Long time readers of my blog know that one of my passions is dance – specifically, I’m a belly dancer! I’ve been dancing since I was 17. Now, I haven’t danced that whole time – there were years here and there where I barely even practiced at all. But during these times, I always felt this deep sense of loss and I found myself disconnected from the Earth and my own body.
Dance may seem a pretty mundane topic to discuss, but it only seems so mundane because it is so completely pervasive. All cultures have music and wherever there is music, there is dancing. Even if it’s just drums around a campfire, dancing can be an amazing way to bring you closer to the primal spirits – both your own and that of the Earth. Not only the Earth, but music can help you connect to other elements as well. Some classical music always connects me to air or water, and flamenco speaks to me of fire and passion.
Now, you don’t have to be a trained dancer to feel the benefits. Maybe you let yourself move a little while you’re getting ready in the morning or in the car on the way to work. Maybe you’re awkward and gangly and you dance exclusively locked in your room where you won’t be disturbed. No matter how you do it, it’s okay. No one has to see it – it can just be between you and Universe/Spirit/Whatever.
If it helps, you can also think of this connection you create as moving meditation or ecstatic movement. The point is to be in the moment, in your body, and experience the physicality that we are gifted with.
Dance can also be a powerful way to shape-change (take on the energy of a specific animal totem) as well. You can put on music – maybe just drumming – and make movements that are reflective of how that animal moves. You can flap your arms like a bird, stalk around your room like a panther, or stand in place and experience the sinuous movements of a snake.