Dancing your emotions
Nov 2020Dancing your emotions to learn about yourself
Working with emotions is what has brought me the most in recent years. Movement Medicine has enabled me to transform them from an invasive burden, always ready to spill over, into a gift for personal fulfillment. And this, simply by creating a safe space for their free expression.
The dance of emotions in my life. Last night, I lost control in an argument with my daughter. As usual, I blamed myself for not containing my anger.
This morning, that affirmation came from within:
- My emotions are right, whatever they may be.
- They are the fruit of my personal history and the essence of who I am.
- No one has the right to judge them (not even me).
My best enemy - that's me
The problem isn't the emotion, it's what I do with it. When they're held in too long, they spill over. Anger makes me aggressive, fear makes me run away, sadness prevents me from moving forward and joy gets stuck. And these reactions impair my ability to relate.
Because of these automatic reactions, I question my emotions. I judge my anger as inappropriate, my fears as ridiculous, my sadness as exaggerated, and when I'm joyful, I don't express it too much for fear it will bring me bad luck. I've even come to believe that I can't trust my emotions.
So I try to contain them, especially the anger. As soon as I feel it rising, I block it out. But if I manage to hold it back, it turns against me. I judge myself, I devalue myself, I censor myself. And the more I do that, the more my anger rises and the more damage it does around me.
These protective reactions served me well during childhood, but now it's time to move on. Fortunately, in recent years, there have been dance spaces.
Dance it before it explodes - before it explodes you
The work on emotions is what touched me most at conscious dance. Quite simply, the authorization to express them, in complete safety, for myself and others. So let's go ahead and dance those emotions. Even after 85 days of filming my dances every day, I can still feel the camera. It's hard for this dance to fully express itself and reach you. In the end, emotions are intimate.
Is it necessary to show your emotions to others? In the end, I could just do this work on my own and show the "beautiful" dances from before or after... To show your emotions is to show your vulnerability. We often feel we're showing our weaknesses. But showing your emotions is also about sharing your reality and humanity. It's what creates deep, authentic bonds.
In dance, with all my attention on my moving body, the mind lets down its guard and emotions escape. Indeed, my body trusts my emotions, and when I let it express itself, it goes wild. Finally, emotions can move and express themselves. It's often uncomfortable at the time, but it feels so good afterwards. Expressed in the dance space, my emotions don't hurt anyone. It can be anonymous: if I don't say it, no one knows what I'm dancing, what's going on inside me. But being able to put it into words is even more liberating.
A balance between Body, Heart and Mind
In Movement Medicine, we sometimes even go looking for emotions. To get to know them better and accept them. That way, when we feel them rising, we can recognize and welcome them. When we know which part of ourselves is affected, we can make room for it without hurting others.
- When my head prevents my heart from expressing itself. I dance.
- When my emotions prevent me from thinking clearly. I dance.
- Dance brings me back to my body.
- My material expresses my intellectual and emotional interior in movement, taking me out of my infinite loops.
- Dance restores the balance between my Body, my Heart and my Spirit.
My emotions are right, I can trust my heart. I thought it had gone up the wrong way: it was simply that I refused to listen to it.
Emotions then become a source of learning and self-knowledge. What's touching me? Why am I sad? Every emotion is a gift to be fully experienced. A gateway to greater self-awareness and greater awareness of the way we relate to each other.
Contained, fluid, polished, free as air, overflowing,....
And how do you live your emotions?
Dancing your emotions - Video demo
On August 17, I challenged myself to dance for 100 days and post 25 seconds of that dance every day.
My intention for this challenge is todare to dance the dance of my life, and for everyone to find the inner resources to dance the dance of their own life.
Here's the video and intentions for Week 13
Daily themes or intentions
- Monday : 3min quiet time : Just listen
- Tuesday : The playlist of the heart chambers - part 2
- Wednesday: part 3
- Thursday : part 4
- Friday: part 5
- Saturday : Conclusion: Don't spend too long on your computers
- Sunday: The heart room playlist - part 7
Music
- Lava by Thomasz Kraal
- Tempête by Les Tambours du Bronx
- Cargo by Les Tambours du Bronx
- Experience by Ludovico Einaudi
- Clouds, The Mind on the (re)Wind by Ezio Bosso
- The snow prelude no 15 by Ludovic Einaudi
- Dead again by Asa
Check out the weekly 100 Days of Dance Challenge recaps
on my Vimeo account or every day in my story
Where and when to practice
Want to give it a try? You are welcome in your physical condition of the moment, with or without experience dance experience.
Online via Zoom
Hello,
I've been looking for a while for dance classes that let emotions speak for themselves.
As I'm very sensitive, I need to be able to free myself because at times the mental load of everyday life with children and husband at home and work is heavy.
Would it be possible to keep me informed?
Thank you very much
Hello. I think you've found a Tuesday morning workshop on Zoom to try. We'd be delighted to welcome you for a moment of connection with your body. Looking forward to meeting you on Tuesday. Solange