Open evenings
Why Open Evenings?
Movement Medicine open evenings are events open for everyone, regardless of their previous experience. If you have not yet tried this practice, this is a great way to get started.
In open evenings we use specific tools of Movement Medicine, going through the Mandala of Movement Medicine and learning about the deeper intelligence of our living and moving body, and learning over and over about the power of the dance.. .
Sometimes, we dance with our vertical axis body-heart-mind, our horizontal ones; past-present-future, fulfillment - interconnection and realization, we dance through the elements, with the archetypal energies of yin, yang, yung and with the power of creation.
Other times, we meet five dimensions which are in the roots of the practice – Self, Other, Community, Ancestors, and Spirit, sometimes with the Tree of Life.
There is a wide variety of the tools and practices of Movement Medicine. They serve as deep gateways into embodying and expanding our consciousness, connecting to our potential, to our essence, and to the Unbroken that is alive in every one of us.
Open evenings are also a place for your own personal practice where you can bring to the dance floor whatever you would like to dance with and dance through, dance out, and dance for.
Lastly, open evenings are the place where we can enjoy the joy to Dance. We can enjoy each other and each other's company, feel the breath, the heart beating, feel the rhythm in our bones, moving us in the rhythm of the Great Mystery.
Movement Medicine Mandala
What to expect?
A warm welcome, no matter where you are coming from, no matter your dance experience, age, gender, nationality, beliefs, and lifestyle. Movement Medicine is a safe space that offers an opportunity to express your individuality through the dance respecting yourself and each other.
As we enter the dance space, we leave talking at the door, and give our attention to our talking bodies. If there is a need to say something, please whisper and with the awareness of other dancers who may already be deep in their dancing journey.
We start with a warm-up, a time for your dance without guidance with an invitation to follow whatever you need to bring your own spirit, your attention, and intention back into the body. Sometimes we need to stretch first. Sometimes the dancer within us is ready to dive into the movement right away. Sometimes, we need to sit or lie down and surrender to the ground beneath us. Whatever the need, as long as it is respectful to the space and in service of stepping into our dance, is welcome.
ENGAGING THE BODY
After the warm-up, you can expect a journey into the freedom of your own movement and opening a spontaneous expression through the body guided by instructions and music. We begin to prepare the space for the creative force within us to express what is in that very moment present, alive, and true for us.
When we surrender to the body and the state we are in, we open a whole spectrum of various conditions and stories within us. Our dance can sometimes be challenging because it invites us to express through our movement that which is often unexpressed.
In that way, we allow the tension in our body to soften the holding of our everyday life. We start to feel the flowing of energy that, until then, for various reasons, has not yet been available to us.
DANCE AND FEELINGS
That also means that Movement Medicine dance practice invites a whole spectrum of feelings. You may experience different states, from transformation and fun, to enormous ecstasy, freedom, and expansion of consciousness, and all the way to frustration, resistance, and emotions that are sometimes challenging. No matter where you find yourself on that spectrum, you can always ask for support.
Every experience on the dance floor is unique, and there are no ‘better’ or ‘worse’ states. The practice of Movement Medicine invites us to surrender to a deeper intelligence within us. It is a feeling of trust that whatever is arising is exactly the journey we need to embark on and express it through our dance. And the dance… it is big enough to hold every human condition. The only thing we need is our intention to dance with it and through it.
NO ‘RIGHT’ OR ‘WRONG’
In that sense, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, there is no expectation of how this dance should look like. Sometimes it can be big, full of energy and expressive, and at others, we will be in micro-movements as our dance becomes subtle. Sometimes it can be gentle and soft, at others repetitive or intense. The only guidance is to follow what is alive in that very moment and find its expression through the aliveness of our body.
Daring to dance our own dance, we also support other dancers around us to be who they are in their dance.
Sometimes our dance is turned more inward and invites us to dance with our eyes closed so we could focus even more on our sense of self. At other times, it can be turned outwards, towards the space and others around us and desires contact. Wherever we find ourselves in this spectrum, the invitation is to stay connected to yourself, to respect your personal space and the space of others. In that way, create a safe space for every dancer on the dance floor.
After the session, there is time to share your experience, hear others, ask questions, and to enjoy the echo of the journey we just took together.
‘I can still feel the pulsation of life within my body and the gentleness in my heart. Thank you for the opportunity to once again, for a hundred time, remember that movement is my life, that life is movement, and that when there is no movement, there is no life.’
-M.
