Ecstatic – feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.
Ecstatic dance is a form of active meditation or prayer, where rhythm and music are used to move the mind into non-ordinary states of awareness, commonly associated with deep relaxation, meditative, and highly creative states.
The popular notion to ‘dance like no one’s watching’, turning up our favorite tune and closing the door, is more or less the same as ecstatic dance. When we allow our bodies to move and create shapes and forms, sometimes beautiful ones, and other times choppy ones, we allow a sense of freedom to take over. We can forget about any worries, concerns, trying to look good, and simply express ourselves through dance.
Ecstatic or Free-flow dance allows us to move our bodies in an organic way that fuels us. We can move through any stuck points and toxicities that build-up in our tissues. I often think of dance as my little revitalizer. If I need a mind &/ body reset, I can turn on one of my favorite songs and within only a few minutes my energy increases, my mood lifts, and I feel a sense of internal strength. And please note, I have never had any formal dance training. There is no need to be a trained or a ‘good’ dancer to enjoy in the delightment of ecstatic dance. All you need is the ability to take a moment to tap into your body, acknowledge its desires, and then begin to move as messy or as gracefully as you want.
I lived at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for 6-months as a full-time volunteer. Everyday from noon-1pm Kripalu offers Yoga Dance. It is a very relaxed structure and you can pop-in or out as you please. My volunteer position at Kripalu was Veggie Prep. Four days a week, I spent 7 hours standing in a kitchen chopping a LARGE amount of vegetables. As in life, there were days where I felt mindful and present with my task, happy and joyful, and there were days where I was rather grumbly on the inside. On those days, my internal grumbles could have manifested from being tired, annoyed at a co-Veggie Prepper, bored at the mundane task of chopping, etc. The days that I would experience these feelings, I made a point to hit up Yoga Dance over my lunch hour. Many times I wanted to head straight to the Dining Hall and fill my hunger and frustrations with an abundance of food, but instead redirected myself and went to Yoga Dance for 20 minutes or so. Time and time again I was amazed at how quickly I was able to shift out of my thoughts and instead, be and live in the experience of my body.
I now live in Boulder where there is an ABUNDANCE of events specifically for letting your hair down through ecstatic dance. When there are times I begin to feel disconnected, I push myself to go to one of these events. Expressing yourself through dance fully in the community and presence of others is a beautiful thing. No words need to be spoke. Sometimes a simple smile is exchanged, but the connectedness and love is there. I highly recommend looking in your community for any sort of Ecstatic or Free-Flow Dance event that is offered. If you can’t find any, go to your favorite local dance club. This is one of my FAVORITE things to do on a weekend night-out. Find a spot on the dance floor where you can have a bit more space and just go for it. Let go of any creeping thoughts of ‘do I look silly’ or any feelings that you need to dance a certain way, and allow your body to guide you through your dance. And the beauty here is when you dance for freedom, you get a natural high, so no need to intoxicate with alcohol or any other substance.
Practice: For one week, make a commitment to yourself to dance to one of your favorite songs in full-length each day. Choose a specific time and be consistent throughout your week. I suggest trying either mid-morning or late-afternoon. Those are both times I often feel stuck, tired, or notice low-frequency thought patterns creeping there way in. If you can’t make the time you do your little dance work at the ‘ideal’ time, ie when you need a boost/rev up to your system, try doing the dance in the morning before work or wherever your day takes you. This way, you begin your day in a very positive, upbeat manner. Then, if you happen to experience some fatigue, annoyance, or just need a reminder during your day, plug in some earbuds and play your selected song. This will bring you back to the moment when you were FULLY and FREELY expressing yourself through the beauty of dance.
Do you love to dance? Or are you a ‘I can’t dance’ person? Neither is right or wrong. But if you are an ‘I can’t dance’ person, I raise the challenge to you that you can!! Anyone in a body can. Even a Quadriplegic can dance. The idea is not to look pretty or cool, but instead to allow your body the gift to move.
Do you love to dance? Or are you a ‘I can’t dance’ person? Neither is right or wrong. But if you are an ‘I can’t dance’ person, I raise the challenge to you that you can!! Anyone in a body can. Even a Quadriplegic can dance. The idea is not to look pretty or cool, but instead to allow your body the gift to move.
Are you accepting my week-long practice free-flow dance every darn day challenge? Let me know what song you are choosing to groove to and keep me up-to-date on how the week plays out.
As Always, Wishing you a Life of Wellness,
Emily
Emily