In many ancient cultures there was the belief that illness resulted from loss of soul, and dance was seen as a way to direct the sick back to their spirit, restoring their life energy.
Through intuition and faith the ancients knew all about "dance movement therapy".
In the oldest eastern cultures women handed down from mother to daughter the sacred movements of dance for well-being and celebration. In modern western culture Isadora Duncan became a celebrated pioneer of dance movement therapy. She championed dance as a spontaneous form of emotional self-expression.
In the early twenties many others including Rudolph Van Laban & Marian Chace explored and developed creative dance therapies that offered a movement based model for "Human Wholeness" that reflected the conscious & unconscious process of symbolic body movements that communicate emotions & ideas. Another early dance therapist, Mary Starks Whitehouse (inspired by Carl Jung's belief that all psychological complexes have a physical component) encouraged her students and patients to find their "authentic movement" to bring about changes in feelings, behaviour, cognition and physical functioning.
In the thirties the west was ever exposed through film to the magic of the east, and western women began to discover BellyDance, "The Dance of the Ancients". BellyDance is the ultimate dance of self-expression where you expand and explore movements as you express your own art and feelings.
My own personal experience of the immense therapeutic benefits of BellyDancing and the positive life enhancing changes I've seen in hundreds of my students over the years inspires me to continue teaching for as long as I can. Some of these benefits include - the development of a more vital and healthy body and body awareness, improved self-image, anger management, enhanced intuitive and communication skills and the freeing of artistic expression through the simulation of creativity and playfulness.
Let this mystical dance heal you and touch your soul, dance to the rhythm of the universe.
The Goddess Lives