MOVEMENT MENU: Get connected at www.ConsciousDancer.com
conscious DANCER #8 fall 2009 free
movement for a better world
medicine: on the move
Building momentum for real health care reform
Fabric of Life Clothes to make waves in
TaKeTiNa Rewiring with rhythm
PLUS: Tuning in with sound Hoof stepping A scoop of nutrition
American Dance Therapy Association’s 44th Annual Conference: The Dance of Discovery: Research and Innovation in Dance/Movement Therapy.
Portland, Oregon October 8 - 11, 2009 Hilton Portland & Executive Tower
w w w.adta .or g
For More Information Contact: info@adta.org or 410-997-4040
Earn an advanced degree focused on the healing power of movement Lesley University’s Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies with a specialization in Dance Therapy and Mental Health Counseling trains students in the psychotherapeutic use of dance and movement. t Work with diverse populations in a variety of clinical, medical and educational settings t Gain practical experience through field training and internships t Graduate with the Dance Therapist Registered (DTR) credential t Prepare for the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) process in Massachusetts t Enjoy the vibrant community in Cambridge, Massachusetts This program meets the educational guidelines set by the American Dance Therapy Association
For more information: www.lesley.edu/info/dancetherapy 888.LESLEY.U | info@lesley.edu
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Fit and form fill the floor in our high-energy dancewear remix.
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FEATURES clockwise from top: Rolf + Karina (Clothing: Green Pants by Phoenix Rising; Blue Top by Divine Designs; Grey Pants by Hardtail Forever) / Janet Biggs / Courtesy of TaKeTiNa / flickr.com/photos/horizondreams
14 Medicine: on the move
Dance therapy and energy medicine light the way to a positive prescription for wellness and health.
Departments
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by mark metz
18 TaKeTiNa
ircle up for creative chaos and step into a world where C balancing mind and body has never been so much fun.
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9 PERFORMANCE: Hoof Beats JoAnna Mendl Shaw pairs improv choreography with equestrian artistry in her dance company Dances with Horses to produce hoof-stomping performances. 11 WARMUPS • Letters to the Editor: Communique • Feet First: Soothing tired soles • New! The Pulse with Aspen Madrone • Debbie Rosas: The Body’s Business • Apps for Dancers: Four freebies for the iPhone 26 SOUNDS: Tuning In! In pursuit of higher frequencies, Aaron Noble investigates what resonates and discovers the healing power of sound. 28 VITALITY: Blending Up New-trition! Dr. Jody Stanislaw serves up easy nutrition from superfoods with this bevy of blender treats guaranteed to power up your smoothies.
by randy peyser
22 Wear all one!
he focus is fashion, and some of our favorite dancers get T great exposure in Rolf + Karina's photo essay. photography by rolf + karina styling by valerie badgett
31 MOVEMENT MENU: Online Monthly Selected happenings from our monthly eZine: • Fall Highlights: Events worth traveling for • Book reviews: Peak Vitality, Matrix Energetics • CDs: Lis Addison and Shaman's Dream • DVDs: The Shadow Effect and VividExistence • MixMaster: Eric Monkhouse, aka DJ Tat Sat 42 RESULTS: Nia saved my life—twice! 64-year-old Nia Black Belt instructor Jim Williams owes his life to the practice.
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
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ConsciousDancer.com
Photo: Rolf + Karina
I
t’s been more than two years since the launch of Conscious Dancer magazine; this being the 8th quarterly issue makes it an unofficial anniversary of sorts. So before I get to the heaps of gratitude we have for our supporters and readers, I want to address a question that I must have been asked a thousand times by now: “What is ‘conscious dance’?” Over the years, I might have talked about how I love all forms of dance and how we’re cheerleaders for dancers anywhere. I may have described the semantics of the name, and how someone had cleverly pointed out, “It’s Scientific American not Scientific America , right?” I’ve explained that we’re more accurately defined by our double-meaning tagline “movement for a better world” than by the phrase Conscious Dancer. I've mentioned the reasons we highlight connections between dance, well-being, and spirituality as much as the phenomenon itself. I even tried to define conscious
dance as “movement with an intention towards greater awareness.” The term itself was coined out of the need for an umbrella phrase that’s easier to say than “barefootfreestyle-ecstatic-workshop-jam.” But lately it’s hit me. Conscious Dancer is about the transformation of consciousness that happens when you move. About how our minds change when we connect with our bodies. And because consciousness evolves throughout our lives, our tastes for movement evolve as well. There was a time in
STAFF
CO NT R IBUTO R S
founders & publishers Mark
Metz & Aspen Madrone Metz Creative Director Aspen Madrone Quantum Communications Laura Cirolia executive assistant Deborah Meyer Senior Editor Rachel Trachten copy Editor Jerod Allen Graphic Design & Production Melissa White Staff writers Efrain Correal, Laura Cirolia, Caitlin Green, Aspen Madrone, Deborah Meyer, Mark Metz, Karen Mireau, Mari Thorn, Rachel Trachten Staff photographers Laura Cirolia & Tyler Blank Sales and marketing Gian Anastasio, Meghann Pierce Webmaster Steve Shaw IT angel Luis Echeverria Licensing Efrain Correal Printing American Web, Inc. Editor-in-Chief Mark
mark@consciousdancer.com Ad Sales aspen@consciousdancer.com Circulation circulation@consciousdancer.com Subscribe www.consciousdancer.com Editorial
other Inquiries
info@consciousdancer.com PO Box 2330, Berkeley, CA 94702 (510) 778-9131 Conscious Dancer is a quarterly active lifestyle magazine that celebrates transformative dance, mind-body fitness, and energy movement arts. Conscious Dancer does not endorse any specific modality, practitioner, or product. Please consult a health professional before attempting any new movement activities or health regimens. Conscious Dancer disclaims any liability for loss or injury in connection with activities portrayed or advice given herein. Please send all editorial mail, manuscripts, letters to the editor, and address changes via email or to our Conscious Dancer address listed above. © 2009 Moving Arts International. Printed in the USA with post consumer-waste content using soy-based inks. Please reuse and recycle. All rights reserved.
Providing the soundtrack to Wear All One at Sweet's Ballroom in Oakland, CA.
Checking In
my life when a mosh pit was exactly what I needed, while nowadays I prefer dancing barefoot with happy people instead of angry ones. For me, dance is a shortcut to gratitude for life itself. Many thanks to all the wonderful folks who are part of this movement, and to everyone who comes our way in the making of this magazine. In our next issue, we’ll look at how the spirit moves and meets the younger generation in some dancing families. And we'll cover how the worlds of yoga and dance are converging. So keep those letters coming, stay in touch on our Facebook page, and as always, thanks for doing your part to inspire “movement for a better world.” In Movement
mark metz,
Editor-in-Chief
Rolf + Karina are dedicated to awakening Consciousness—in themselves and in those they interact with. R+K are the creators of a new process called Transformational Photography, which supports individuals in moving from self-consciousness to self-awareness. Not bound to any particular place, R+K travel the world, dancing and creating spaces in which others can discover freedom. Their book of photographs, Cameras at Breakfast, and their website reveal their intimate and exciting life together. www.wakinguptogether.com Valerie Badgett is often guided by lucid visions of colors and other-worldly spaces. She embodies a cultivated blend of talents for use in styling and visual communications. She is a long-term celebrity image creator for major talent like Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, and Will Smith. Her print magazine career started with Mademoiselle while she was working in fashion offices and photo studios in Los Angeles. Credits include fashion & beauty stylisteditor with Teen, Shape, Elle, and Vogue. www.fashionofficeinternational.info Aaron Noble is a native of the Pacific Northwest, who considers himself a commander in Chi for the family of light. After graduating from Oregon State University in physical education for teachers, he moved to Arcata, California, and began studying vibrational forms of medicine while guiding a meditative process he calls “yogatation.” He is currently studying at the Institute of Sound and Consciousness in San Francisco, while also bringing the healing principles of sound into his yogatation sessions. www.hereasnow.org Dr. Jody Stanislaw is a naturopathic physician with a passion for helping others establish a strong foundation for optimal health through good nutrition, regular movement, adequate sleep, and a healthy spiritual/emotional life. An outdoor enthusiast throughout her life, Jody enjoys hiking, skiing, biking, dancing, and yoga to keep her body fit. She is writing a book to serve as an inspiration to readers to look inside their soul and follow their dreams. www.kitchentablemedicine.com
COVER > Rana Satori in a top and pants by Leom Designs with a tank by Prana. Cuff by Satya. PHOTO > Taken on location by Rolf + Karina at Sweet's Ballroom in Oakland, CA. conscious dancer | fall 2009
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MA in Somatic Counseling Psychology Dance/Movement Therapy Body Psychotherapy The body is the tool of perception and the storehouse of memory. Somatic counseling psychology joins verbal and nonverbal experience in the process of psychotherapy. www.naropa.edu/somatic
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
performance
Hoof BeatsHorses instinctively know the
score in equestrian improv that steps beyond the saddle. By Karen Mireau
W
Photograph by Nancy Halsey Bates Dance Festival 2006 Dancer: Gina Paolillo
hoa! This is not your ordinary equestrian event. In a wooded glade, seven horses and their riders collaborate with dancers to the tunes of live cello and vocals, creating a magical, site-specific performance. This is but one innovative work by choreographer JoAnna Mendl Shaw, artistic director of The Equus Projects. Since 1997, she has directed Dances With Horses, which partners humans and horses (with their riders) in the artistry of collaborative dance. “This work is humbling and exciting at the same time,” says Shaw. “It calls for a physical language and horsemanship language that is probably unique—we’re inventing a whole new form.” The dancers are deeply respectful of their equine partners. According to Shaw, “The work is about performance, but it’s never about the dancer; it’s always about the dancer in relation to the horse.” Through their sensitive, visually stunning performances (and tours, workshops and clinics), Dances With Horses offers a delightful blend of raw power and graceful movement. conscious dancer | fall 2009
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GSM ConsDanc Ad 8-09 3.pdf
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8/17/09
11:50 PM
Communique a breath of fresh air Your magazine represents a breath of fresh air in celebrating the joy and exhilaration of movement and dance connected to inner awareness and wisdom. Every human being moves—elevating the many forms into conscious dancing through your articles is a great service. Thanks for your wonderful work. Stephan Rechtschaffen
Cofounder, Omega Institute and Blue Spirit Retreat - Costa Rica Rhinebeck, NY
Fair Trade & Organic Certified
more kids please! I love seeing all the wonderful ways to explore movement and dance in your magazine. I’d like to see an issue devoted to sharing creative movement with children, as I am an early childhood educator with a love of dance, and would like some ideas on how to start a program for children. All the benefits we recognize for ourselves should be passed along to children, who can suffer from stress and ailments due to lack of movement!
C
M
Y
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MY
Allysson MacDonald
InterPlay Leader Milpitas, CA
CY
CMY
like a rolling stone? Over the years, I’ve watched several magazines that have successfully broadened the focus on aspects of our lifestyle. Looking ahead in a new century, am I being presumptuous by saying that Conscious Dancer can do for dance what Rolling Stone did for rock & roll, what Wired did for high tech, and what Playboy did for sex? I don’t think so—and I plan on reading it until I can say “I told you so.” Thank you for your fun, lucid, and moving (yes, intended) commentary on an essential part of our lives.
K
Stan Adler
Strategist & Writer-at-Large Mill Valley, CA CORRECTION:
Tracy Collins cofounded Embodydance, not Kathleen Fallon as listed in issue #7.
