Mindful Dance
What does being mindful mean? Being mindful is about bringing your entire being into the present moment. It is all about learning how to be present – which is an art form. Like dance, being mindful requires effort and practice. It is a muscle you have to train.
In the past, being present was not as challenging as it is now. The pace of our daily life has changed drastically over the years. Now life happens at a tremendously fast pace, especially here in Orange County.
A very important teaching in mindfulness is to bring your body and mind together.
Your Physical Body
Your physical body is always present. It never dwells in yesterday, never in tomorrow, never in ten years ago, never in ten years from now. Your task with your physical body is to nourish it, to enhance it, to collaborate with its natural way of operation. If you play your part and make daily efforts to nourish your body, you will see your body respond and give back to you. Dance is proven to have many physical health benefits. There are fitness classes centered around dance!
Read our blog post “The Health Benefits of Ballroom Dancing” here!
Your Mind
The mind is a tremendous instrument that when organized, purified, and aligned properly will show you your way. It will help you understand yourself and the mental clarity will reveal your personal purpose. But the mind is also easily distracted and all over the place. It gets stuck on what happened ten minutes ago, a day ago, five years ago, or assuming what will happen in the future. Attaining a clear state of mind requires a lot of work, attention, and the most essential self-love. Dance requires a lot of focus and that present state – both for your own sake and your partner’s sake. It can be more tedious to exercise your brain but dance is a way to make it fun.
You have to approach your self and your body as a team.
The challenge is to have your body and mind always functioning together as a team, connected in the present moment. Once you master that you can fully engage, be involved, and concentrate on the task at hand. Living in this beautiful state on a daily basis will allow you to access deeper aspects of life.
Dancing is an incredible opportunity to practice mindfulness. Observe a dancing couple. They have to connect and align themselves in so many levels to perform well. Both connecting individually with the beat, the song, the steps, their own body, their mind, their breath, and of course their dancing partner.
Both dancers have to be fully present, enjoying the moment. Then it feels as if it’s happening on its own. They are in a state of flow and completely present. Only then we can say that the dance and the dancers have become one.
-Carlos
If you’re looking for a great way to get exercise both mentally and physically while also having fun you can contact us here. The connection involved with dance makes for a great date night. A consultation lesson for you or you and your partner is only $20!
