Discover a unique process of self-acceptance and personal evolution through dance. Find your direction, dance with humor and gratitude towards acceptance, and let go to finally realize your full potential. 

Through body in motion, we align body and mind. Inspired by the book by Ya'Acov Darling Khan**, co-founder of the Movement Medicine school, our practice develops the body like a jaguar, powerful and grounded, and the heart like a butterfly, light and free. To realize oneself through dance is to achieve harmony between physical power and emotional agility.

Dancing with humor

About six months ago, I woke up with this thought: "Jaguar in the body and butterfly in the heart? This morning, I feel more like I have the heart of a lioness and the body of a dragonfly!" Transforming the lioness into a butterfly and the dragonfly into a jaguar, I've got my work cut out for me, but with the right shoehorn, it can be done...

I had a heart that was alive, fierce and strong, ready to throw itself in all directions (like a lioness in fury). And a body that sometimes seemed to fly above the ground like a dragonfly, light, even uprooted. It took a lot of "work" to achieve this awareness - to dance, to let go, to laugh, to cry, to live.

Dancing gratitude

I felt gratitude for being able to put words and imagery to this feeling. So yes, thank you to Y'Aacov & Susannah Darling Khan, my teachers, who worked so hard to make Movement Medicine known enough to reach me, so that I could receive it, practice it and evolve so much from it. Thank you also to me, for following my instincts and putting my determination into practicing it enough to reach this point of awareness.

I was even more determined to double my efforts to get closer to the jaguar and the butterfly.

Acceptance through dance movement

Three months later, I had this new conviction: "Jaguar in the body, butterfly in the heart. That's not me and it certainly never will be. I'll be the woman with the heart of a lioness and the body of a dragonfly, and that's fine too. Why always try to be something other than what I am, to go somewhere else?"

My heart is terribly alive, vibrating with life's experiences. It's neither quiet nor comfortable, and it takes courage. When the heart has expressed its jerky, unpredictable, ungainly, incoherent, contradictory dances, then the body's dance becomes so light and fluid, it takes flight. Bringing lightness into the body, interacting with life with courage, integrity and affirmation. That's not bad either.

Letting go and finding fulfillment through dance

So I stopped resisting the lioness and the dragonfly. I let go of this idealization to accept my reality. First of all, it feels so good to simply BE instead of GO. It's relaxing. Resisting takes a lot of energy. The energy of resistance can come to rest quietly inside. It can be redirected towards an intention that serves us.

Stop holding on to what's going through my heart and start learning to take care of it. Allowing it, allowing myself the recovery time this heart needs to continue vibrating high and strong, to start vibrating with all its intensity.

Let the dragonfly dance, whatever others may think. Even if it seems too technical and elaborate to be improvised and natural to some, or too light-hearted to others. On the contrary, go all the way, develop it to the full, and feel and understand how to make it accessible to everyone.

Dance: a path to fulfillment

The dragonfly is a symbol of transformation. It doesn't let itself be carried by the wind, but is always oriented: its whole body points in the right direction. It's a relatively rare and fleeting insect. The dragonfly navigates between earth and sky thanks to its mastery of the laws of gravity.

When you start to accept and stop resisting, something is released. Energy returns. A few days ago, I took part in a planetary dance. It's a ritual to bring peace to a place. You draw 3 concentric circles and run, jog or walk along them. Without any training, wearing ballerinas and then barefoot, I ran - jogged - walked for 1h30 with a smile on my face and around fifty participants.

Unleash your power without forcing yourself

I didn't think I'd be able to run so much, I was carried away. By the sound of the percussion, the power of our intentions, the energy of the group. Inside, such intense joy. I didn't feel like I was straining. The more I relaxed in my intentions, in the sensation of leaning on the ground with each step, the lighter I felt. I could have kept trotting and walking (again).

Jaguar in the body, butterfly in the heart: that says it all. It's simply a question of allowing ourselves to relax and give movement to our intentions. Each intention is as unique and useful as we are.

* Jaguar in the body, Butterfly in the heart - a book by Y'Aacov Darling Khan - buy the book

** photo below taken during the planetary dance in Marseille by Stéphane Vernier

Discover my musical universe

Mixes to listen to or dance to at home

Mixcloud is a platform that, among other things, allows DJs to post their music while taking care to pay the musicians. I post mixes, which means that the tracks follow each other without blanks. They were recorded live during the course, so you can use them to dance to at home. Apparently, they're also fun to listen to in the car or while cooking. In general, the rhythm starts calmly, builds up in speed and intensity and then comes down again. 

Mixcloud has a free, ad-free version. You may still be asked to provide an email address.