tell us What's on your mind. Glowing praise, scathing criticism, and brilliant ideas should all be addressed to mark@consciousdancer.com
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
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Nourish your feet to keep them humming with joy. It's a pleasure
to pamper your peds, the often neglected foundation of the body. Remember to care for your tootsies before, during, and after a session on the dance floor. Moist toes can be a breeding ground for fungus, so keep your feet dry, and don't wear sneakers without socks. Yellow toenails and peeling, dry skin on the soles are signs of athlete's foot. Make sure to air out and apply some lavender, oregano, and tea tree essential oils during breaks. Take good care, and you'll love the payback of happy, healthy feet. So after a hard day on the dance floor, consider these delicious indulgences: Refreshing > Weleda Foot Balm > Almost good enough to eat, this balancing
Photos: Feet first and Aspen: Rolf + Karina / prayer hands photo illustration: melissa white Photo:
blend of calendula and marigold extracts simultaneously soothes and smooths tired, calloused feet. The antibacterial properties of myrhh combat bacteria, leaving feet fresh and energized. www.weleda.com Relaxing > Blooming Lotus' Pedicure To Go > Served up in an Asian-style take-home package, Pedicure To Go includes Shea Butter Creme and Bamboo Pedicure Buff, which contain the exfoliating action of bamboo powder, along with papaya, coconut, and essential oils. www.bloominglotus.com Relieving > lush Volcano Foot Mask > Exfoliating pumice, deodorizing tomatoes and potatoes, and enzymatic papaya make this mix special. Plaster your feet with foot mask and wrap them for 10 or 15 minutes before rinsing off to reveal beautiful, baby-smooth feet. www.lushusa.com Reenergizing > Origins Step Lively Energizing Foot Cream > Oils of wintergreen and peppermint blend with rose and apricot fruit oils to gently moisturize. A silky-smooth texture that absorbs instantly to a soft finish makes this cream a stimulating, sensuous experience. www.origins.com Regenerating > Aura Cacia's Lavender Essential Oil > More than just a sweet-scented, nourishing treat for the feet, it's also a highly effective antifungal treatment that penetrates cell membranes. Use as an everyday remedy for overall foot health. www.auracacia.com rejuvenating > Dr. Hauschka's St. JOHN'S WORT Foot Cream > Far more effective than ordinary moisturizer, this healing balm made from bio-dynamically grown and harvested herbs, fruit oils, and extracts is rich, lustrous, and instantly soothing. www.drhauschka.com
“The joy of discovering movement as a spiritual practice” is a tagline that embodies the energy surrounding this magazine. It got me thinking about all the amazing people it represents and how they are turning this concept into a reality. This tagline comes from Dance as a Sacred Art, an upcoming title by the cofounder of InterPlay—thanks for the inspiration, Cynthia! So welcome to the pulse, where you’ll find the inside scoop on pieces of the movement puzzle that capture our attention. First, props to The Nia Technique for leading the mindbody-fitness expansion for over 25 years. Next, when The 16 Ways modality came to town, I explored my polarities through sound and movement. Core Connexion offered me a space in which I could get present in a hurry. Out of my head and into my body! Sadly, I say good-bye to Merce Cunningham, who altered my perception of the audience experience and whose dynamic choreography filled me with awe. Michael Jackson's passing brought back joyful memories of my first cassette tape and lip-sync parties when I was a kid in Humboldt County. Nowadays my horizons have expanded to Costa Rica, where an Omega cofounder just opened Blue Spirit, a new retreat center to cultivate transformation. So I'm ready to surf the waves with Shiva Rea and sweat my prayers with Jonathan Horan. Or activate my voice by chanting with Snatam Kaur or Jai Uttal. Sign me up! This column is my invitation to share, so thanks for inspiring me to move! conscious dancer | fall 2009
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
the body’s business by Debbie Rosas
Sense Your Choices and Decisions Through body sensations, revisit your choices and decisions. Throughout the day, stop and revisit your choices and decisions. Stand or sit with your eyes closed, and mentally walk down memory lane. Recall any activity you experienced, seeing and feeling it through your body sensations. Then ask yourself, “Did my experiences feed my body and life in positive and healing ways?� Recognize how what you feel in this moment is a direct result of your choices and decisions. Acknowledge the good ones and commit to “tweak� any that need adjusting to make you, your body, and your life feel better each day.
Rewire your body and life. Affirm positive change by saying, “I love my body; I love my life. I can and will do things differently to make every choice and decision a healing, creative, and sacred one.�
How I do it. Watching myself in life and revisiting my daily actions is something I do every day to manage the business of my body and life, which I define as a Creative Sacred Livelihood. In the morning, I say out loud, “Good morning body. I am here, with you and listening.� Each day I choose a color, and use this color as a creative tool to stimulate and remind me to live my Sacred Life every time I see it. Throughout the day, I connect to the sensation of my life through my body, choosing Pleasure as my guide. If Pleasure is not present, I “tweak� my choices, altering what I do until it becomes part of my body and life again. This is my commitment to creating a Sacred Livelihood for myself and for the world around me.
To Activate Your Creative Sacred Livelihood‌
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Define what living a Creative Sacred Livelihood means to you. Make a commitment to this purpose. Talk to and listen to your body throughout the day. Upon waking say, “Good morning,� and listen to your body by responding with loving choices. Commit to observing yourself as you live your life, using the sensation of Pleasure as the sign that your decision is the right one. If Pleasure is not there, ask yourself, “What can I change to make this decision a pleasurable one?�
Debbie Rosas is cofounder of the Nia Technique.
Photo llustration: Melissa White
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Trading contact info is essential, but who carries around a pen nowadays? If you and your new friend both have an iPhone loaded with Bump, all you have to do is tap your fists together to swap numbers, email, and even photos. If the music is too loud to hear the number, just Bump.
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Timothy Leary predicted the arrival of electronic LSD, but he would never have guessed it would arrive in a cell phone. With this “software as music,� mind-twisting hearing sensations are created as sensory input from your world becomes part of the song. Thanks to RjDj, reality is now optional!
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iPhone apps are changing the way we interact with technology. More than just toys, apps are the game changer that turn the internet inside out. Forget web pages—with a virtual swiss army knife of apps in your pocket, your life just got easier and a whole lot more fun. Here are four of our favorites: best of all, if you have an iPhone, they’re free!
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Apps for Dancers
MPWF GBJUI IFBMUI XFBMUI conscious dancer | fall 2009
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Medicine: On The Move Can you imagine your doctor saying “Take two dance classes and call me in the morning”? Or what if your prescription for pills was written for play instead? With modern research verifying the benefits of intention and movement, this is the sort of health care reform we can all get behind.
W
hat if health is a creative process? And what if vitality isn’t a pill or a cream, but something we create from the inside out? A new school of thought that has been building momentum for some years now believes that healthy lives are something we can create for ourselves. Consensus is building across disciplines from quantum physics to holistic medicine that all life is a form of energy in motion. And more and more, the realization is that movement, or lack thereof, is the key to either a life of ease, or dis-ease. Stuck energy can take many forms, from the vertebrae that need a chiropractor’s touch, to misplaced trauma or emotional baggage that respond to the more subtle vibrations of energy medicine or Reiki. The commonality among energy movement arts is that the mind-body connection is primary, and that any practice that brings the mind into the present moment, where it can be one with the body, supports optimal health. What’s even more exciting is the thought that as conscious lifestyles evolve to include more intentional movement, heightened intuition, and evolutionary nutrition, healthier people will emerge. We think that this is an interesting trend, and one well worth exploring for our readers, especially in light of our motto, “movement for a better world.” We’ve chosen two areas of focus, the current state of dance movement therapy, and epigenetic medicine—fields where momentum is building towards new models in health care. by mark metz
•
Illustrations by Einat Peled
Dance: Movement Therapy
Merging motion with medicine for nearly seven decades, this field offers a big payoff for practitioners and patients alike.
D
ance/movement therapy is an established modality based upon the idea that “the body and the mind are inseparable.” Nancy Beardall, Ph.D., dance therapy coordinator at Lesley University, describes current educational trends. “The 21st century brings a national focus on holistic health practices, prevention, and wellness programs in education that include body awareness and dance as well as the physical, social, and emotional needs of an aging population.” The first wave of dance/ movement therapy (DMT) in the U.S. began in 1942 when dancer and choreographer Marion Chace began giving classes to patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., and word of the positive effects began to spread among psychiatrists and physicians. More than two decades later, Chace would become the first president of the American Dance Therapy Association that she helped establish in 1966. DMT is a paradigm shift in Western medicine because it approaches healing as a cocreative process shared by the therapist and patient. With the view that movement reflects personality, DMT encourages improvisation as a way to experiment with new ways of being. Angela Gallo, director of the dance program at Coker College in Hartsville, S.C., sees a growing interest in dance/ movement therapy among undergraduates there. “The field is becoming much more popular—as things like yoga and Pilates are becoming mainstream and entering the gyms, there’s a growing awareness of the mind-body connection. We’re trying to give the students who are interested in doing something with dance besides performing or choreographing another option as a career pathway.” Ellen Hill, MMT, director of the dance therapy department at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, has exciting news for students. “There are more positions available that can be filled. In the past two years all of our graduates have immediately found jobs.” The scope of DMT goes far beyond
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conscious dancer | spring 2009
centering the body and reducing stress. From holistic birth preparation to elder care, DMT is helpful through all stages of life. Individuals challenged by autism, learning disabilities, or mental retardation connect on a sensory-motor level to expand skills and increase cognitive ability. People with disabilities, including those who are blind or deaf, are able to reduce feelings of isolation and communicate better. DMT is also used to treat Parkinson’s disease, posttraumatic stress disorder, bulimia, and more. Because the areas where DMT is useful are so varied, practitioners are in demand in a wide range of settings. From daycare facilities to nursing homes and medical, educational, and rehabilitation centers, licensed therapists unite body and mind, using dance and movement to create better lives.
D a n c e T h e r a p y. e d u Antioch University in Keene, New Hampshire complements their MA program with a minor in counseling to broaden job opportunities. www.antiochne.edu Center For Movement Education and Research in California offers the only DMT Alternate Route Trainings west of Colorado that adhere to ADTA guidelines. www.movement-education.org Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina, excels in preparing undergraduates for advanced studies in counseling and movement therapy. www.coker.edu Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, offers an ADTA-approved Masters program as well as a graduate certificate in Laban Movement Analysis. www.colum.edu Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, provides clinical education experience through university affiliates in the tri-state area. www.drexel.edu Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a multi-modal program that encourages the use of the arts as a therapeutic tool. www.lesley.edu Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, offers a somatic counseling psychology program that has been ADTA-approved since 1987. www.naropa.edu Pratt Institute in New York City was recently listed among the accredited universities in the U.S. with the highest incomes for graduates. www.pratt.edu
Energy: Movement Arts Choreographing our DNA with focused intention and a shift towards love.
E
pigenetic medicine is a new term coined by author and researcher Dawson Church, Ph.D., to describe healing techniques that operate upon or over (epi) the control level of the gene. These methods allow for dancing with energy on the deepest and most subtle of levels. In his book The Genie in Your Genes, Church says, “We are conscious energy systems capable of controlling our genes at a molecular level.” Energy medicine and energy psychology are fields of practice where the focus is on intention and consciousness first, rather than the symptom-based approach of traditional medicine. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), for example, starts with an affirmation and then taps acupressure points and conducts brief sequences of eye movements. Researchers understand that the tapping stimulates piezoelectric current (electricity due to pressure) through energy meridians in the body. Epigenetic medicine takes the view that healing is a process, not an event. Modern science has confirmed the presence of a class of genes called Immediate Early Genes (IEGs),
which turn on within a few seconds of a stimulus, and can be triggered by thoughts or emotions. These are genes that affect specific aspects of our immune system, such as the production of white blood cells. This is where science supports what many practitioners have been intuiting for quite some time—that thought, emotion, and intention have real effects on our DNA and physical well-being. Dr. Richard Bartlett, founder of the practice Matrix Energetics, takes issue with the term “healing,” preferring the word “transformation” instead. “Healing is a very nebulous concept, and disease is also an abstract term. Isn’t it preferential to believe that you can transform in an instant rather than think that healing has to take time? I don’t believe in healing, and I don’t believe in disease. I believe in transformation because healing and disease are two sides of the same coin.” Another remarkable development in the field is the work of Dylan Newcomb, a dancer and choreographer with an extensive background in energy psychology. He has founded a practice called The 16 Ways, which maps the basic polarities inherent in life. He lightheartedly refers to the 16 Ways Polarity Assessment Instrument as “Myers-Briggs meets 5Rhythms.” The practice itself is an easy, yet powerful way to stimulate movement between opposite energetic poles on the levels of mind, body, and emotion. Through improvisational dance explorations into the eight vowel sounds that humans make, he discovered certain core movements that relate sounds to behaviors.
The 16 Ways are especially interesting in that the practice is a bridge between the cerebral and the somatic. Analogous to the I Ching, and informed by study of the ancient Chinese system, The 16 Ways are a binary code of thought, emotion, and movement that forms a physical language that can be plugged into day-to-day lives. Here at Conscious Dancer, we have firsthand experience with a practice known as The WOW Process. Cocreated by Louisa Dyer and Laura Cirolia, two dancers with extensive experience in holistic psychology, energy medicine, and spiritual growth work, WOW is deceptively simple. In an hour or so, it can profoundly shift ingrained thoughts and emotional patterns, reducing or eliminating many physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual problems. Dyer speaks about the mechanics of that transformation. “Who we truly are deep within is what creates every experience we have. WOW allows us to accept what we have consciously and subconsciously held within, using a lens of love rather than judgment, and this loving acceptance immediately begins to shift who we are. As darkness ceases to exist when light is brought to it, fear, anger, grief, apathy, or suffering of any kind simply disappears in the presence of love.” Epigenetic medicine takes the view that human evolution is a work in progress. Encouraging discoveries on the frontiers of health and human development bode well for the future of humanity. If our collective consciousness is truly moving out of fear and into love, these tools are lighting the way.
five Quick reconnects Before you can balance your brain, it helps to be in your body. If you find yourself misplacing things, having accidents, or losing focus, your mind may be separating from your body. Try these simple somatic techniques to reconnect. 1. Alternate nostril breathing: Known as Pranayama in yogic traditions, this practice can be enjoyed in several effective ways. 2. Jumping up and down: Simple, easy, playful, and effective. Even better if you happen to be in a place where you can shout. 3. “Om” ing or toning: Best done in waves of three or more. Try this in an enclosed space like a closet or the shower. 4. Spinning in circles: To feel childlike and silly, try this secret of the Sufis until you get dizzy. Stop before you fall down or get nauseated. 5. Graphology: Writing backwards with your non-dominant hand. Use the graphology technique made famous by Leonardo Da Vinci to access your creative side.
