Soul Dance - an intro

I have been incredibly nourished, and challenged, and invited to grow and expand through a form of conscious dance called Soul Dance.  I went to my first class (although it feels weird to call it a class because it's the exact opposite of what "classes" traditionally are, in that it is very open and all about trusting the wisdom of your own body rather than following someone else or trying to do things a certain "right" way) in early March, and have been going back every week since that I've been able to.  For me, this has been a life shifting experience of really integrating body and spirit, allowing spirit to move in and through me, and trusting the wisdom of my own body when I really let her move and do her thing.  

The basics are: my friend Erin creates a playlist of music that lasts around 75 minutes moving from slow, to more energetic, and back to slow, and the space is open for each person to move in the exact way that their body needs to move or invites them to move.  There is usually a theme to help us center our thoughts and prayers that we want to bring into the space that evening.  There is some lose guidance and reminders to breathe and trust your body, but it's a very open and inviting space to experiment, try new things, and be as big and bold as feel called to.  That is one of the aspects that stood out most to me my first time - how I was encouraged to really take up all the space I wanted and needed.  This was such a powerful contradiction for me as a woman.  It was/is an incredibly freeing practice, to be in a judgment free zone of getting to just delight in all aspects of your body and have everyone doing different things and really embrace and celebrate that each person is trusting the wisdom of their own body, working out just what they need to.  And we get to do it together!  

Usually at some point during the dance, I take a break to write down the thoughts and feelings that are coming up.  I want to be more intentional about sharing these bits of my own body wisdom in this space, so the following posts will be catching up with the past few weeks of Soul Dance insights.  Enjoy!  And if you're in St. Louis, consider joining us on Monday evenings at 7:30pm at Big Bend Yoga studio.