# Module ## Introduction - The material presented in the course is also contained in the Dance Awake Facilitator Manual. - Lectures are not verbatim from the manual but elaborate on the concepts, providing more context and detail. - The course advises students to use both the manual and lectures for optimal learning. - Both these resources are rich with concepts and ideas which may require several repetitions for a comprehensive understanding. **Definition of Dance** - Dance is a form of art that involves rhythmic movement of the body, often set to music. - It's a medium of emotional expression, social interaction, and exercise in various cultural, spiritual, and performance settings. - Dance can also be a nonverbal mode of communication between humans or animals, with examples like bee dances or mating dances. **Dance Awake Facilitators as Seekers** - Dance Awake facilitators view life as a great mystery and are seekers of truth. - They embrace the unknown and seek to explore and understand themselves better. - They act as space holders, creating environments for others to explore and discover their truths and wisdom. - They utilize their life experiences to add depth to the structure of the Dance Awake conscious dance class. - ==Their objective is to inspire others to learn more about themselves, and to encourage positive and uplifting self-expression.== => Rien de plus **The Facilitator's Journey** - Authenticity: Facilitators should teach what resonates with them and are encouraged to be authentic within themselves. Their own dance experiences can inform their facilitation. - Facilitation is a journey: New facilitators should embrace the learning process and understand that practice is key. They should also understand that it's okay to make mistakes and should adopt an attitude of playfulness. - Personal Practice: Facilitators should maintain their own dance practice to grow and develop, and to better facilitate others' growth and development. **The Structure of Dance Awake Training** - The training isn't just theoretical or philosophical; the concepts can be translated into direct experiences through practice. - It provides a universal framework, allowing each facilitator to bring forward their unique voice through conscious dance. ## Exercice : - ==It's crucial to develop a vision, feeling, and statement about what you aim to offer as a dance facilitator.== - Despite potential fluctuations in your thoughts and the feedback received, you should never compromise your vision. - It's important to consider feedback and adjust accordingly, but also to evaluate if these adjustments align with your original vision. - ==The feeling associated with your vision should be present when you dance and facilitate.== - ==This vision serves as the foundation upon which all your creative work as a facilitator is built.== ## Module 1 symbol ==The universe is an ever-moving dance of energy, with subatomic particles pulsating and constantly shifting in and out of existence. We are part of this cosmic dance, constantly changing and transforming. == ==The Nataraja, a representation of Shiva as the cosmic dancer, is a metaphorical guide to navigating this constant change. It symbolizes conscious, awakened dance with life, and it encompasses both the dance of creation (Lasya) and destruction (Tandava), resulting in a third dance: transformation. == Nataraja's dance on the dwarf Apasmara signifies rising above ignorance, laziness, illusion, and indifference, which can cause suffering and disconnect us from our true nature. ==Our goal is to dance with awareness, presence, and reality, awakening to our full potential and living in harmony with the natural laws of the universe.== The Nataraja holds a drum and a flame. The drum symbolizes rhythmic vibrations of creation and reminds us to connect with life's rhythms. The flame represents both creation and destruction, implying a wisdom in using our movements for both. There's a time to create and a time to destroy, and understanding these processes can help us handle change more gracefully. The symbol of Nataraja also ==reminds us of life's impermanence== – that all stories end, including ours. This realization adds importance to our current actions, inspiring us to participate fully and mindfully in the dance of life, acknowledging that each movement may be our last. Nataraja's hand gestures also reassure us that despite fear or uncertainty, we are supported by the force of life. The symbol's outer arc represents the universal cycle of birth and death, the constant arising and passing away of everything. This reminds us that every ending is a new beginning, and we should allow our awareness to expand beyond our current experiences, embracing new possibilities. This perspective allows us to see life as a dance, our duty being to dance as best we can while continuously expanding and unfolding our own personal journey.  ## Awareness is key - **Conscious dance hinges on the level of applied attention or awareness; even dancing in a nightclub can be considered conscious dance if presence is maintained.