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group of 20 patients in an Austrian hospital took part in a study to see if rhythm could help to better manage their pain. A few felt hopeful, but most showed signs of the wear and tear that often accompanies longstanding pain and morphine drips. When the rhythm exercises were presented (initially just simple movements to the steady beat of a drum), every patient had a hard time finding the basic pulse. To instructor Reinhard Flatischler, who teaches with his wife Cornelia, this made perfect sense. “People who are in acute pain often disconnect from, or leave, their bodies,” he explains. When pain is too difficult to deal with, why be there? To synchronize the patients’ body movements with a basic pulse became the first order of business. “We had to bring them into their bodies again, to bring them into rhythm,” says Flatischler, who has been facilitating a collective movement and sound process known as TaKeTiNa for the past 30 years. The practice was inspired by a visit to Afghanistan as a teenager, where he witnessed Sufis singing and chanting ancient rhythms, and moving in an interlocking manner that put the entire group into a deep trance. In time, the Austrian patients, who met weekly for a year and a half, were able to synchronize their movements with the TaKeTiNa rhythms.
Welcome to the other side of your brain. Step into entrainme
Flatischler discovered that in those moments when the participants felt synchronized or “at one” with the rhythms, the whole group reported that their pain went away. By the end of the study, the medical society in Göppingen, Germany, and the nearby German Pain Colloquium noted that those who had participated in the study were able to reduce their medication by 45 percent. Through the intervention of a rhythm process, a very natural method for reducing pain had been discovered. How was this possible? According to its founder, TaKeTiNa uses rhythm in an unusual way. The focus is not on specific rhythms, but instead on “rhythm archetypes” or “movement images that are inherent in the senso-motoric system
of every human being.” Flatischler explains that each of us has a very intense relationship with rhythm that begins in utero. This rhythm is the first information we receive, through the beating of the mother’s heart, the flow of blood, the mother’s movement, and the rhythm of her speech. “Rhythmic relations in our bodies define our health or lack of health, and our state of mind,” he says. He believes that by practicing TaKe TiNa, people learn something that is already a part of the self, not just a method taught by a teacher. The process allows for “regaining one’s innate relationship with rhythm.” This experience is borne out by a student of TaKeTiNa, who describes her experience on the blog Finding and Exploring Your Soul Purpose.
This woman was in so much pain due to what she thought was fibromyalgia that driving several hours to a TaKeTiNa class presented a huge challenge. Prepared to simply watch the class, she amazed herself by taking part for several hours each day, and on the third day, awakening pain free. The practice helped this student to overcome feelings of being helpless and powerless in relation to her body. It brought her to what she describes as “a place where I was whole and healed.” She explains that TaKeTiNa is based on the theory that out of chaos, the body wants to reorder itself. “I think that TaKeTiNa, through the movement, chanting, and organization, actually broke up the pain memories—brought me into chaos, then
By Randy Peyser
ent with a clap and a shout, and leave disconnection behind.
reorganized me—my cells reorganizing themselves.” The process is structured to do just this; it brings participants in and out of rhythm, alternating between chaos and order. Through the use of one’s hands, feet, and voice, the technique involves the simultaneous incorporation of three contrasting rhythms. Standing in a circle, students begin by moving their feet in a simple side-to-side motion. In the center, a Brazilian surdo drum with a deep, booming bass reinforces and anchors the steps. The berimbau, a single-string percussion instrument, almost always accompanies the drum, providing a trance-inducing drone as a counterpoint to the heartbeat of the surdo. As students connect their steps with the repetitive sound of the drum, they are instructed to clap in a pattern that is initially in sync, and then eventually, slightly out of sync, with their foot movements. Finally, the voice is added to create a third level of independent rhythm. Other techniques involve the use of “call and response,” where, while maintaining certain footsteps and hand claps, the leader sings one part, and students respond in turn. Sometimes the leader sings in harmony with the footwork and response of the students. Other times, however, the leader’s singing will rhythmically conflict with the students’ sounds, creating a palpable tension, which eventually leads to students being unable to maintain the rhythm. At this point, everything falls apart.
Paint and Dance from the Source: A Magical Journey to the Beloved with Aviva Gold and Toni Bergins
September 20-25, 2009 (Sun-Fri) Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
Registration details on www.kripalu.com (Stockbridge, MA)
Journey Dance Teacher Training Module 1
November 1-6, 2009 (Sun-Fri) Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
Details on www.journeydance.com (Stockbridge, MA)
JourneyDance Teacher Training in California Spring 2010
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conscious dancer | FALL 2009
one automatically falls into it.” Mary Kogen, who teaches TaKeTiNa to high school students in New Hampshire, has been amazed by the way her students absorb the rhythms. Asked to describe the experience, one student said, “It’s a place where I discovered the rhythms in me and around me.” While most learning situations require students to be alert and focused, TaKeTiNa participants are encouraged to either engage actively in the exercises, or to lie on the floor and just listen. “For many people, lying down in the circle creates a reconnection to the time when they were in their mother’s womb,” says Flatischler. “There was nothing to do then but absorb rhythm. A person who is lying down in the center is entrained, meaning that all the information of the rhythm is subconsciously absorbed.”
... people learn something that is already a part of the self, not just something taught by a teacher. According to Flatischler, the journey of falling in and out of rhythm is essential to the TaKeTiNa process. “Like the ebb and flow of life, we go in and out of chaos and order,” he says. “ In this alternation between losing rhythm and regaining rhythm, one falls into a state where, all of a sudden, the sensomotoric system is triggered and the student just knows how to move.” As a result, people who have never trained in music find themselves moving to very complex rhythms. “Within three to six days, everyone will fall into rhythm,” says Flatischler. “No matter how complex the rhythm might be, they are in it with their voice, their steps and their claps…they have become one with this rhythm and they are one with themselves in this moment. One cannot linearly access this knowledge; however, as the body remembers those rhythm archetypes,
Flatischler notes that TaKeTiNa taught him to access a silent, present state. “It’s not just silence and it’s not just active,” he says. “It’s both. You are with someone and you are relaxed and focused at the same time.” Some students feel this as an integration between the right and left brain, a merging of logic and intuition. It appears that in this state of relaxed peaceful presence, healing occurs. Flatischler credits the practice with his own healing—an end to the asthma attacks that had troubled him since childhood.
Instructor Nancy Gordon, left, leads the rhythm process for seniors.
Circles of mirth and connection create community at the edge of chaos.
And recent research in Austria has verified that “TaKeTiNa activates Vagotonus (the vagus nerve) and produces the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, known as the healing remedy—especially in the moments where people drop into rhythm without strain.” People from all walks of life are attending Flatischler’s classes and teacher trainings worldwide, as well as at five different universities throughout Europe. Whether to use the process therapeutically or in musical settings, some also become facilitators of TaKeTiNa, which is taught by Flatischler and his wife Cornelia around the world. With the groundswell of Americans who have discovered the pure joy of beating a drum over the past decade, it’s no surprise that many people are drawn to TaKeTiNa, not just for its healing powers, but also for the sheer fun of it. Thanks to Zorina Wolf at www.villageheartbeat.com for her contribution to this article.
balancing acts TakeTina Find a teacher in the global network and discover how rhythm and chaos work to fuel transformation. www.taketina.com D a nc e s o f U n i v e r s a l P e a c e A living library of over 1,000 traditional circle dances, these free gatherings are found virtually worldwide. www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org
Photos: courtesy Taketina
b r a i n g y m This international program of learning through movement improves lives with educational kinesiology. www.braingym.org B o d y o f s o und Lively combo of body percussion, Balinese monkey chanting, and contact improv. www.bodyofsound.com KIVO Discover your “Kinetic Voice” with this ceremonial celebration. Tribal chants and circle dance connect you to your indigenous roots. www.kivodance.com
Transform your Life Richard Bartlett, DC, ND, teaches Matrix Energetics©, a consciousness technology for insight, healing, spiritual growth—and living a life unbound by the limits we have been trained to believe in. Teachable & transferable, Matrix Energetics© is accessible to everyone, from a ten-year-old child to a medical professional. During this life-changing weekend, we will learn the art of rewriting any rule of your reality —about your health, your happiness, or even your understanding of what is physically possible.
UPCOMING SEMINARS: NEWARK—Oct 16-19, Levels 1&2 ATLANTA—Nov 13-16, Levels 1&2 SEATTLE—Dec 4-7, Levels 1&2 with Practitioner Certification—Dec 8 Check our website for our seminar schedule, early registration discounts and streaming video.
www.matrixenergetics.com 800.269.9513 conscious dancer | FALL 2009
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wear allone 1
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strangers becoming friends and truthfully we are all one in this Sweet Temple of Dance at the altar rocks and rose petals on the table pop and pizza on our bodies make up and sweat all are holy grooved vinyl the needle spirals inward we dance with the camera as witness Alive we are In love we are And now knowing it More fully – Daniel Mollner
p ho to gra phy by ro lf + karin a • s tylin g by vale rie badge tt Shot on location at the Historic Sweet’s Ballroom in downtown Oakland, CA
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We took a look at dancewear and decided a remix was in order. We combined conscious designers, fun fibers, and great dancers in our first-ever fashion mash-up.
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1 Red Classic Pants by The Cloth Body / Turkish Tassel Belt by Phoenix Rising Designs 2 Red Bamboo Wrap Top by Melodia Designs / Black Classic Racerback Tank Top by Zobha / Joey Striped Pants by Kucoon Designs 3 Quilted Vest by Leom Designs / Teal Tie Top and Teal Bamboo Rouched Pants by Melodia
Designs 4 Periwinkle Raceback Rally Hoodie and White Raceback Tank Top by Hardtail Forever / Ruby Om Necklace by www.shopsanctuary.com 5 Grey Burnout T-shirt by Alternative Apparel / Green Wrap Top by Leom Designs 6 Blue Halter Top by Divine Design World Dance Fitness / Black Vinyasa Pants by Ymay Yoga
Apparel 7 Green Wrap Top and Green Yoga Stitch Pants by Leom Designs / Prana Tank by Prana 8 Organic Soul Shine Tank Top by Altheta / Black Palazzo Corduroy pants by XCVI Wearables Dancers on the floor: Kue King, Valerie Chafograck, Rolf + Karina, Daniel Mollner, Kincade Reed, Rana Satori, Shine, Tara Shorey
Tuning in!Toning up for good health with a harmonizing dose of good vibrations.
BY aaron noble
O
ur world is a sea of sound, and we can either swim in calm waters that support our health, or struggle against harsher currents of abrasive noise. I’m intrigued by common sounds like the sigh of relief that marks the end of a stressful day, or the involuntary “ouch” that comes with stubbing a toe. What can we learn by tuning in to these everyday sounds? What role does sound play in relation to our bodies and our health? And what can we learn from the experts who explore sound and its effects on the body? My interest in health, yoga, and meditation led me to study vibrational forms of medicine, a holistic approach that embraces a number of subtle energy modalities to treat the body, mind, and soul. These methods, which include gem, color, and flower essence healing, view the body in 26
conscious dancer | fall 2009
layers of frequency. As my awareness grew, I found myself passionate about the effects of sound frequencies, and sought to learn more. At San Francisco's Institute of Sound and Consciousness, I learned that this field includes subjects ranging from biophysics to musicology, and I began to learn some of the ways in which sound affects us. One common perspective is that sound can serve as a form of nutrition. This belief is based on a discovery made in the late ’60s by Alfred Tomatis, a German doctor specializing in the ear, nose, and throat. He determined the ear to be the first sensory organ of the fetus to become fully functional and suggested that the ear’s primary role in prenatal development is to harness sound waves inside the womb and convert them into energy for neural development. Another key understanding in the field
of sound is the concept of “sympathetic resonance.” This phrase describes a phenomenon that occurs when the vibration of one instrument actually causes a sympathetic response in another instrument. So if I strike an A string on my violin, somehow the A string on my friend’s violin across the room begins to resonate as well, and in perfect synchrony without even being touched. This magical reaction makes me wonder about people as instruments of sound, and the ways in which we can resonate with one another. Scientists and doctors are beginning to understand the power of the voice, especially when people make sound together, to stimulate our neural chemicals and endorphins. Jonathan Goldman, director of the Sound Healers Association, says that sound impacts us in two ways. “One way is that sound can actually go into the physical body, affecting us on a cellular level. The other way is when sound goes into our ears and into our brains and therefore affects our nervous system, heart, and respiration.” Sound vibrations actually have the ability to match the specific frequencies of each organ within the body, as well as to induce the autonomic nervous system simultaneously. I began to study tones in terms of their effect on the body. Results seemed to vary depending on pitch, rhythm, and placement of the tongue. Low tones generally impact larger muscle groups, while higher frequencies seem to stimulate the brain and smaller muscle groups. Drawn out tones, like string sounds, actually create patterns, while staccato or rhythmic patterns disperse and clear energy. Alex Theory, founder of the Global Sound Conference, says, “Once you break up some of those stuck patterns you can use specific low, elongated frequencies to create tangible geometric patterns within the body itself.” Creating sound within a group offers benefits that one voice can’t conjure. When people make sound together they release oxytocin, also known as the trust chemical. Therefore, when people harmonize in sound, they build resonance and trust within each other. According to Lis Addison, creator of a vocal-dance form called KiVo, “It’s very important for us to engage in these activities often: to dance, tone, move through space, and create vibration just to resonate with other people. Tones have the ability to release us from the limitations of language…”
Photo: flickr.com/photos/burpsliberty
sounds
So it’s not the words, but the tones that we need to learn to use. If certain pitches are beneficial, are there also those that are destructive? According to Goldman, “Depending on the time, place, and need of the individual, any music can be potentially healing. If something doesn’t feel good, then it’s not right for you.” He recommends avoiding extremely loud music as it activates the “fight or flight” response and can overstress the immune system. It’s also important to choose the music and sounds that are conducive to a desired activity, like upbeat and activating music for exercise. I strive to enhance my life each day by attending to sounds and their resonance. Try this practice on your own by taking some steps to influence the sounds around you. Choose your music to match a purpose in order to align the mood. Select the tone of your voice to support your intention. Learn to mindfully tune into sound, and you'll be able to harmonize its amazing power into everyday life.
