wants to move, go with the flow of emotions and all senses alike. I tried meditating in a sitting position, even laying down. I do enjoy it, but can’t always tune onto it.

On the other hand, I can do it so easily with dance and movement. That’s why meditation through dance and movement became my absolute favorite. Music, body movement and mental awareness give you an amazing emotional experience.

Dance meditation is an art - art of thoughts, emotions, concentration and sorting out your thoughts and emotions.

It is not only physical activity, it can be mental activity as well. When you are submerged into the movement, you can achieve higher levels of being.

As a result, you will be more aware and conscious of your emotional reactions and automatic responses. Very often we achieve a calm mind while seated during meditation and when we return back to our senses and open our eyes, we tend to get back to the same attitude as before we started our meditation.

I have developed specific movements that can help you to get to this level of consciousness while you walk to work or prepare a healthy dinner for your family.. All you need is 5 minutes a day to create the life you always wanted, to be the best version of yourself filled with vitality, zest, and love for life itself.

Following your intuition, listening to your body and accepting and honoring your emotions help you to better understand and accept yourself. Accepting yourself as you are - that’s the first step to self-love.

How does meditation through dance work?

During a dance meditation, we will use parts of our bodies to focus on a specific emotion. While moving your body to the music, I will guide you to shift your attention to a specific part of your body, and appreciate its current state. Then we send love, acceptance and gratitude to that part of your body. Feedback from your body will help you to release physical and emotional tension. Your mind will be clear, your senses balanced and all the negativity will disappear from your body.

And now, please allow me to share the reasons why meditation through dance is the best.

1. Experience and express your emotions and feelings

There is a rich history of dance in every culture. Dancing was part of celebration, happiness or it was used as a tool to get through tough times. According to a study, ‘dancing was a way for our prehistoric ancestors to bond and communicate during these times’.

Did you know that In the Guadeloupe Islands, dance was once one of the only means of communication for an entire population?

Isn't that fascinating?

We all experience hard and challenging times. Why do some people just look so happy all the time? Ok, most of the time. Don’t they have bad days?

Yes, they do!

The difference is how they react to individual situations. Some people choose to fully experience their feelings, some people prefer to avoid them. And I don’t mean that you should go around yelling or attacking people whenever you feel like it!

During a dance meditation, we experience and express our feelings through a specific movement and hence start leaving the past, and all the negative feelings and emotions behind.

Did you ever read an article about our ancestors suffering from depression or stress?

They might have been worried about what they were going to eat, but do you think they were worried about what others think about them? I don’t think so.

Maybe the fact that they haven’t had social media to show their ‘perfection’, helped them to be, to love and to understand what's important in life. They understood the simplicity of life.

2. Be present in the ‘now’

So many studies are telling us to be present, enjoy ‘here and now’ and so on. ‘Be present - enjoy ‘now’ sounds good, doesn't it? But what if you are more concerned to give somebody a present?

This was one of my biggest challenges to overcome. I would rather give presents to others, make them happy, instead of giving one big present to myself - enjoy HERE AND NOW.

I wish I could say that being present in the now is easy. It is not.

Many of us developed a habit to either look into our past - where all the hurt is, or into the future - where all the anxiety about the unknown awaits us. I will guide you through the process of breaking this habit. I will help you to truly learn how to enjoy the ‘here and now’.

Dance meditation is a perfect tool to help you to get there easily. You will be able to accept yourself as you are in that given moment. That acceptance will help you to listen and understand what your body is telling you and stay in the present moment.

Cut yourself off from the past and the future, live in present, and your life becomes a song a dance. -Osho

We will work on the quality of your breathing as well. Focusing on breathing keeps you in the present moment while strengthening the lungs and heart. With each session, you will train your mind to stay in the present moment effortlessly. Your old wounds are slowly healing and you are getting more vital.

3. Regain control over your mind

I know the past events of your life make up a big piece of your personality. Or at least that’s what you think and believe.

Our past is an important part of our lives that we can use as a stepping stone. Without our past experience, we wouldn't be where we are right now. And we are where we are meant to be at this moment. But we need to regain control over our minds.

I read an interesting article by Dr. Joe Dispenza Dr. Joe Dispenzawhere he talks about how our mind keeps us in the past and hence our bodies live in that particular stressful situation every day.

If we experience the same situations from the past again and again, it means we are actually giving permission to this feeling to enter our body. We obtain good or bad feelings from the past and create a chemical experience in the body that comes with the ‘welcoming’ invitation for the same feeling, even if this situation was a long time ago. I know it seems so much easier to remember the beautiful or even painful past. But your body can’t make a difference between the original event and the memory of the same situation. Your viewpoint of the world is concentrated in that memory of anger, pain, suffering, and so on.

Joe Dispenza explains that ‘the body has been manufacturing the same chemicals and hormones every day and we will see the world equal to the story we tell ourselves about the past.

So my question is: “Would you like to invite these feelings again?”

And I don’t mean jump over them or brush them under the carpet.

Feel your feelings, go through them and make a decision that helps you not want to feel them repeatedly.

First step can be so easy, just by starting a few body movements that improve your control over your mind.

Your state of feeling and thinking is here and now, without whining and whimpering about your past events of your life.

BOTTOM LINE

Humans are creatures of habits. Some habits are good, some bad, and some downright harmful to us.

Where focus goes, energy follows.

I can guide in developing a new routine ‘All Senses on full alert’ which improves the perception of what your body is wanting to tell you. You can use information from your senses to determine where you are and what is happening around and to you. This technique will help you to create new habits, while tone up your muscles and reconnect with your body and mind.

Life is defined by movement and flow. We all need to stay flexible to feel and look good. And there are parts in our bodies that never get to ‘exercise’ - at least not in a common way.

We waste so much vital energy on negative thoughts and misleading feelings and emotions.

Why do we do it?

Why do we focus on negativity, on the hurts from the past and insecurities in the future? Can you imagine how your life would look like when you could channel all that energy in healing yourself?

Can you imagine the life you could create for yourself and your loved ones? Now that’s an exciting vision, isn’t it?

Love yourself enough to do this. Allow yourself to follow your intuition once again, to listen to your body. Let the movement and music be your guide.

This is going to change your life! It did change mine and many of the lives of my clients. So I know you are going to LOVE IT!

It’s time to create the biggest masterpiece - YOU!