On Friday, I spent much of the afternoon listening to the funeral service for Muhammed Ali that took place his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky on June 10. One reporter said …
TAGS: 5 rhythms, 5Rhythms, Conscious Dance, five rhythms, kierra foster-ba, Muhammed ali, Notes On Practice, relationship“When we dance together, even when we dance near each other, I feel so good. It is like you bring out the spirit in me, somehow. You are like a little shaman.” This compliment, delivered by a friend after a recent Friday Night Waves class, was perhaps the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. It made me very happy to hear not just “I love this thing about you”, but “I love the way you make me feel about me.”
TAGS: 5 rhythms, 5Rhythms, Conscious Dance, ecstatic dance, five rhythms, Flowing, gabrielle roth, Maps to EcstasyWhen Jilsarah Moscowitz taught the first Sweat Your Prayers class of the spring season two years ago, for the first time ever I considered the possibility that I might secretly have a lyrical nature.* This came as a great surprise since from the very beginning of my 5Rhythms path, Lyrical had always seemed incomprehensible and inaccessible, except in tiny, occasional glimpses. Today, the first day of spring, Jilsarah again taught the Sunday Sweat Your Prayers class; and I was again granted wings, though my lyrical side is, by now, no longer a deeply buried secret.
TAGS: 5 rhythms, 5Rhythms, Chaos, Conscious Dance, dance movement therapy, ecstatic dance, five rhythms, Flowing, gabrielle roth, Heartbeat, Lyrical, Maps to Ecstasy, Medicine Dance, meditation, Meghan LeBorious, Notes On Practice, ritual theater, shamanic dance, Stillness, sweat your prayers, WavesThe days leading up to the 2016 Word Dance workshop were exceptionally delightful. I went on something of a walkabout with my now-six-year-old son, Simon. He is in a lovely phase at the moment—cooperative, funny, insightful and affectionate—and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, making a big loop to visit friends from Brooklyn to Tarrytown to Newburgh to Kingston, north to Burlington, Vermont, and then to my parents’ in Northern Connecticut. My parents had agreed to look after Simon Friday afternoon and Saturday while I was at the Word Dance workshop, then bring him back to Brooklyn Saturday night. While I was waiting for my mother to arrive to care for Simon so I could leave, I looked online to see if I had any outstanding parking tickets. I found several, including a “Bus Lane Violation”—something I had never heard of—for 115 dollars. My humor darkened. Simon said lightly, “Well, that’s how it is, Mommy. If you break the rules you have to take the consequences.” I had to admit that he was right, though I continued to feel disempowered and irresponsible.
Because I did not plan properly, there was a mix up about times. I did not set out until 4pm for a journey that typically takes over three hours. In this case, it took four hours. As it was, I did not arrive until 8pm at Paul Taylor Studio on Grand Street in Lower Manhattan, though Friday’s initial session of the Word Dance workshop had begun at 6pm.
In the car, I turned on myself, becoming extreme in my thinking
TAGS: 5 rhythms, 5Rhythms, 5RTA, Amber Ryan, Chaos, Flowing, Jewel Mathieson, Lyrical, maeghan leborious, Notes On Practice, Open floor, Staccato, Stillness, The Moving Center, the moving center school, word danceToday is a rare interlude of Stillness in a typically dynamic city. The windows are impossibly bright. Snow is caked on the screens outside. Still-falling snow makes the air seem opaque. Piles of white obscure Brooklyn’s sharp edges and make everything blur together. “Are you ready for Snowmageddon?” I was asked yesterday. “Yes!” I answered emphatically.
TAGS: 5 rhythms, 5Rhythms, 5Rhythms OneTribe, Chaos, Conscious Dance, dance movement therapy, ecstatic dance, five rhythms, Flowing, gabrielle roth, Gestalt Therapy, Heartbeat, Lyrical, Maps to Ecstasy, Medicine Dance, meditation, Meghan LeBorious, moving meditation, Notes On Practice, shamanic dance, Staccato, Stillness, sweat your prayers, WavesI had an urgent errand this morning, but it cooperated and I was able to make it to this Sunday’s Sweat Your Prayers class, which was taught today by Daniela Peltekova. Stepping into the already vibrant room, I happily greeted many friends, found a spot on the floor, and fell into circular movement.
Today I was exceptionally grateful to step into a 5Rhythms class. Being away for the holidays kept me out of classes for nearly two weeks. Also, during my time away, I attended a brief not-5Rhythms dance retreat. I wanted something satisfying to do for New Year’s Eve and the retreat seemed like a good option. Although I am not one to bounce around to many different spiritual practices, I remain receptive. If I find that if I am insisting on 5Rhythms..