TAKETINA: • Explore a non-linear rhythm learning process • Discover your authentic self • Become fully present in all areas of your life • Guide people into a place of stillness, transformation and joy
SIGN UP FOR OPEN PUBLIC WORKSHOPS OR THE TEACHER TRAINING SELECTION PROCESS: Learn from the founder of TaKeTiNa, world-renowned master percussionist Reinhard Flatischler and Master TaKeTiNa teacher Cornelia Flatischler
Sound it Yourself
SELECTION AND OPEN PUBLIC WORKSHOPS Portland, OR: October 9 – 11, 2009 Register: www.rhythmvortex.com
Harmonize to synchronize! Your body is the sounding board that clears the way for connection. Try these techniques to tune in.
Atlanta, GA: October 16 – 18, 2009 Register: www.drummingatlanta.com
transmitting
Use your body as your instrument to connect with your own frequency. • toning - om, ah, ma • solo chanting • body percussion • wind instruments
TAKETINA TEACHER TRAINING 30 motivated individuals will be selected for the U.S. teacher training beginning Spring 2010.
receiving
Relax and receive the benefits of intentionally applied sound vibrations. • tuning forks • singing bowls • sound tables • didgeridoos
Come and join! Get your info!: www.rhythmvortex.com
Photo: Ross LewAllen
collaborating
When sounds combine, magic happens. Share your resonance with others. • singing in harmony • kirtan chanting • toning- om, ah, ma • beat boxing
TAKETINA – RHYTHM FOR EVOLUTION www.taketina.com
conscious dancer | fall 2009
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TK
Blending up new-trition!
A new school of superfoods makes adding in the good stuff fast, easy, and fun.
by Dr. Jody Stanislaw
G
iven the overwhelming evidence about the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, I try to eat 10–15 servings a day and encourage others to do the same. Luckily, options abound for nutrientpacked superfood supplements. Not only are these products tasty, convenient, and healthful, but the best companies use production techniques that are good for the environment. You can easily blend the supplements into fruit or veggie smoothies or even add them to hot or cold dishes. The term “superfoods” refers to those foods most densely packed with beneficial nutrients as compared to other foods—the edibles with the most nutritional bang for your buck. Along with traditional favorites like blueberries, broccoli, walnuts, and salmon, some less common, but nutrient-packed 28
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items are gaining attention—maca from the Andes; spirulina and other blue-green algae; Himalayan goji berries; as well as wheat grass, nettle, and dandelion, all easy to grow or buy. And don’t forget organic cacao, friend to humanity and the rainforest alike. It’s best to eat superfoods in their whole food form, but adding a supplement to your daily routine is also a fabulous choice—it can usually more than double your nutrient intake with just a single serving. Supplements also offer an array of life-enriching benefits: increased energy, enhanced mental clarity, improved digestion and nutrient absorption, detoxification, support for healthy eyes and skin, enhanced circulation, increased endurance, a stronger immune system, and better metabolism and blood sugar control. In my work with people who are ill as well as those who are super healthy, I find that
a superfood supplement covers the basics of optimizing health. To choose the best superfood for your body, focus first on products with mostly organic ingredients, made using ecological, sustainable, and fair trade practices. Consider that when you choose a raw, organic, and vegetarian-based breakfast (compared to a meal like bacon and eggs or even cereal with milk), not only are you benefiting your body, but you are also dramatically reducing the amount of greenhouse gases resulting from the production of your food. Next, be sure that the ingredients are derived from whole foods, as opposed to isolates of certain nutrients. Although isolated vitamins such as vitamin C have their place from time to time, nutrients extracted in their whole food form are substantially more absorbable by the body. Scientists have studied the benefits of only a few vitamins, but the reality is most fruits, vegetables, and plant-based foods are packed with beneficial nutrients that nature made to work together synergistically. Vitamin C in isolate form is usually given at a dose of 1000 mg or more. Yet when it comes from its whole food form, a dramatically lower amount will have the same effect on your body because it is being ingested with all of the other ingredients that nature intended it to be consumed with. As you ponder the huge variety of superfood options, consider the production technique of the ingredients as well. Nature makes foods that come with their own enzymes in order to optimize digestion and assimilation of the nutrients contained within. Enzymes are made out of protein, and if foods are processed at high temperatures, the heat will degrade the proteins and thus cause the enzymes to lose their effectiveness. Raw products are ideal, but you will still get benefits from a non-raw item. People turn toward superfoods for help with a variety of goals. If you are looking to optimize your nutrition, a supplement that boasts a wide range of nutrients is a great choice. Look for one that contains a mix of greens, herbs, antioxidants, sea veggies, probiotics, and enzymes. A single serving can often be as little as a spoonful, which can easily be added into a smoothie or even included in your favorite recipe. Those products that contain raw cacao will give you an extra boost of PEA (phenylethylamine), that wonderful compound that helps to mediate experiences associated with pleasure. Circulation stimulators like ginger and cayenne are a nice bonus because they will optimize nutrient absorption. When you’re incorporating superfoods into
Photo: Laura Cirolia
vitality
your diet, another option is one that can serve as a complete meal replacement. Not only are these convenient, but they are a great way to guarantee that your meal is alkalizing your body (raising the pH, thus decreasing damaging acidity and inflammation). And, you will be having a nutrient-dense meal that is also low in calories. If detox is your goal, make sure the product you choose is rich in green foods, algae, and grasses. You will still want a wide range of ingredients because nutrients work together synergistically: the greens excel at detox, while enzymes help with digestion, antioxidants help reduce free radical damage, and some herbs help optimize liver function. Whether you are looking to maximize your nutrition, increase your energy, enjoy a convenient and healthy meal, or boost your immune system, adding in the good stuff to your daily regime is a great gift for both your body and the planet. Celebrate the energy that dances through your body, and drink to your health with superfoods in your smoothie. For more information on natural health from Dr. Jody and her colleagues, visit www.KitchenTableMedicine.com
th e sup e r sc o o p : P o w e r i n a P o wd e r
Need an extra boost of nutrition? In search of an easy, yet dynamic meal? Try one of these organic, synergistic mixes of micro-nutrition to power up your daily smoothie. Check out the options to see which is most enticing. We use a base of young coconut milk, seasonal berries, other fruits, and a generous scoop of a complementary superfood. Just whiz it up for a few seconds and enjoy the buzz. Arise & Shine Great Greens
A potent blend of herbs, concentrates, and adaptogens. Greens and grasses contribute to detoxification. Designed to supply energy and endurance for an active lifestyle and optimum nutritional support for cleansing.
Essential Living Foods Superfood Smoothie Mix
Hemp seed proteins make this blend unique. A tasty combination of immune system–enhancing ingredients creates a super-formula supporting natural resistance and vitality.
www.ariseandshine.com
www.essentiallivingfoods.com
Billy's Infinity Greens
Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer
This algae-based, grass-free formula includes organic spirulina, blue-green Klamath algae, and chlorella, three of the most potent, effective, and nutrientdense superfoods. www.billys-superfoods.com
B KU Super Food
This vitamin-packed superfood complex benefits from essential fatty acids from sprouted flax and hormonal balance properties from maca root. Plus a bonus of probiotics and enzymes. www.bokusuperfood.com
Formulated by Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier, Vega provides 100 percent RDA of vitamins and minerals, and can function as a meal replacement. www.sequelnaturals.com
HealthForce Nutritional's Earth Version 3.0
Nutritional support for balanced blood sugar, detox, and colon cleansing. Immunity-building ingredients contribute to well-being and longevity. www.healthforce.com
’
This formula of organic and wild crafted superfood transforms health! TESTED 25 BILLION LIVE PROBIOTICS PER SERVING
The organic and wild crafted aglaes, herbs, probiotics, and enzymes that comprise our formula are tested the be the most nutritious and the most effective superfoods known, and are chosen because they make a real difference in your health,... a difference we know you will truly feel and see.
Health Benefits from Infinity Greens
» Fully nourish with crucial vitamins, minerals, enzymes » Balance and stabilize blood-sugar levels » Optimize digestion and eliminate toxins » Increase endurance and stamina » Improve mental clarity and focus » Beautify and clear skin tone » Boost the immune system » 100% organic vegan raw wildcrafted » Aglae based formula with E3 www.infinitygreens.com conscious dancer | fall 2009
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CLASSES, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS at www.ConsciousDancer.com
move & be moved SF Bay Area monday
(F) facilitated class
Women’s TransDance® Circle (F) 10am-12:30pm • North Oakland
HoopGirl Hoopdance Multi-Level 6:30-7:30pm • Dance Ground Keriac
tuesday
Monkey Conditioning 1st Free (F) 7:30-8:30am • Athletic Playground
Aerial Improv 1st Class Free (F) 6-7:30pm • Athletic Playground
Interplay® (F)
HeroHooping Multi-Level (F)
Soul Motion® (F)
Aerial Improv (F)
Interplay® (F)
6-8pm • Wildcat Studio 6-7:30pm • InterPlayce
7:30-9:15pm • Athletic Playground
6:45-9:15pm • North Oakland(10 class series starts 9/30)
Core Connexion® Class (F)
Acro-Yoga 1st Class Free (F)
7:45-8:45pm • 7th Heaven
Women’s TransDance® Circle(F)
2:30-3:30pm • Athletic Playground
AcroYoga with Tyler (F)
7:30-9:15pm • 7th Heaven
wednesday
5Rhythms® Endless Waves (F) 6:30-8:30pm • TVCC
7-9pm • Unitarian Church
saturday
Monkey Conditioning (F)
7:30-8:30am • Athletic Playground
Nia® with Danielle (F)
9-10am • East Bay Dance Center
5Rhythms® Sweat Your Prayers (F) 9:30-11:30am • Pickleweed Community Center
5Rhythms® Endless Waves (F) 7:00-9:00pm • MLK Gym
Ecstatic Dance East Bay 7-8pm Contact Improve8-11:30pm • Sweet’s Ballroom
HoopGirl Hoopdance Multi-Level
10:30am-12pm • InterPlayce
Family Jam
Ecstatic Dance East Bay
9pm-1am Fairfax Community Church 1st Saturday of the Month
8:30pm-12:30am • Sawtooth Bldg
8:30-10:30am / 11am-1pm MLK Gym
Contact Improv Class with Vitali (F) Groove Garden
Dance Jam
5Rhythms® Sweat Your Prayers (F)
Core Connexion® Dance Medicine (F)
Class (F) 1:30-3:00pm • 8th St. Studio Jam 3:30-6pm
2nd and 4th Fridays 6-7:45pm • Sawtooth Bldg
sunday
TransDance® Journey (F) (see website for dates & times)
Interplay® (F)
10-12pm • Studio 12
10:30-1pm • Sweet’s Ballroom
Soul Sanctuary Dance 11am–1pm • Ashkenaz
Handstand Class12–1pm letic Playground
CONSCIOUS
• Ath-
Nia® Community (F)
11:15-12:15pm • 7th Heaven
Biodanza® with Marina (F) 6:45-8:45pm • 7th Heaven
DANCER ™
movement for a better world
Locations 7TH HEAVEN YOGA
Promote your practice in 2820 7th St., Berkeley ASHKENAZ Conscious Dancer and be 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley known around the world. DANCE GROUND KERIAC 1805 Divisadero St., S.F. Build connections with the EAST BAY DANCE CENTER international moving arts 1318 Glenfield Ave., Oakland FAIRFAX COMMUNITY CHURCH and dance communities. 2398 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. • Online Directory INTERPLAYCE 2273 Telegraph Ave., Oakland • Organic Distribution ATHLETIC PLAYGROUND • Affordable Advertising 30 conscious dancer | SUMMER 2009 729 Heinz Ave. #4., Berkeley • Easy Subscriptions
Barefoot Boogie
Nia® with Danielle (F)
9-10am • East Bay Dance Center
Body of Sound (F)
6:00-7:30pm • Twinspace
5Rhythms® Endless Waves (F) 6:30-8:30pm • Studio Gracia
7-8:30pm • InterPlayce
8:30-10pm • Dance Ground Keriac
friday
thursday Biodanza® (F)
7-9pm • 7th Heaven
Parkour (F)
7:30-8:30pm • Althetic Playground
Contact Improv Movement Jam 8:30-11pm • 7th Heaven
Interplay® for Men (F) 7-8:30pm • InterPlayce
events
Athletic Playground is Celebrating ONE Year! Oct 3-4 - Emeryville, CA Free classes (Parkour, Handstands, Capoeira, Aerial, AcroYoga, Tumbling, Monkey Conditioning, Morning Flow & More!) Performances at 8pm on both nights!! Get ready to monkey play! www.athleticplayground.com NCDC Winter Dance Camp June 4-6 - Dunlap, CA NCDC hosts a weekend getaway at Monte Toyon Camp, near Santa Cruz. Enjoy a lovely, sweet, and deep time at this beautiful retreat center in the redwoods. Often it is rainy and we spend our time indoors, taking classes, sitting around the fireplace and singing songs, dancing at night in the beautiful lodge. When the sun peeks out, we take hikes up to the ridge for wonderful views of the ocean. www.ncdcdances.org
7:30-11pm • Sawtooth Bldg MLK GYM 100 Coloma St., Sausalito PICKLEWEED COMMUNITY CENTER 50 Canal St, San Rafael WILDCAT, 8TH ST, WESTERN SKY & STUDIO 12 IN SAWTOOTH BLDG 2525 8th St., Berkeley STUDIO GRACIA 19 Heron St., S.F. SWEET’S BALLROOM 1933 Broadway, Oakland
TAMALPAIS VALLEY CENTER (TVCC) 203 Marin Ave., Mill Valley TWINSPACE 2111 Mission St, S.F. UNITARIAN CHURCH 1924 Cedar St., Berkeley
WEBSITES
www.coreconnexi www.athleticplayground.com www.dancejam.org www.ecstaticdanceeastbay.com www.interplay.org www.niadanielle.com www.soulsanctuarydance.com www.themovingcenterschool.com www.thegroovegarden.com www.transdance.com www.sfbarefootboogie.com www.7thheavenyoga.com
31 Education 31 Events and Performances 31 Festivals 33 Retreats and Workshops
38 Book Reviews 40 CD and DVD Reviews 40 MixMasters Top 10 42 Results
Movement Menu
Visit www.ConsciousDancer.com for the global directory, and sign up for the monthly eZine!