** => La conscience est vraiment la seule chose qui rend de la danse de la danse conscience - Living a conscious life involves bringing oneself into the present moment and becoming one with the "Now." - As a conscious dance facilitator, the primary role is to guide participants to become present and expand their awareness. Being aware naturally unfolds the rest of the process. - Most individuals function at only a fraction of their potential awareness. When they join a dance, they may be overwhelmed with their personal narratives. - One key benefit of conscious dance is the opportunity to step out of one's self-absorption and broaden their perspective, experiencing an expanded awareness. - The concept of expanded awareness is illustrated by a story of a teacher in India, who was aware of an issue happening out of his sight and at a distance, demonstrating the far-reaching potential of awareness. - Awareness, described by other terms like mindfulness, presence, knowledge, perception, being awake, and living in the now, is perception that is all-inclusive, non-judgmental, and accepting. It involves listening, seeing, and feeling with your whole being, not just with your senses. - Awareness enables us to be response-able, or capable of responding consciously and appropriately to situations, as opposed to reacting without thought or intention. - ==Awareness transcends ego identification, thereby liberating us from unconscious habits and conditioned responses.== - ==Awareness is a crucial aspect of conscious dance, enabling the transformation of dance into a conscious experience.== - Awareness involves focusing attention on every aspect of the present moment, including all feelings, sensations, and experiences happening now. - This awareness is not about being overly attached or identified with a feeling or strong emotion, but rather witnessing the experience without attachment. - Other terms for awareness include mindfulness and witnessing consciousness. It's like observing life as it plays out on a screen. - Two important aspects of awareness include the initiation of awareness and the expansion of awareness, both of which are emphasized in conscious dance facilitation. - **Regardless of one's current level of awareness or attention to the present moment, there is always room for deeper perception and understanding.** - ==The goal is to shift attention from being consumed by the experience to the role of the observer or witness. From this vantage point, the aim is to expand what is being observed.== - Typically, people tend to be engrossed in their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, especially when they're uncomfortable or in pain. - A lack of awareness is exemplified when one is overly identified with their pain to the point where it dictates their responses and interactions. - ==Expanded presence and awareness, on the other hand, would be an ability to be aware of everything that is going on in one's surroundings, extending further out into the world and deeper within oneself.== - **In conscious dance, different dimensions of awareness are explored, including physical awareness (body sensations), mental and emotional awareness (thoughts and feelings), and energetic awareness (flow of energy in the body).** [[States of consciousness]] - Beyond these dimensions, there is also the psychic dimension or the astral plane, and an even deeper level known as blissful awareness, which is a state of well-being and ecstasy closely linked to our true selves. - The practice of awareness in conscious dance involves breaking patterns of reactivity and bringing attention to a more neutral space. - Without this principle of awareness, dance cannot be considered "conscious." - ==The goal is to move with whatever you're experiencing while maintaining a clear distinction between what you're experiencing (thoughts, feelings) and who you think you are.== - Awareness is a complex and profound subject, integral to many spiritual traditions due to its importance. - Developing the ability to be aware, present, and mindful sets one on a path to move through life with more grace and deeper understanding. Awareness is the key. #### Très intéressant : Two important aspects of awareness include the initiation of awareness and the expansion of awareness. En gros, il y a l'intensité de la présence et le contenu de ce qui est accessible à cette attention. ## Le matérialisme spirituel Il y a beaucoup de gens qui s'intéressent plus à ce à quoi ça devrait ressembler plutôt que de vraiment commencer là où ils en sont en se concentrant sur ce qui est intéressant. Je vais faire du yoga, puis de la méditation, puis, etc. Au lieu de voir la spiritualité comme une discipline quotidienne. Quand on tient un cours de dance awake, il faut donc laisser la place à ce que tout le monde soit vraiment lui même et puisse s'exprimer pleinement sans jugement et avec vulnérabilité. ## Holding the space > _For people to discover freedom, it helps if the ship they are sailing out into the unknown feels safe. The dichotomy is that we need a well held container to allow us to feel safe enough to open to the unknown._ **How free people feel to express and explore, let go, break apart, break through, and allow themselves to open depends on the container.