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Dance: 3-D Therapy
Dance: 3D Therapy by Jody T. Morse
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Seated on the couch, I ran my fingers gently over the cool, maroon leather and inhaled the calming scents of lavender and vanilla. Tears spilled over lower lids as I gushed to my therapist, “I feel so lost. Like I can’t connect. Something’s missing, Dawn. Something’s missing in my life.”
Her initial response was comforting, like a soft blanket. “Okay. Good realization, Jody.” Then she probed on, with a hint of challenge. “What else can you tell me?”
“I don’t know. I can’t figure it out. I’m stuck.” More tears flowed and my shoulders sank.
Her subsequent response came with a bit more force as she more pointedly probed. “What have you given up over the past few years? Is it a person, place, or thing?”
As I closed my eyes and relaxed into the moment, the answer became perfectly and instantly clear. What I had lost, what I had given up, what I was missing—was dance.
Three years prior to this particular crisis-intervention, my husband and I had bought an incredible 18-acre ranch in the heart of the Sam Houston National Forest, about an hour and a half northeast of downtown Houston. In doing so, much was gained—privacy, communing with nature, space to have horses and expand our dog rescue efforts. But, as well, I had retired from my 25-year careers in dance and fitness. While I’d replaced the lost creative outlet by launching a career in freelance writing and publishing, this new venture only served my mind and heart; my body had been forgotten, no longer being adequately attending to and connected.
In the session with my beloved therapist, I realized that dance is a 3D therapy—serving and accessing mind, heart, and body; writing—while often cathartic—was only collaborating with two of these three crucial entities. Writing, as much as I loved it, couldn’t replace dance. I needed to find a way back to dancing for therapy.
The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) defines dance or movement therapy as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual. Whether taking a dance class at a studio, going to a club on the weekend with the girls, busting into a waltz while vacuuming, or seeing a professional Dance Movement Therapist (DMT), dance can be a powerful form of therapy. In fact, one that is often overlook in our modern society. Shamans, medicine women, and healers across time and across the world have prescribed movement, physical rituals, and dance as a form of healing and therapy. Sufi Whirling is a form of meditative dance still performed in Islamic communities and countries. In Guinea, women who have endured great adversities in the Malinke tribe engage in a dance to support one another as they shed their worn and tattered clothes and bury them. Chakpop is a form of Korean Buddhist dancing that helps connect them to heavenly beings and serves to offer energizing comfort to its dancers. Closer to home, the Native Americans have had many ritual and communal dances throughout their history including horseback dances—equine therapy meets dance therapy.
Today, I lead a couple of lunchtime classes a week called Move & Mingle—in which we dance, stretch, and commune with one another, building community. Perfect 3D therapy for me and my students. As well, there are a handful of other Nia and Buti Yoga classes that I attend regularly to get me dancing. While I am shedding some of the physical weight gained over my three-year hiatus and feeling stronger every day, the most significant change has been in my overall connection to self and others. Days are brighter and better when I have dance—and dance-fitness classes—in my life.
There’s an old adage about not knowing what’s missing in your life until it’s gone. I’m so grateful to have figured out what was missing and committed to never letting it go again. Thank goodness for doors that can be reopened, hearts that can be mended, and dances still left to be danced. If interested, Studio NiaMoves is located at 508 Pecore Street in the Houston Heights area. For more information about dance-fitness classes offered for all ages and experience levels, visit www.niamoves.com.
Jody T. Morse is a dance-fitness instructor at Studio NiaMoves in Houston. In addition, she is a freelance writer and book publisher. Jody has been a student and teacher of Nia and dance-fitness classes for over two decades. Visit Niamoves.com or Facebook (@ StudioNiaMoves) for more about the classes she teaches.