f a l l
h i g h l i g h t s
education
events & performances
American Dance Therapy Annual Conference
Capacitor Presents "The Perfect Flower"
OCT 8–11 Portland, OR The American Dance Therapy's annual conference on The Dance of Discovery: Research and Innovation in Dance/Movement Therapy includes research, practice, education, and professional development; 35 clinical seminars, site-specific performance; keynote address by Dr. Maxine Sheets-Johnstone; lecture by Dr. Janet Adler. Learn about mind/body integration, embodiment, and the primacy of nonverbal interaction in the therapy relationship, which transforms healthcare and intercultural understanding. www.adta.org
Prosper at the One Spirit Weekend - pg.35
photos: From top: Rolf + Karina / Sean stuchen / Courtsey of Biodanza / Daniel Kraft / Courtsey of Water Woman Festival
International Alchemy Annual Conference
OCT 23–25 Los Angeles, CA Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet and work with practicing alchemists from around the world! Practitioners will share both practical and spiritual techniques in this intensive multimedia event. The emphasis is on real alchemy, and the goal is to inform and empower individuals with ancient wisdom and other fun surprises. Lectures and movement workshops include Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements; Taoist Master Mantak Chia, mixing Tai Chi, Aikido, Kundalini Yoga, and anatomy; Scott Cole, celebrity fitness trainer; VibraSound and SensoryResonance Technologies; therapy; meditation; music; and dance.
www.capacitor.org
Emotional Freedom Wisdom
Connect at Science and Nonduality - pg. 31
www.alchemyconference.com
Science and Nonduality Conference
OCT 21–25 San Rafael, CA Come on a journey beyond perception, reality, and belief! Part seminar, part festival, part conference, this event explores how science combines with meditation, philosophy, art, music, dance, and entheogens to point the way to nondual experience, to aid in integrating nonduality into daily life, and to deepen the understanding of a fundamental nondual reality. Over 100 mentors aligning to transform the way we see ourselves, the universe, and reality itself. Room featuring a rotating lineup of movement, meditation, kirtan, dance, yoga, cinema, and panel discussions. Enlighten the mind and embody the spirit! Experience Breema, TaKeTiNa, Biodanza, TransDance and more
SEP 18–19 San Francisco, CA Interdisciplinary dance company Capacitor brings its latest work, “The Perfect Flower,” home to San Francisco. “Scientists use the term “perfect flower” to describe flowers that are equipped with both female and male reproductive structures and have the ability to self-pollinate. I have been examining them as an example of self-sufficiency and as inspiration for this new work,” said Jodi Lomask, artistic director. To celebrate a decade of Capacitor’s innovative hybrid dance style, the evening will also bring back audience favorites from their previous five full-length shows.
SEP 20 Venice, CA Come celebrate the release of their new books with Judith Orloff, MD and Ron Alexander, Ph.D.! Mindfulness and Emotional Freedom go hand in hand. Dr. Orloff will share principles from Emotional Freedom to present emotions as a path to intuitive and spiritual awakening—and how to listen to the body in order to transform negative emotions into positive forces. Plus how to avoid absorbing the energy of others and combat emotional vampires with compassion. Learn the art and science of mindfulness meditation along with tools from leading-edge positive psychology to guide yogis past their pain and create fresh personal visions for joy, contentment, and vitality. www.drjudithorloff.com
festivals Joshua Tree Annual Roots Music Festival
www.scienceandnonduality.com
OCT 10–11 Joshua Tree, CA A rootsicana newgrassy folkadelic experience. Enjoy continuous live music alternating on two stages in one music bowl in the shadows of the otherworldly Joshua Tree National Park. On-site camping, organic foods, world market, kidsville, hot showers, and playshops. Toubab Krewe, Blue Rodeo, Greensky Bluegrass, Blue Mountain, Abalone Dots, the Sadies, Kelly, and more to perform. www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com
Thich Nhat Hanh: Building a Peaceful Society
Raw Spirit Festival
Witness Capacitor's "Perfect Flower" - pg. 31
OCT 9–10 New York, NY Omega Institute presents two opportunities to be in the presence of Thich Nhat Hanh at the Beacon Theatre. Born in Vietnam in 1926, Nhat Hanh is an expatriate Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. The New York Times has written, "Among Buddhist leaders influential in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh ranks second only to the Dalai Lama." He has published more than 100 books, including Peace Is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace. www.eomega.org
Revel with Water Woman at Joshua Tree - pg. 31
SEP 26–27 Prescott, AZ Come discover ancient wisdom and the latest findings from the greatest minds in healthy eco-living. Features include world's largest gathering of dynamic speakers, fascinating health seminars, phenomenal music, educational vendor booths, children's program, largest raw restaurant food court on Earth, raw vegan demos/ tasting parties, outdoor main stage, doctors stage, discovery, art, music, dancing, poetry, theatre, sacred exercise area, yoga, meditation circl, nature trails, and fantastic foods! www.rawspirit.com conscious dancer | FALL 2009
31
workshops & education cont.
CONSCIOUS
DANCER ™
CLASSES, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS: www.ConsciousDancer.com
movement for a better world
move & be moved New York (F) facilitated class
monday
5Rhythms® Waves (F)
10:30am-12pm • SCDC 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
Contact Improv/Open Movement Jam (Free) 8:15-11:15pm • Children’s Aid Society groups.yahoo.com/group/contactnyc
friday
Group BioDynamic Breath™/ Chakra Loop Breath Dance Journey with Rohi & Giten (F) 7-9:30pm • Meta Center www.energyofbreath.com
5Rhythms® Night Waves (F) 7-9pm • Joffrey Ballet School 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
tuesday
Spiritual Bellydance & Dancemeditation Series (F) (September 29 - October 27) 7-9 pm • KEYSTONE Studio www.dancemeditation.org
5Rhythms® High Vibration Waves (F)
7:30-9:30pm • TSWS 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
saturday
5Rhythms Waves (F) ®
10am-12pm • DTW 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
The Dancing Path™ & Energy of Breath™- OneLove commUNITY Drum Circle
6:30-9:30pm • DTW SEP 26, OCT 24, NOV 7 (see event listing) www.thedancingpath.com
wednesday
Chakracize with Kiana Love (F) 6-7pm • See website for location. www.kakinihealth.com
Nia with Rachel Duvall (F) 6:30-7:30pm • Club H www.oriensliving.com
5Rhythms® Dream Waves (F) 8-9:30pm • Joffrey Ballet School 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
sunday ®
5Rhythms Sweat Your Prayers (F) 1-3pm • Joffrey Ballet School 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
The Open Music Circle (F)
8-10pm • NYIMC 2nd & 4th Suns (see site for exceptions) www.myspace.com/openmusiccircle
The Dancing Path™ presents JourneyDance™ with Trinity (F)
8:30-11:30pm • NYIMC 2nd & 4th Sats (see site for exceptions) www.barefootboogie.org
META CENTER NEW YORK 214 W 29th St, 16th Flr, btw 7th & 8th MOVING BODY RESOURCES 112 W 27th St #400, NYC NY INSIGHT MEDITATION CTR 28 W 27th St, 10th Flr, NYC SANDRA CAMERON DANCE CTR 199 Lafayette St, 2nd Flr THE OPEN CENTER 22 E 30th St THE STEPHEN WEISS STUDIO 711 Greenwich St, corner of Charles UWS KENSHIKAI KARATE 928 Columbus Ave, btw 105th & 106th
11am-12:30pm • SCDC 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
Dynamic Dance w/ Rohi & Giten (F) 7-9pm • Joffrey Ballet School www.energyofbreath.com
5Rhythms® Shaking Spirit Waves (F) 7:45-9:15pm • UWS Kenshikai Karate 5rhythms.com / gabrielleroth.com
events
Biodanza-SRT® - The Dance of Life
SEP 26, 2-5pm • Dance Forum Discovery workshops with Michelle. Come dance with life! web.me.com/biodanzazambia
OneLove commUNITY Drum Circle
SEP 26, OCT 24, NOV 7, 6:30-9:30pm • DTW Drum, Dance, Celebrate, & Connect from a Heart Space with a Conscious Vibrant commUNITY! 2 Music Rooms—Drum Circle and Chill Out Lounge with mini massage sessions to nourish your Body, Heart & Soul! Presented by The Dancing Path™ & Energy of Breath™. www.thedancingpath.com OCT 17, 12:30-7:30pm • DTW Transformational Dance, manifestation, and drawing exercises empower you to remove blockages, gain clarity, and manifest your hearts truest desires! www.thedancingpath.com
Barefoot Boogie (F)
CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY 219 Sullivan St CLUB H 423 W 55th St DANCE FORUM 20 E 17th St DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP 219 W 19th St, 3rd Flr, btw 7th & 8th JOFFREY BALLET SCHOOL 434 6th Ave, 4th Flr, near W 10th St KAKINI HEALING CENTER 155 W 72nd St, Suite 205 KEYSTONE STUDIO 252 W 30th St #4B
5Rhythms® Light Waves (F)
Dance & Manifest Your Best Life Workshop with Trinity
7:15-9:30pm • DTW 2nd Saturday every month www.thedancingpath.com
Locations
thursday
Dancemeditation Intensive with Dunya WEBSITES
www.5rhythms.com www.barefootboogie.org www.dancemeditation.org www.energyofbreath.com www.gabrielleroth.com groups.yahoo.com/group/contactnyc www.kakinihealth.com myspace.com/openmusiccircle www.oriensliving.com www.parashakti.org www.thedancingpath.com web.me.com/biodanzazambia
To advertise on this page, please contact Trinity at: trinity@conciousdancer.com
NOV 5-9, 12-6pm • Moving Body Resources Inner Freedom, Outer Ease. Lush Motion, Purest Bellydance. Wave, Rocking, Vibration Sequences. Sufi Sleep. Tidal Spine. Fern Spine. Radiant Heart. (212) 226-2114 / dervish@dancemeditation.org
Illuminate - A Spiritual Night Club
NOV 14, 8pm-2am • The Open Center Join Parashakti, GlobeSonic DJ Fabian, and others where club culture meets Earth based medicine. ILLUMINATE draws on exhilarating ceremonies, invocations, live drumming and a world music ecstatic dance party. www.parashakti.org
Costa Rica Breath & Shamanic Retreat DEC 5-16 • Costa Rica Come breathe, rebirth in the ocean, journey with shaman, cleanse, meditate, and dance! Join Rohi and Giten of the Energy Of Breath Institute in the Osa Peninsula on the beach and in the rainforest. www.energyofbreath.com
Somatic Movement Arts Festival
OCT 6–11 Los Angeles, CA How do we sustain embodied interaction with our surroundings while connecting with our internal kinesthetic experience? In its third year, this pioneering event enhances somatic awareness in practice, performance, and daily life. A week of workshops, performances, discussions, and jams features artists from diverse somatic modalities including Continuum, Body-Mind Centering, yoga, Moving Theater, Tamalpa Experience, Ideokinesis, Laban/Bartenieff, Authentic Movement, Contact Improvisation, and Axis Syllabus. Fostering physical and perceptual transformation, we deepen our creativity, presence, articulation, self discovery, internal spaciousness, sensory integration, and liquid strength. www.somafest.org
ground
Symbiosis Annual Gathering
SEP 17–21 Yosemite, CA Symbiosis Gathering is a synaesthesia of art, music, transformational learning, and sustainable living. We will feature performances from over 120 live and electronic musicians, as well as a world-class lineup of speakers, workshops, and special presentations. Large-scale art installations and a variety of interactive performances will create an atmosphere to awe, inspire, and engage. Join us for five days of camping, swimming, and dancing under the sun and stars!
floor
www.symbiosisgathering.com
Water Woman Festival
OCT 1–4 Joshua Tree, CA Water Woman honors the spirit of artistic creative culture-making of the highest order and rides the cutting edge of everything that is happening right now. The festival is a hands-on interactive art and ecological experience featuring top artists, architects, natural builders, permaculture designers, speakers, teachers, musicians, and inspirational visionaries. Festival-goers will have fun, dance, and learn to live in balance with nature; experience cutting-edge alternative technologies; mingle with extreme green artists; help build beautifully and rebirth the site; support the development of eco settlements; and honor The Goddess of Life. Be showered with possibilities! www.waterwomanfestival.com
retreats & workshops BeingLoved: Dance Your Inner Lover
OCT 2–4 Flat Rock, NC With her Nia and Soul Motion influences, Liz Ganz offers a way to deepen the experience and allow the beauty of time to enhance the beingLoved process. This three-day experience starts on Friday evening with a practice of dancing truth, helping participants set the tone and clarify their intentions for the weekend. On Saturday, participants are introduced to the Alchemy of beingLoved, including the Archetypes and what they have to offer you. On Sunday, you will engage in the practice of Dreaming while Awake, where we come to feel the place of no separation, blissful union with self, each other, and all there is. Dreaming while Awake integrates all of the individual desires into ONE loving sensation of beauty. www.beingloved.org
Breema - The Art of Being Present
OCT 10–15 Oakland, CA In this six-day fall intensive, Breema emphasizes a practical approach to body-mind connection in an atmosphere of nonjudgment and mutual support. You'll learn a variety of relaxing, revitalizing SelfBreema exercises and Breema bodywork sequences, expressing the nine unifying principles of Breema through touch and movement. Practicing the art of being present fosters self-understanding and enables us to let go of conditioned patterns and connect to more natural ways of moving, thinking, and feeling. Classes present bodywork sequences that can be combined to create whole-body (foot-to-head) treatments. Time for review and practice is provided in each class. Workshops provide in-depth exploration of different facets of the bodywork and principles of Breema. www.breema.com
rhythm Experience it!!
