Movement as Medicine

Living systems heal themselves. The body and psyche can be helped or hindered by

external influences, but healing can only come from within. The relationship between

therapist and client is a setting of trust and intention for this inner healing to happen.

The movements of a session are as affirmations, open doors through which a client

chooses to move forward. The healing dance then, is the interaction between therapist

and client, between compassion and fear, between movement and entropy. The

movements could be understood as revelations to the body, showing what freedom

and ease are possible, resonating in the body-mind the lost "pattern of perfection" it

carries. The dance then is between the subliminal message within the movements and

the deeper levels of awareness of the receiver.

Belief in the healing power of movement is the basis of this technique. If movement is

medicine, then it must be dosed carefully. This entails allowing the right movement to

arise at the right moment, in the right rhythm, for the right duration. Intervals of

stillness naturally form a part of this dosing concept. In our development and in daily

living, parts of us become energetically isolated or distorted. The Shiatsu terms of kyo

and jitsu, denoting conditions of depletion and stagnation could apply to the total

person as well. Movement, or dance, has the power to re-energize, to break through

blockages, to reconnect and balance, to restore a sense of wholeness. The power of

dance can shift many conditions.

The therapist is on the lookout for reactions indicating key movements. Sighs, moans,

smiles, laughter and tears are all moving in the same direction, back to wholeness.

Whatever movements evoke them are significant, shedding light on the mystery of

self-distortion. A key movement may also arise from the receiver. In this case our

responsibility is to take note and to honor it. By giving it time to play out and even

encouraging it, the motivation behind the movement may surface into awareness.

In Healing Dance sessions, the reaction of pleasure has often to do with the

experience of beauty. It is beautiful to partake of grace, power, gentleness, freedom,

weightlessness and sensitivity in what could be termed passive "received" dance. The

receiver experiences herself as Beauty, and Beauty is a manifestation of the Divine. In

the presence of Beauty we are exhilarated, quickened, uplifted. Receivers not

uncommonly ascend to higher states of consciousness, re-opening a seldom used

channel to a state of bliss. In the Indian spiritual tradition, bliss is understood as the

natural state of consciousness. "Satchitanand" means "truth is the consciousness of

bliss". Remembering bliss as our true state of being is a powerful lesson; we need not

only learn through suffering and pain. The experience of even a moment of bliss can

trigger a reaction to its loss in our lives. A person needs a certain degree of security,

however, before painful feelings can surface. The experience of a bliss state can be

enough to allow their spontaneous appearance.