Dancing your way to femininity and healing
I have yet to meet a woman who doesn’t love dancing. Indeed it’s just natural that we enjoy moving our bodies to music, and everyone — men included — does, if they give themselves the chance.
Dancing is not only a great workout. A lot more can be going on when you dance. It can be an expression of your spirit, a way to connect with your own self, a meditation. It can heal body and soul. AND dancing is an important expression of womanly qualities — intuition, sensuality, pleasure and femininity can be celebrated when you move your body to music.
I’ve always loved dancing but started doing it late in life because I was very shy. I remember wondering how couples could agree on the movements they’d do (so… they discuss it before going to the party, right?).
My mom actually enrolled me in lessons (without consulting me!) because she didn’t want me to miss on the pleasures of dancing. I will always be grateful for that.
You see, growing up I was… a bit of a tomboy. I didn’t play with Barbie dolls but with toy cars, I didn’t have tea parties with the girls but played soccer with the boys — my knees can attest to that. I never wore skirts unless my mom pushed me to and I would rather wear my hair short than long.
I know those are male stereotype characteristics and I wouldn’t mention them if it wasn’t because I was also slow to develop my inner feminine power: I was independent, controlling and adventurous, BUT it was difficult for me to collaborate with others, I wasn’t very intuitive and I didn’t have any girlfriends, really.
I was in my late teens and already in college when I dared to explore — and started to enjoy — dancing. It was also around that time that I began to make the occasional effort to wear a skirt or a pair of earrings — Mom was so happy when that happened!
Very slowly I began to get in touch with my feminine side. My self-image started to change. The idea that I could be pretty or attractive wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had before. Along with that came other feminine traits: vulnerability, a need for beauty, creativity, a need to nurture, sensitivity… I know that dancing has played an important role in this process and, because of that, I made an effort to keep the space for it in my life.
But in the last 5 years I haven’t been too good about it, ya’ know? I didn’t dance nearly as much as I felt the need to. I kept coming up with excuses — who has the time/money/energy to go dancing anyway? I sure ignored my body’s demands!
A few of months ago, I got into dancing again and it has been just wonderful! It’s so great to put all that tight masculine energy — decision-making, focus, discipline — to the side for a while and just celebrate being a woman. I am more conscious now than I was in my college days and can understand better how dancing helps me.
Dancing teaches me how to trust my body, it softens me up and it is incredibly pleasurable. Dancing indeed heals body and soul.
My friend and colleague Jena la Flamme told me of how she resisted her desire to explore dancing for years because it just didn’t seem the appropriate thing to do. Instead of dancing, she’d go home after work and try to find the nourishment she was yearning for in food. It was only when she finally gave into her body’s need for pleasure that she started to heal the emotional eating she had battled her whole life. Dancing made the difference for her too.
So, what about you?
I believe we live in a world that forces us to develop masculine traits — we need to be strong, decisive, knowledgeable — but doesn’t yet know how important it is for everyone to cultivate the feminine ones. This creates an unbalance in our bodies that we try to fix using sugar, alcohol and Xboxes, but it doesn’t work.
Dancing is a beautiful and highly efficient way to fill this void and I think your body knows this. Is your body urging you to dance? Pay attention and give into your desire! Pay for the babysitter, arrange the date with your girlfriends, buy the belly dance DVD, or just play some music you love, close your eyes and move! Repeat frequently. The rewards are immense.
Dancing is not only a great workout. A lot more can be going on when you dance. It can be an expression of your spirit, a way to connect with your own self, a meditation. It can heal body and soul. AND dancing is an important expression of womanly qualities — intuition, sensuality, pleasure and femininity can be celebrated when you move your body to music.
I’ve always loved dancing but started doing it late in life because I was very shy. I remember wondering how couples could agree on the movements they’d do (so… they discuss it before going to the party, right?).
My mom actually enrolled me in lessons (without consulting me!) because she didn’t want me to miss on the pleasures of dancing. I will always be grateful for that.
You see, growing up I was… a bit of a tomboy. I didn’t play with Barbie dolls but with toy cars, I didn’t have tea parties with the girls but played soccer with the boys — my knees can attest to that. I never wore skirts unless my mom pushed me to and I would rather wear my hair short than long.
I know those are male stereotype characteristics and I wouldn’t mention them if it wasn’t because I was also slow to develop my inner feminine power: I was independent, controlling and adventurous, BUT it was difficult for me to collaborate with others, I wasn’t very intuitive and I didn’t have any girlfriends, really.
I was in my late teens and already in college when I dared to explore — and started to enjoy — dancing. It was also around that time that I began to make the occasional effort to wear a skirt or a pair of earrings — Mom was so happy when that happened!
Very slowly I began to get in touch with my feminine side. My self-image started to change. The idea that I could be pretty or attractive wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had before. Along with that came other feminine traits: vulnerability, a need for beauty, creativity, a need to nurture, sensitivity… I know that dancing has played an important role in this process and, because of that, I made an effort to keep the space for it in my life.
But in the last 5 years I haven’t been too good about it, ya’ know? I didn’t dance nearly as much as I felt the need to. I kept coming up with excuses — who has the time/money/energy to go dancing anyway? I sure ignored my body’s demands!
A few of months ago, I got into dancing again and it has been just wonderful! It’s so great to put all that tight masculine energy — decision-making, focus, discipline — to the side for a while and just celebrate being a woman. I am more conscious now than I was in my college days and can understand better how dancing helps me.
Dancing teaches me how to trust my body, it softens me up and it is incredibly pleasurable. Dancing indeed heals body and soul.
My friend and colleague Jena la Flamme told me of how she resisted her desire to explore dancing for years because it just didn’t seem the appropriate thing to do. Instead of dancing, she’d go home after work and try to find the nourishment she was yearning for in food. It was only when she finally gave into her body’s need for pleasure that she started to heal the emotional eating she had battled her whole life. Dancing made the difference for her too.
So, what about you?
I believe we live in a world that forces us to develop masculine traits — we need to be strong, decisive, knowledgeable — but doesn’t yet know how important it is for everyone to cultivate the feminine ones. This creates an unbalance in our bodies that we try to fix using sugar, alcohol and Xboxes, but it doesn’t work.
Dancing is a beautiful and highly efficient way to fill this void and I think your body knows this. Is your body urging you to dance? Pay attention and give into your desire! Pay for the babysitter, arrange the date with your girlfriends, buy the belly dance DVD, or just play some music you love, close your eyes and move! Repeat frequently. The rewards are immense.
posted by Soulful Movement at
10:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home