Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Moving with Myth








In ritual embodiment, we connect with the archetypes in order to integrate their characteristics into our selves - for inspiration, healing, problem-solving, creativity, or just personal growth. Several keys give us access to the archetypes, such as the mythic tales and legends told about them, and the artistic interpretation of these myths in sculpture and painting. These serve as springboards for a wonderful journey & creative process that unfolds in a ritual embodiment session.

I have always sought ways to bridge the archetypes to embodiment and movement; to open them up as sources of inspiration for dancers and non-dancers and to mine their rich psychic content. I like to joke around that my ritual embodiment work flows from the same spirit as childhood dress-up. When we dressed up in our mothers' finery and jewels, we felt grown-up, glamorous, more powerful. The same goes for ritual embodiment.

We "try on" the Goddess' persona in creative phases ranging from group construction of Her shrine to ritual adornment in Her colors, scents and accessories. All this preparation signals to the psyche that the stage is set for much deeper work.

In mythic tales of Artemis and Athena, we meet the "helper" aspects of two mighty Goddesses who come to the aid of mortals in extreme circumstances. Artemis is a champion of women, illustrated in the story of the princess Iphigenia. About to be sacrificed by her father King Agamemnon for the safe passage of his fleet, her mother pleads with her to flee. Instead, Iphigenia accepts her fate for the good of her people, and at the moment of sacrifice, Artemis appears "Deusa ex Machina" and whisks Iphigenia away to safety. Athena is called the "champion of heroes" and appears with alternative strategies and magical tools to help heroes outsmart their foes. She counselled Perseus to use her shield as a mirror which let him kill Medusa without looking directly at her, and tells the exhausted Herakles to use one of the Nemean lion's own claws to kill it.

So I ask participants to think of something in their lives for which they are making great sacrifices and to bring that to Artemis. I lead them through ritual dance sequences evocative of the Goddess' physical traits and actions. Instinct is awakened through animal sequences and deeply rhythmic, shamanic music. Metaphorical bow and arrow in hands, I ask them to think of how they want to "make their mark" and to ask the Goddess to steady their aim, sharpen their focus, and add Her strength to the release of willpower. I ask the participants to stand tall in their power with Athena, credited with the invention of the chariot. I invite women to dance the dynamics of the chariot with me. Powerful, heroic music drives our motions - the summoning and directing of great forces to an ultimate goal. What great dreams, plans, visions do they want to achieve? Which forces must they harness? How cathartic is that battle-cry? How sweet is victory?

It all manifests in a session of Ritual Embodiment. The music, the myths, the movements, the costumes, the dreams, the possibilities that open up in a ritual state. Our sessions culminate in Goddess Photography, whereby women get a chance to create a Goddess portrait of themselves embodying the Goddess and crystallizing the effects of the intensive in their very own work of art, reflecting to themselves, the Goddess and the world the changed they underwent throughout the Ritual Embodiment sessions. When you begin to move with the myths, the myths begin to move with you. When you begin to embody the Goddess, She will also embody you, and a part of Her will stay with you forever.


Sacha channeling mighty Athena
Nicola channeling instinctual Artemis





Thursday, July 6, 2017

Lessons from Dance for Life





All the arts are windows into the Divine Nature. Practicing an art form gives us a language, a lyric or a landscape for our unique reflections of the Divine.


The art of the dance is the most embodied of all art forms. The artist and work of art are most inseparable in the dance, in which channel, process, product and inspiration are made visible and keenly felt.


When we dance, when we truly dance, we become Masters of Presence. All parts of ourselves are called to manifest through our moving bodies. We become whole, if even for the brief eternity of the dance. The power of this art form is often overlooked, because it is frequently dismissed as frivolous or ornamental by mainstream culture. At least, the public is aware of the health benefits of dance, yet there is so much more.

The dance teaches us to be fully present, aware, switched-on and tuned into our creativity as it unfolds in the here and now. It teaches us to be centered, yet radiant; fully aware of the power of our limbs, breath and gestures to affect the world around us. It teaches us to reach for a version of ourselves much closer to the gods; that part of us more closely attuned to the vibrations of Divine Nature.


Dance can imitate life, or it can mirror the ascension of the soul and express the evolutionary pathway of the dancer as she dances into a realm where she embodies a “self greater than all selves” to quote Isadora Duncan. Her dance can be rooted, or it can soar into the aether, or both. It can flow through worlds, bridging her soul’s message through her resonant body to her audience. It can burn with a radiant passion, enveloping all present in an alchemical fire. And it can retract, pulling her Self, her Universe, her galaxies all into that deep core that she knows very well, because she visits it on a daily basis.


As one of the most primal forms of ritual, our ancestors danced to contact the Earth, the elements, each other and the Cosmos. They spun and spiralled like galaxies and stamped like wild herds. They joined hands and hearts to re-create the Sacred Hearth. They danced to heal, and now more than ever, the healing power of Dance is re-emerging. It heals us by giving us maps to ourselves. It heals by giving us direct access to ourselves and ways to master ourselves. It opens our inner eyes and ears, pricks up our senses and tunes up our subtle intelligence.

By awakening our own sense of rhythm, we gain access to the cosmic rhythms that rule all of existence. By awakening our own sense of harmony, we embody the harmonic aspirations we long to manifest in our lives. By moving with authentic purpose, we allow our Divine Soul to speak in the material world, bringing its message that much closer to manifestation.


The body and soul already have a close relationship. It’s the ego, afraid of being judged or “doing it wrong” that suggests that you “can’t” dance. If you feel this way, I suggest you turn up the volume on a raucous song from your youth and let it all go. Flail, headbang, spin, shake, stamp!! Let your body speak freely, and your soul will soon join the conversation. Give your ego a chance to purge through submerging in the sweaty cauldron of cathartic, healing movement. Let the music take you to the brink of ecstasy, throw yourself into the vortex and let yourself melt and be re-composed.


And see how you feel afterward, purified and forged anew. Everything you need to set in motion is already moving within you. Your Divine Nature is waiting on the other side of ego for your invitation to dance.






"Dancer"
(from Twilights of Love by the late Brazilian poet Sidney Tenucci, which I translated into English)



If I dance among moments

And their loves and rhythms cross my soul,

Always, I am something more than body,

Something that exceeds humors,

Chants – and loves themselves.

I am air, ethereal and shining brightly,

A fulgent, spinning atom.

I am finally something of my own,

A winged, flying gift,

In the presence of God