Bringing Forth the
Magic
of the
Muse
Retreat Programs & Events Wild Dolphin Muse Adventures Live Music Drum & Dance Retreats in Costa Rica Alchemuse Fire Ceremony
Specializing in Women’s Programs
JWA[J_DW
workshops with Zorina & Deborah Austin TX Oct 16–18 Honolulu HI Nov 13–15 Redwood City CA Dec 4–6 h[]_ijhWj_ed%_d\e
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BUY THE BOOK!
Muse Power How Recreational Music Making Heals us From Depression and the Symptoms of Modern Culture
Available online: www.cherishanti.com/products.html
www.cherishanti .com 720-234-0921
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festivals
TaKeTiNa was developed by
Reinhard Flatischler
conscious dancer | FALL 2009
33
CLASSES, WORKSHOPS & EVENTS at www.ConsciousDancer.com
Deep in the heart of
Texas LOCATIONS Ecstatic Dance Houston at Planet Funk 5731 Logan Ln, Houston www.ecstaticdancehouston.com (281)748-8080
Hope Stone
with Leslie Scates 1210 West Clay #26 Houston, Texas www.hopestoneinc.org (713) 824-1197
Austin Yoga School 1122-C S Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas www.dancingtogether.org (512) 923-4643
Crazywood Dance Spa 1416 Sam Houston Ave Huntsville, Texas www.crazywood.org (936) 662-5250
5Rhythms Classes
Galaxy Dance Studios www.dancingfirelizards.com ldeland@earthlink.net (512) 680-4212
Body Choir
Galaxy Dance Studios 1700 S. Lamar #338 Austin, Texas www.bodychoir.org (512) 680-4212
Heather Spiller-Gream
MA, CEAP Various Locations in Dallas www.drumdancesingsilence.com drumdancesing@live.com (817) 229-6134
OPEN NOW
Galaxy Dance Studio
1700 S. Lamar #338 Austin, Texas See website for schedule www.galaxydancestudios.org (512) 442-5299
HOUSTON DALLAS AUSTIN HUNTSVILLE
SCHEDULE
EVENTS
7:30 - 8:30pm 7:45 - 9:45pm 7:45 - 9:45pm
Nia (Heather) PureWellness Dancing Together Austin Yoga Body Choir Galaxy Studios
5RHYTHMS® WORKSHOP RELEASE IN THE RHYTHMS
Partner Yoga / Contact Improv Crazywood Contact Improv Austin Yoga
ldeland@earthlink.net www.dancingfirelizards.com
MONDAY
TUESDAY 6:00 - 7:30pm
8:00 - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY 9:30 - 10:30am 7:45 - 9:45pm 7:45 - 9:45pm
Nia (Heather) Studio B Dancing Together Austin Yoga Body Choir Galaxy Studios
THURSDAY
6:30 - 7:30 pm 7:30 - 8:45pm
5 Stages (Heather) PureWellness Conscious Dance PureWellness
(Heather)
7:30 - 9:30pm
5Rhythms®
FRIDAY
7:45 - 9:45pm 7:45 - 9:45pm
Galaxy Studios
Body Choir Galaxy Studios Dancing Together Austin Yoga
SUNDAY
10:00am - 12:00 Body Choir Galaxy Studios 10:00am - 12:00 Dancing Together Austin Yoga 10:00am - 12:00 Ecstatic Dance Houston with SunShine at Planet Funk 1:00 - 3:00pm 5Rhythms® Galaxy Studios 6:00 - 8:00pm Contact Improv Hope Stone (see website for details) 4:30 - 6:00pm Contact Improv Austin Yoga
In the heart of dance:
eventscommunitymusicandyou! BRAZIL
Houston
DAILY JUICE
Austin
DANCING CHEF CATERING Lizzie29@aol.com
PC GURU
Austin
October 23-25, 2009 Austin, TX
MONTHLY DALLAS EVENTS: ALL-AGES BAREFOOT BOOGIE & HEALTHY POTLUCK Unity Church on Greenville Ave. Dallas CONSCIOUS DANCE EVENT Chi Yoga Check website for dates/details www.drumdancesingsilence.com DANCE SLUMBER PARTY
Last Fridays at Crazywood
Fri 9:00-11:00pm & Sat 10:00am-noon Begins Oct. 30th with the Ghost Dance Cost is $95 and includes continuous buffet, overnight, and spa
Crazywood is a yoga
and dance spa available for workshops and retreats.Located in Huntsville, Texas, one hour north of Houston, 2.5 hours East of Austin. The facility includes 2500 sq ft.floated maple dance floor. Indoor and outdoor showers and a cold plunge area. Indoor soaking tub and 1000 cubic ft.steam room. Kitchen facilities and camping area. Hotel accommodations nearby.
retreats & workshops Body Wisdom Retreat
JAN 16–24 Big Island, HI The Body Wisdom Retreat at Kalani Retreat will teach you ways to develop your “spiritual intelligence.” The program is a unique combination of two long-standing programs on our course curriculum—The TranceDance Experience (and other related shamanic dance structures) and The Results Course. TranceDance is a body-centered process that will open you to a significantly deeper understanding of your individual body-mind consciousness—meaning how you can utilize all of your senses when seeking solutions to life issues as well as creating specific outcomes in your life. The Results Course is an 18-hour course that teaches the mechanics of the creative process and the practical principles of manifesting. Together these two disciplines balance out our body/mind connection. Facilitated by Wilbert Alix, the retreat is a very practical exploration of magical principles that can be applied to your everyday life. www.trancedance.com
Embody Your Beauty Workshop
NOV 5–8 York Harbor, ME Join Robyn Maltz and Susie Schoonmaker, mind-body mentors, and embody your body. Do you struggle with self-love and self-acceptance in the face of cultural attitudes? Do you have a daily plan for nurturing self-awareness? Join us for a long weekend of creative exploration of these issues through expressive arts activities, Nia classes, personal integration, and selfreflection in a fun and supportive environment. Learn a new way to live in your body and love your life at a beautiful inn and spa on the southern coast of Maine, just over one hour north of Boston. www.embodyyourbeauty.com
Hawaiian Ecstasy Rejuvenation Retreat
OCT 24–30 Big Island, HI Come rejuvenate your body, feed your soul, and ignite your creative fire in one of the most potent natural environments on the planet, where active lava flows meet crystalline ocean waters, where tidal pools, waterfalls, and thermal hot springs abound, where green foliage and clear skies offer a pranic refuge. Immerse yourself into practices that renew, activate your creative energies, and awaken the healing artist within you. Retreat activities include ecstatic dance and world music/ percussion journeys with Craig Kohland and Micheline Berry, daily yoga, authentic indigenous Hawaiian ritual and hula dance, water gong meditations, organic feasting, and more. www.zendancing.com
I Can Do It! 2009 - Tampa
NOV 19–22 Tampa, FL Enjoy spiritual nourishment for your soul! Best-selling author and self-help pioneer Louise L. Hay welcomes you to this extraordinary weekend conference with her simple messages about affirmations and how to use the power of your thoughts to heal your life. The conference features four days of more than 30 compelling lectures by a diversity of experts, including world-renowned psychic Sylvia Browne, Gregg Braden, vibrational healer Sonia Choquette, psychic medium John Holland, medium and clairvoyant Lisa Williams, cell biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton, and New York Times best-selling author and spiritual activist Marianne Williamson. www.hayhouse.com
Integration: A Soul Motion™ Experience
OCT 22–25 Port Townsend, WA "Soul Motion," writes "Minister of Soul" Vinn Martí, "is a movement ministry, a dance practice, and a philosophy of living that supports our unconditional acceptance of 'what is' and our fearless exploration outside the box of the familiar, sleep-inducing trance we sometimes find ourselves dancing to. We use the dance as metaphor for living a creative, expressive, and unified life of integrity, immensity, and intensity. In our four days together we will nudge the spirit of innovative action and creativity to awaken and hold a high watch of unconditional acceptance as we stumble our way toward self-expression, self-acceptance, and self-recognition: we are spirit dancing this human experience." Integration provides a venue to awaken to this concept—uniting spirit with the everyday dance. Martí, designer of Soul Motion, is an award-winning
performer and choreographer, helping individuals realize their potential in creative movement and dance since 1976. www.MadronaMindBody.com
Mettler Studios’ Winter Workshop In Tucson, Arizona
New Soul Series with Fabien Maman
SEP 18–20 Malibu, CA In Tama-Do we work with the eight Master Stars of the eight directions of the Universe, placing the human being in greater resonance with the energy patterns of earth and sky. In this Master Class, Initiates will deepen their link with each of the eight Master Stars, channeling each of their unique energy frequencies through fundamental movement. We will be working with nature and in Tama-Do’s Bagwa®, a magnificent eightsided, 13-foot cathedral of sound. Once we receive our personal Soul dance for each star, we will learn to transmit this energy in our healing work. We will also be deepening our practice of Tao Yin Fa Series III and IV. 800.615.3675 / info@tama-do.com
Nia in Paradise
MAR 13–20 Chacala Beach, Mexico Experience the best week of your year in paradise. Join Nia Black Belt Danielle Woermann and Brown Belt Monica Walker for a week of spirited and healing Nia classes. Delve into Nia principles and concepts that inspire you to move more joyfully, efficiently, and in a connected way both in and outside of class. Perfect for both the seasoned practitioners and first timers, this retreat promises deep connection, great joy, and easy relaxation. Enjoy two Nia classes, hours of sun bathing and beach combing, adventurous excursions, delicious locally grown food, healing spa services, and great company! www.niadanielle.com
Nia White Belt Intensive with Holly Curtis
DEC 4–10 Washington, DC Whether you want to know more about Nia, become a Nia Teacher, or have a week of dance and movement to connect with yourself, the Intensive will be transformational and educational. The White Belt Intensive Training is highly interactive, using both cognitive and experiential learning models along with the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. You will study movement dynamics, body-mind physiology, kinesiology, choreography, music appreciation and notation, x-ray anatomy, and more. Each day is divided into highly interactive sessions where you learn, move, and practice Nia’s body of work. www.niaeducation.com
Northern California Dance Collective Retreat DEC 4–6 Santa Cruz, CA NCDC hosts a weekend getaway at Monte Toyon Camp, near Santa Cruz. Enjoy a lovely, sweet, and deep time at this beautiful retreat center in the redwoods. Often it is rainy and we spend our time indoors, taking classes, sitting around the fireplace and singing songs, dancing at night in the beautiful lodge. When the sun peeks out, we take hikes up to the ridge for wonderful views of the ocean. www.ncdcdances.org/winter_retreat.php
Nourish Your Nature Retreat
NOV 6–8 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Blissfully honor your true self with an intimate weekend to experience your connection with the Universal Source. Use the Isis Channeling and Feng Shui Deluxe Kit to learn how to communicate with your Soul Self, your Spirit Guides, and loved ones who have passed. Learn how to bring love, financial freedom, and good health to your life with Feng Shui. Retreat includes soul chart readings, yoga, meditation, live music, chanting, energy demonstrations, massage, and vegetarian/ vegan treats. www.AhanaEnterprises.com
One Spirit Weekend
OCT 2–5 Sedona, AZ Now is the time to step into your Conscious Leadership role! Join Awakening Leaders and experience a body, mind, soul, and conscious business event at a 165-acre Zen center in the vortexes of Sedona. Enjoy Sacred Movement classes all day and experience prominent world-class speakers on vibrant health, prosperity consciousness, community, conscious business, and much more. Learn necessary tools and techniques to fulfill your role in this new paradigm. Your One Spirit Community awaits you. www.onespiritweekend.com
CREATIVE DANCE
for Adults
Individual & Group
IMPROVISATION at the Tucson Creative Dance Center January 4-8, 2010 Tuition: $300 (financial aid available)
Dancers and dance educators on all levels and professionals in the fields of education, recreation, and therapy are encouraged to take part. No previous experience is necessary. For Information or to register contact: Griff Goehring
griff@creativedancecenter.org 802.380.0068
RUDOLF STEINER COLLEGE
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916-961-8727 ext. 100
e-mail: rsc @ steinercollege.edu
Open Your Heart in Paradise conscious dancer | FALL 2009
35
DEC 10–15 Maui, HI Enjoy contemplations and insights daily with Ram Dass. Immerse yourself in chants of devotion with Krishna Das. Practice yoga with the masterful Saul David Raye and follow the mindful meditations of Therese Fitzgerald every morning. Experience native Hawaiian ceremony and rituals with Lei ohu Ryder. All of this and more at the Napili Kai Beach Resort on Maui—an absolutely beautiful property with resort accommodations, superb international cuisine, and pristine beaches for swimming and snorkeling with turtles. www.ramdass.org
Paint and Dance from the Source
SEP 20–25 Stockbridge, MA Aviva Gold and Toni Bergins lead this “magical journey to the beloved,” an adventure into the Temple of Paint and Dance. The experience combines these two powerful and ancient rituals for healing, moving back and forth between dancing and painting on a journey of radical breakthrough to the authentic Self. Use paint, dance, and other creative modes to dive deep into the shamanistic source of all creation and healing. Paint not for outcome, but to be in the moment. Paint and dance until your mind releases judgments, comparisons, and personal stories. Paint until the painting paints you, until the dance dances you, until you paint the dance and dance the paint. This is living poetic myth, a sacred container in which painters and dancers bond in openhearted community. www.kripalu.com
Rainbow Awakening Retreat
JAN 10–16 Maui, HI Join us in the luscious and tranquil sanctuary of Hana, Maui. We have created an exciting and integrated retreat to explore the Chakras, our essential energy centers. Our days will include sunrise yoga and meditation, crystal bowl vibrational healing, transformative workshops, organic "living" and superfoods, incredibly nature adventures, and evenings filled with live music. www.rainbowawakeningretreat.com
Release: 5Rhythms Waves Workshop
CENTER MOVEMENT EDUCATION RESEARCH FOR
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DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY Understand the therapeutic role of movement in expression and behavior.
