Everyone is a Dancer

“I do not live inside my body, my body lives inside me.”

Movement is born when we emerge into this world. The subtle act of breathing is the continuous yet subtle expansion and contraction as life pulses through our body. It is easy to take this for granted as it goes unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of life. However, the sad thing is that most of what happens in our bodies goes unnoticed as we disconnect and give precedence to our mental thinking selves. Society values the intellect and demonises the sensual experience of the body.

To be sensual is to be alive to the signals emerging out of the wisdom of the body. Are we always aware of that quickening of the heart to signal danger before we are even conscious of it; or that quickening of the heart to signal rapture at encountering some magic? Pain signals an awareness of problems to be solved – pleasant sensations signal pleasures to be enjoyed.

The dancer moves with their whole body. Music evokes emotion and feeling which is translated into expressive movements. As we let go into the fluidity and grace of movement we learn to release from mechanisms of emotional disconnection, defensive armouring, or the trauma of dissociation. The beauty and wonder of conscious dance provides a safe space for the beautiful journey back to the centre of our being. A journey that brings us back home to our body so that the sensitivity and connections we experience while dancing are carried over like music we sometimes hum in our head. The awakening of sensation and information gleaned from the body accompanies our minds to create a more conscious life bringing us into presence, expanding our horizons, and deepening our awareness.

To be dancing is to be continuously creating an enriched life. There is only one person who can stop you from ever doing this – you.

_Christos Daskalakos