Our hearts…powerful, consistent pulse, passionate, tender, responsive, closed, open, joyful, connective, and so much more. Dancing with heart invites and calls us into territory that may surprise us.
Our group tonight is intimate and ready for the exploration, even in opening circle we hear of injuries, aches and pains in the body, we hear of heart ache and tenderness, we hear of gratitude and feeling supported and the pulse of curiosity. We ride the full wave of rhythm into our dance with heart…feeling the beat in our feet…breathing with the thump – thump – thump – thump. Letting this take us one step and then the next into heart embodied.
Beat with feet, belly and the fluid heart of nurturing easy connections…one mover with another, weighted heart in feet carry us to the deeper pulse. Percussive, potent, pulsing heart…hips and heart claim their power. What does my heart beat for? As dancers explore and find their way into ribs, spine, hips, knees, elbows, hands, shoulders and head heart dances begin to take form…abounding joy grabs me as another dancer is suddenly in front of my face…undeniably calling me into this fiery dance of passionate joy. Another, grieving the near and eminent end of life of an elder loved one, gently weeps and is supported in her purifying tears.
Movement builds to our wild heart dance of release, encouraged and connected. Cascading into opening, expanding deep surrender, sweet connections within the body and between the bodies. Lightening and opening, empty and full we follow the beat into the sweet expanding heart of stillness. Quiet, resting, reflecting. Pause, notice, move, pause, notice. We rest in the beat of our own heart.
Gently we find our way to circle where we share our discoveries and journeys:
- “Being out in the ‘jungle’ of the dating world brings up lots in my heart and head, I second guess myself and wonder why I’m not finding my guy. Tonight I realize I love me…I love myself and that makes it all ok…being out there and not finding ‘it’…IT is right here.”
- “Even with an injured knee, feeling tender hearted about that…like I can’t fly…I felt fed by you all. Although I cant fly tonight, I will fly again…and you all brought me worms and encouragement and nourished me.” She says with a smile, “and I discovered moves I would not have without this limitation!”
- “I feel so much gratitude tonight for this body, this life, this heart that beats regular and sustaining…I’m just so grateful.”
Venturing into the heart can bring things that require more attention as well…we ground our evening holding hands in circle and I’m called to remind dancers of tools like connection with others, journaling, curious reflection about childhood and the patterns that arise in the dance. I am reminded that the body, when put in motion with awareness brings us what is ready for healing…up it comes with a pulse of it’s own, knocking on the door of consciousness to be welcomed into the ever expanding expression of who we are.