Alternate Route Training Intro DMT Workshops CE Classes for MFT/LCSW
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Intro to DMT Nov. 15, 2009
Sonoma State University
For course, enrollment, and refund policy information, please visit our website at:
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310-477-9535
California BBS CE Provider #3888
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conscious dancer | FALL 2009
NOV 6–8 Santa Fe, NM Anything goes—being seduced by music and dance and tapping into truthful body gestures allows silence and sound to inspire art, healing, fitness, and emotions into a weekend of a deepening nonverbal body journey. Facilitated by Amara Pagano, co-hosted by Elizabeth, Nia Black Belt, everybody is invited to join in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dancing story of discovery. "Release" is a 5Rhythms waves workshop that focuses on the motion of letting go, on learning to trust the motion of letting go as it delivers us over and over into the unfolding moment. Move with the freedom and spontaneity in your heart! www.embodydancesantafe.org/events.html
Sacred Dance with Dolphins
OCT 24–30 Big Island, HI Expand and raise your vibration as you dance into intimate reunion withbody, self and soul. In Sacred Dance with Dolphins we prepare the temple of our spirit through movement, dance, meditation, and breath practices to invoke and deepen the sacredness of our connection to all of creation. Join Leela Francis of VividExistence and renowned wild dolphin swim guide Roberta Goodman to embody, dance, and radiate in oneness with the divine love and healing frequency of wild dolphins. www.VividExistence.com
Secrets of InterPlay in Seattle
OCT 1–4 Seattle, WA Unlock the wisdom of the body! This nonresidential retreat covers the techniques and body wisdom principles of InterPlay. "Secrets of InterPlay" is part of the core curriculum for those enrolled in or considering the InterPlay Life Practice Program, and will be led by Cynthia Winton-Henry, cofounder of InterPlay, teacher, performer, writer, and organizer. Cynthia is interested in the use of InterPlay for individual and group healing, fostering freedom, and innovating down-to-earth strategies for playing with life issues. The workshop is also open to anyone desiring an in-depth introduction to InterPlay, a set of practical tools and ideas to help us thrive, reclaim our lives, and get more of what we want. www.interplay.org/retreats.asp
Soul’s Rhythm
JAN 24–28 Goa, India Travel to India for a weekend of embodied movement and ecstatic dance grounded in the 5Rhythms® of Gabrielle Roth and the stirring work of Soul Motion™. Following the inspiration of the inner heartbeat and outer deeply felt music, we will journey to a core connection with our ecstatic selves. Jo Cobbett holds space to find the adventure that life is holding for you in each moment and embrace the life you have been called to live. Use the tools of breath, listening, open dancing, written and spoken word, as well as witnessed and shared exercises, to create a new level of connection to our full potential selves. www.brahmaniyoga.com
jp_biz(o).indd 1
South African Improvisation Meeting (SAIM)
SEP 22 – OCT 2 Cape Town, South Africa Intensive dance and improvisation seminars for performers, dancers, movers, and educators in Cape Town, South Africa. Baba Yaga Theatre is proud to announce SAIM, co-hosted by UCT School of Dance and Stellenbosch Drama Department. The SAIM will focus on Contact Improvisation and improvisation with top international teachers: Kirstie Simson (Chicago), Bo Madvig (Copenhagen), Jori Snell (Holland/Denmark), and Nicky Visser (S.A). The workshops are open to all level participants who are interested in learning more about Contact Improvisation as a means to expand their movement vocabulary, reconnecting to a place of authenticity, and to learn tools whereby improvisation becomes a performing art in itself. Various workshops, classes, and open jams. babayagatheatre@gmail.com
Spiritual Nutrition with The Fathomless Five
SEP 24, OCT 21, NOV 7 New York, NY The Science of Fasting is a powerful workshop designed to demonstrate the effects of juice fasting on the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual, being and the overall effect of a plant source diet on the entire planet. Juice fasting not only cleanses the physical body, but also the emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, thus affecting our quality of life and how, after the fast, we choose to live in the world. Join the The Fathomless Five to learn how to improve concentration, expand creative thinking, cease insomnia, fade anxieties, and become more tranquil, promoting the natural joy of living. The Fathomless Five are experts in spiritual nutrition, movement therapy, psychology, creative writing, and the medical field. Join Raw CEO Doug Evans; Parashakti, the founder of Dance of Liberation; Carol Marie of Karuna Wellness; Neal Borowsky of Steel Neal; and other guest educators.
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Bookkeeping Set Up and Training Quicken and Quickbooks
With a hybrid of DJʼd music accentuated with live percussion and flute. In the beautiful old Davies Theatre Building at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains
Financial Coaching Learning to use a budget (Map of Intention) Tax Consulting & Filing *Individuals, Couples, Families & Entrepreneurs *Private Sessions & Tele Courses
WWW .IMJAM. NET 568 E. Mount Curve Ave, Altadena, CA
Facebook & Twitter: MovementJam UPCOMING TELECOURSES Free Introductory TeleSeminars Level I: Wake UP With Money Foundation Course Level II: Map of Intention Budget Course
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Universal Rhythm: Music and Trance Dance
Yoga Meets Dance Teacher Training
OCT 15–25 Sedona, AZ Set your body, mind, and spirit wildly free! Relax your body and mind with gentle stretching, then soar into a wildly fun transformational dance journey for all ages, shapes, and sizes, non-dancers and dancers. Be swept away, inspired, and uplifted. Unleash dormant energy and dissolve energy blocks while receiving an easy aerobic workout that never feels like exercise. Then melt into deep relaxation at the frequency state where healing on many levels can take place. Benefits reach well beyond the physical, into the emotional, mental, and spiritual realms, restoring a deep sense of well-being to one's entire being. www.yogameetsdance.com
Bari Tessler M.A. Founder
We are a team of Financial Therapists, Bookkeeping Trainers and Financial Coaches here to support you in transforming your relationship with money! ISBN 978-0-9715994-3
NOV 3–8 Marrakesh, Morocco Dive into the univeral ecstatic rhythm with Shiva Rea, Patrick Richey, and extraordinary Berber and Gnawa musicians. In a retreat center outside of the pulse of Marrakesh, the desert and Atlas Mountains at a distance, we will immerse into the pulse of Moroccan trance culture. Each day will begin with the sacred activation with three hours of prana flow energetic vinyasa and meditation to the pulse of Moroccan music and chant. Following a delicious brunch, you will be free to rest, heal in the Hammam spas, explore Marrakesh via free shuttles, and then dive into optional afternoon immersions into Moroccan music and trance dance culture where you can learn frame drum rhythms and various dance forms. Some evenings will be free, but most will include additional yoga sessions, ecstatic Kirtan with beloved Dave Stringer, and an all-night Moroccan Trance Dance. www.yogadventures.com
Written by a teacher of ballet, expressive, and sacred dance, Lisa Michaels. Claim 4 free gifts NOW when you visit www.naturalrhythms.org.
Live in Boulder and San Francisco Phone consulting and TeleCourses for our national clientele
For more information, visit: www.consciousbookkeeping.com info@consciousbookkeeping.com
1-888-518-1990 conscious dancer | FALL 2009
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REVIEWS BOOKS Mehmet Oz Julia Cameron Larry Dossey Andrew Weil Melody Beattie Deepak Chopra Candace Pert Dean Ornish Daryl Hannah Wayne Dyer John Bradshaw Pema Chodron Bruce Lipton Alice Walker Prince Charles Mariel Hemingway John Gray Gay Hendricks Donna Eden David Feinstein Sharon Begley Gary Craig Stephen Post Beverly Davis Barry Sears Dawson Church Rollin McCraty Jim Strohecker David Gruder James Endredy Brenda Sanders Jonathon Foust Shiloh McCloud Richard Gracer Auriela McCarthy John Spencer Ellis Olivia Mellan Stephen Lewis Maureen Whitehouse Ling Chen Bernice Nelson Topher Morrison Servaas Mes Nancy Auspelmyer Raffaele Filice Tonja Demoff Eoin Finn Mary Ellen Edwards Tom Ambrose Marianne Williamson Lynne McTaggart Michael Beckwith Stanley Krippner Eckart Tolle Caroline Myss
Peak Vitality: Raising the Threshold of Abundance in Our Material, Spiritual and Emotional Lives – Editor: Jeanne House, M.A.
This anthology teams up today’s top wellness revolutionaries who share breakthrough tips on how to exceed your current best—in health, wealth, happiness, and performance. Indeed, if you have to place your life in the hands of a team of professionals, this is the ideal group, with Andrew Weil, Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra, Dean Ornish, and Eckhart Tolle among others (52 to be exact) offering up their expertise on optimal living. Peak Vitality is a holistic (and realistic) educational read on how to reach your highest potential. Coming from many different perspectives, these writRaising the Threshold of Abundance in Our Material, ers all share the goal of aspiring to greater wholeness and awareness. Divided Spiritual and Emotional Lives into eight sections, the book offers a number of transformative takeaways in tiny doses with multiple, condensed chapters covering various aspects of the whole person: mind, body, spirit, emotions, energy, relationships, lifestyle, JEANNE M. HOUSE, M.A. and environment. You can pick and choose your life area most in need of attention or do a full self-overhaul. Apply the wisdom contained in the pages of this book, and there’s a good chance your life will improve exponentially with the best of the best coaching and pushing you toward the upper limits of the life you are meant to live. Although this is not a book on dance per se, body and movement have an influence throughout. Sound and movement facilitator Mary Ellen Edward’s chapter, “In Relation: The Dance of Connection,” metaphorically (and literally) encourages us to dance our dance in celebration of self, soul, and connection to others. With the chapter “Self Hidden in the Present Time,” somatic pioneer Servaas Mes brings awareness to our strongest tool for keeping ourselves in the here and now—our body. The recommendation: to live somatic moment by somatic moment. Energy healer Donna Eden’s chapter entitled “Dancing With the Five Rhythms of Nature” offers guidance on how to navigate the rhythm ride of the energies of the five elements, including a 5-Minute Energy Routine to keep you energetically fit. By some current scientific estimates, as much as 30 percent of our health is determined by genetics and 70 percent is determined by lifestyle. If this is truly the circumstance we live by, then greater levels of vibrancy and aliveness are within our reach. The first thing you can do on your own journey is to grab a copy of Peak Vitality and adopt a new belief: Expansion is limitless! www.peakvitality.org
the ocean refuses a Soul Motion™ Experience hosted weekly by Michael Z. Thursdays, 6:30 - 8:00 pm Jeffrey Bihr Studio Oakland’s Rockridge district { 5-minute walk from Rockridge BART } DANCE the dance that you are. move with music, move in silence. alone, together. listening, inside and out. express. exalt. exhale. DANCE
.
Private sessions, special events, too:
lucid_mz@hotmail.com 510-847-7736
www.lucidmz.blogspot.com
Michael Zipkin is a Soul Motion Apprentice
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conscious dancer | FALL 2009
PEAK VIT LIT A
EDITED
Y
BY
Matrix Energetics: The Science and Art of Transformation – By Richard Bartlett Sub-quantum physics meets holistic modalities in Richard Bartlett’s award-winning guide, which provides practical, handson instruction along with the fundamental science of transformational therapies. According to Dr. Bartlett, our bodies are composed of living crystalline energy that can be positively affected by focused thought and touch. Offering anecdotal evidence from his own chiropractic work as well as testimonials from patients and other practitioners, Dr. Bartlett makes a case for letting go of our expectations and looking beyond our perceptual filters to redefine what we understand as “healing.” Anyone wishing to explore the world of psychoenergetics will appreciate Dr. Bartlett’s simple, straightforward, and often humorous approach to using the power of imagination to connect with the frequency domain known as the Zero Point Energy Field. His techniques require no special training—only a willingness to let go of old ways of thinking. Dr. Bartlett believes that when we become one with the vacuum space between particles within the body made of atoms and electrons, human intention can strongly influence physical and mental outcomes. When we give ourselves the freedom to allow different expectations from the usual problem-solution paradigm, he believes, miracles can unfold. This book is an excellent choice for anyone interested in advancing his or her knowledge of healing, holistic medicine, and human potential. www.matrixenergetics.com
MUSE POWER: How Recreational MusicMaking Heals Us from Depression and Other Symptoms of Modern Culture By Cheri Shanti “Craving something deeper?” asks Shanti. “Music heals us; music brings us together; music builds community; music is the universal language of all time, all space. This is your invitation!” In Shanti’s eyes, each of us is capable of being a musician, and by doing so we can experience a greater sense of community, feeling of belonging, and ability to overcome depression, anxiety, and deep-seated fears. As shown through Shanti’s own story and those shared throughout the book, the experiences of playing music, dancing, drumming, and participatory music-making can create mysterious openings and transformations in our lives. These opportunities allow us to explore our longing for human connection in ways that modern culture does not: Western society’s usual space for tribal experience—the bar or nightclub—may capitalize on the vital human need to be together, but it capitalizes equally on disconnection, depression, and anxiety. There is indeed a hunger for a deeper community sharing in a place more sacred than a bar. Shanti offers insight into how to overcome our fears and “I can’t do it” programming around the sacred and magical play of music-making, so we can bring it into our lives as a daily practice. No matter your experience level, Muse Power is likely to touch something in you and entice you to play, dance, sing, and share. www.cherishanti.com
heARTistry in Motion â&#x201E;˘ awaken your creative spirit live painting performing arts movement www.heartistryinmotion.com
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
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Watsu
®
WAT E R DA N C E
Relax…Release…Surrender…
Tmassage in a pool of warm water in the
A quiet world of healing and transformation reat yourself
to this nurturing
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REVIEWS CDs
DVDs
Song of the Tree: Lis Addison
The Shadow Effect: Debbie Ford
Bridging the gap between ethereal and ambient, this evocative collection of lengthy tracks is a soothing and sensual soundtrack for movement or meditation. Composer Lis Addison uses her voice to tone, sing, and chant her way through the seven chakras, guiding us to a higher vibration with her signature practice VoChet, or Vocal Chakra Healing Tones. Beautiful sounds create passages that are both calming and enlivening. Complemented by an informative booklet that facilitates an understanding of the voice in relation to the chakras, this CD package is a useful tool for healing as well as a delightful listen. www.allaglowmusic.com
Embrace the wisdom and rewards of becoming one with your shadow side in this inspiring and visually stunning documentary. Therapist and best-selling author Debbie Ford, creator of the Shadow Process Workshop, along with renowned healers Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, James Van Praagh and Mark Victor Hansen, reveal the potential power of the hidden, repressed self. Powerful testimonials and eight transformational exercises encourage viewers to identify and integrate the light and dark aspects of their personality, bringing renewed insight to a long-neglected and misunderstood aspect of our psyches. www.hayhouse.com
Shaman’s Dream Dance: Dream: Dance
tranquil hills of San Anselmo. Free from the effects of gravity, your body can unwind in new and unexpected ways.
BOOK THE EXPERIENCE Davida Taurek: 415-455-8981 davida@davidadance.com www.davidadance.com
The global groove artists behind the Shaman’s Dream project have a way of transporting your spirit beyond time and space, while moving your body in the here and now. Produced by the founders of the LA-based live monthly dance ritual Zen Dancing, this collective uses modern electronica to evoke the indigenous roots of all traditions. The welcome sounds of organic instruments and vocals blend seamlessly with dance floor–friendly beats, creating versatile soundscapes for all occasions. Lucid dance music for visionary dreamtime, this album is food for your soul and fuel for your feet. www.shamansdreammusic.com
VividExistence Radiant Heart Groove Join Leela Francis on a somatic journey to bring forth the radiance from within. This captivating DVD is well structured and facilitated with intention. Alternation between soothing ocean backdrops and group studio settings offers a powerful contrast. The sequences flow smoothly as she brings presence to our senses and then grounds us to the earth, encouraging viewers to pull from their inner light as the pace increases. It is a nice balance of affirmations, lightly choreographed movements, and free-flowing expression. Enjoy this dance workout to sense, ground, mobilize, harness, and express the five stages of VividExistence. www.vividexistence.com
MIXER MIX MASTERS SPOTLIGHT
Tat Sat – Top Ten
track title
/
artist
1. Wonderworld – Human Blue 2. Earth Garden – Nada 3. Chang Tzel – United Peace Voices
Rhythm roller-coaster rider DJ Tat Sat (aka Eric Monkhouse) is a vinyasa flow yoga teacher and DJ from the United Kingdom, now residing in Northern California. Using Ableton Live, a Mac laptop, and a hacked controller, he seamlessly mixes ambient, dubstep, breaks, hip-hop, progressive, tribal, and tech house into his sets. Known for finishing every set with his signature didgeridoo outro meditation, he is creating quite a stir on dance floors with his roller-coaster rides of beats, sweat, and emotion. www.yogagroove.net 40
conscious dancer | FALL 2009
5. Aidr Adirim – Balkan Beatbox 6. B-Boy Stance – Freestylers 7. Deez Bass Lessen – Tipper 8. In the Shadows – Lovebirds 9. Jet Lag Slave – D-Nox & Beckers 10. As the Rush Comes – Motorcycle
Photo: Julie Weisberg
DJ Tat Sat
4. Never Ending – Esion Jim
Experience TaKeTiNa
Rhythm in Action Rhythm Meditation for a Healthy Body & Brain www.rhythminaction.com
Body of Sound ® A Journey into Rhythm, Voice & Movement with Alyssa DeCaro
Explore your body as an instrument through Body Percussion, Vocal Expression, Ecstatic Dance, Contact Improvisation, Circle Song and Balinese Kecak *Retreat in Bali, Indonesia Sept. 20-27th, 2009* *Esalen Institute, Big Sur, Ca June 11-13th, 2010* Weekly classes in San Francisco Thursdays 6-7:30 PM at Twin Space 2111 Mission St., Suite 300 (at 17th) www.BodyofSound.com - info@bodyofsound.com - 1-415-971-6452 Interested in Booking for your event? Please call 1-415-519-4592
“Re-wire your Brain - Tune your Muscles!”
5Rhythms Movement Practice ®
with Margaret H. Wagner
"Join the Movement"
weekly Saturday mornings in New York City monthly in Connecticut margaret@MargaretWagner.com
www.Muscle-Brain.com
203.209.0047
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conscious dancer | fall 2009
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RESULTS energy blend of dance, martial arts, and yoga— fitness with a dash of joy!
Artisana Niu kinolau Ku
Kalpa Vriksha (Coconut The Tree Of life)
Evolutionary Organic Creation crust: 1c each almond flour and flax flour. (grind separately in a vitamix or coffee grinder) try dark and light flax for taste preference 1/3 c. date paste (soak fresh dates a few minutes in water if need be, pit, and press firmly into measuring cup) ¼ c. Artisana coconut butter (not oil!) 1 c. raisins (mannuka or red flame. Look for raisins not coated with oils, ie safflower oil) ½ tsp. cinnamon reserve ½ c. raisins. Blend all ingredients in food processor until well combined (about 1 minute). Add the reserved raisins and blend for about 3-5 seconds so chunks remain. Coconut cream: 1 c. “fresh” macs (must be white and sweet! Not yellow, rancid and bitter!) ¼ c. Artisana coconut butter (not oil!) 1 ½ c. filtered water ¼ c. date paste 1 whole vanilla bean (the whole pod, not just the seeds)
Nia saved my life … twice!
blend in a high powered blender (ie vitamix) until creamy smooth, but don’t let it get too warm. Makes about 2 cups. Fruit: 4 spotted ripe large bananas, coarse sliced and then chopped. 1 ½ c. blueberries (frozen is fine) to assemble pie: press crust into pie plate. Use spatula to add banana layer, working the banana until all air pockets are gone and the banana forms a gel like smooth solid surface. Next, spatula about 1 ½ cups of the vanilla cream across the banana layer, or more if you like. Finally, place a nearly solid layer of blueberries onto the cream. That’s it! Enjoy! You can place it in the freezer for a couple hours to help firm it up before serving. It also freezes very well for longer storage. Thank you to Christian Mastor of Sebastapol for this Awesome Recipe!
Premier Organics
www.premierorganics.org (866) 237-8688
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conscious dancer | FALL 2009
Jim Williams Actor and Nia Black Belt instructor Brooklyn, New York Age: 64 Activities: Hiking, biking, kayaking, climbing, and Nia
That was my life in a nutshell before I discovered—or should I say was forced to discover—Nia, a system of integrated, dynamic movement that combines martial arts, dance, and healing. Created by Debbie and Carlos Rosas, Nia focuses on conditioning the body and the nervous system using a unique combination of movement, imagination, music, emotion, and vocal sound. One day, a friend dragged me to a Nia class at the YMCA in New York City. That day was to become a turning point for me. In fact, it saved my life! Immediately after beginning that first class, I began releasing things that had been locked inside. I experienced unfamiliar sensations that I later realized was Joy Energy. I felt empowered, alive, and bursting with potential. By the end of the class, I felt that life was good—something I hadn’t felt in many years. Encouraged by this experience, I became a Nia instructor in 1998. After many intensive, and sometimes humbling, classes, I completed my Black Belt in 2004. By then, I had achieved a level of fitness I hadn’t known since my days in the Marines in the mid-’60s. Just three years after beginning Nia, I felt such relief from my lifelong depression that I was able to wean myself off all medication. The positive, balancing effects of Nia were felt not only in my personal and financial life, but in the flourishing of my acting career. But there’s more to the story. As someone who had been devoted to a healthy, vegetarian diet and an active lifestyle for years, it never occurred to me that I might be a candidate for a heart attack. My cholesterol level was normal. I had great blood pressure, and I held a steady 48 bpm heartbeat. I was fit and healthy, right? Wrong. In June, 2007, while teaching, I noticed severe pains in my chest and arm whenever I reached level three. If I slowed down to level one or level two, I was fine. Hiking and kayaking didn’t bring on the symptoms. At first, I thought it was just stress. But a stress test and subsequent angiogram revealed an 85 percent blockage in my coronary arteries, requiring an immediate angioplasty and the insertion of a stent to open up my arteries. I’m convinced that the body awareness Nia had given me saved my life, again! Since then, although I am on medications to prevent high cholesterol and inflammation, I’ve completely recovered. I feel terrific and I am back doing level three Nia, with no pain. Last Tuesday, I took a Nia class and then taught classes on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday I backpacked and camped with my son in the Catskills, where we covered 12 miles in two days at 6,000 feet elevations, sometimes climbing hand over hand. Then, last Monday, I taught another class. Not a bad week, especially for a 64 year old! Without Nia, I wouldn’t even be here to tell the tale, much less have the energy and empowerment it gives me. I intend to continue to dance through life as a fit senior citizen. I hope that my story inspires others to do the same. Find Nia: www.niany.com and www.nianow.com Chronically depressed.
Photos: Joy Cokley / Jim Williams
Nia: A high-
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If you have a passion for dance and a desire to use your skills in a counseling capacity, Antioch University New England’s ADTA-approved programs in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling might be just what you are looking for. Please contact us for the next Visiting Day or visit us online.
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TRAIN to Become a Certified Yoga Dance Teacher with Megha in 2009/2010: Kripalu YogaDance™ Teacher Training October 4 thru 9 LEVEL 1 December 6 thru 11 LEVEL 2 Kripalu Center, Stockbridge, MA
--8 PM Fireball technique---8:30 PM Dance Jazzo------improvisation playground---
Let Your Yoga Dance ® Teacher Training in a Jungle Paradise–for yoga teachers only Feb 7-20, 2010 Nosara Yoga Institute, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Let Your Yoga Dance ® with Sun & Sea! 5774 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles 90019
www.mimodastudio.com
March 19-21 Discovery Yoga, St Augustine, Florida
www.letyouryogadance.com
conscious dancer | summer 2009
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closing circle
" Transformation contains both change and stability, plurality and unity, movement and constancy. It has the nature of life, namely, to connect organically the polar opposites, the stumbling blocks of logic, and to unite them in an all-embracing rhythm."
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