** As a facilitator you are creating that container for people. It is a very important aspect as there are many people who may not yet be able to create it for themselves, and use the dance class as a place to feel held. A drop-in class is a container for people **to come and experience themselves more deeply through movement and awareness.** The space in conscious dance exists over several dimensions of being namely:- physical, energetic, psychic and mental. It is the **facilitators responsibility** **to create a space** that is conducive to this. To make sure the space is safe and allows people to drop into deeper states. This is what holding space means. It is something that takes practice. Each facilitator will find a way that is meaningful to them in its creation. # How to Create the container ## **A) Safety first** We start to create the container before the class starts, as part of our setup, and continues to be created and maintained through the warmup, class and all the way until we close the space at the end. These are things to consider: 1) **Physical safety** The floor should be clean, clear of clutter or objects that can be trip hazards etc. Spend some time with lighting the space, and making it look inviting. 2) **Psychological and emotional safety **Here it is **not** about controlling the thoughts and emotions of your dancers. Difficult thoughts and emotions must have the space and safety needed to be explored. You want people to feel safe to unpack this. It is part of why we dance. So how do we facilitate and allow for this? It starts with inviting a **non-judgmental attitude** and a welcoming of all thoughts and mental stuff moving inside. Do not push anything away. Suppress nothing. The invitation is to allow everything to be there, and to feel for its movements and expression through dance.  This is the same for emotions. Allowing and non-judging, to feel them and express them in movement. When people are going through difficult emotions or mental states, to notice and possibly speak reassuring words in your facilitation. Without rescuing people but to encourage and remind them to allow, don’t judge anything, and follow the movements. Part of our ability to hold this space is in our own ability to hold hard emotions and thoughts. **We need to remain open, spacious, non-judgmental, feeling, non-attached, empathic and compassionate.** People should feel that if they can’t cope, the facilitator has their back. It sounds harder than it actually is, but really all it requires is being a good witness. It is something we learn through doing it and with experience we get better at it. 3) **Psychic safety:** As anything is possible and people will arrive with entire worlds of psychic stuff around them, it is important that we have put some protection and intention into creating the space. We could invoke spirit for healing and protection only for example. We can state clearly that any beings that are not in alignment with this intention must leave the space. We invite only that which is for the greater good of all and to the detriment of none. **_NOTE:_** If you are not comfortable with this particular dimension it is better not to invite, guide or facilitate classes with strong psychic/shamanic themes or focus. It is really for advanced classes and I would recommend getting experienced first with facilitating well in the somatic, expressive and ecstatic styles first.  **Be clear what you are inviting into the space!** ## **B) Make contact with the environment** This is a good practice for yourself and something you can guide in the warmup (see arriving in the space). When entering a new space, look around and consciously connect to the environment. Take everything in through your senses and feel the space. Become receptive and open. If there are people around try make eye contact or at least notice everyone and everything about the space. This helps us to feel comfortable with the space. It is good to try notice people arriving and connect with them, even if there are no words spoken.  ## **C) How to create the space**  Each Dance Awake facilitator will develop their own personal ritual around doing this and it is good to get into the habit of doing it consistently as things get more powerful with repetition. Make sure you include time before the class to do this and remember that it is important to maintain the space during and close the space after the class. As much as possible the you should try maintain the same space within your own being. 1. When you arrive, connect with the space for yourself. Feel it out, listen to it, and sense what may be required or adjusted for you to setup the container. 2. **Ensure the space is clean** and the floor is free of clutter. Set up the sound system, your DJ station, and the altar if you chose to have one. Test all the equipment and make sure it’s working. You don’t want to worry about it in the middle of the class.  3. **Altars** are good to use to help bring more abstract aspects of the class visible, speak to the theme, provide a place of focus, and for people to offer their prayers. They are a great way to help create the space. The imagery and objects chosen for the alter carry an energetic charge and may assist people in their process. Altars may also freak some people out. Be mindful how you present them.  4. **Smudge the space.** Often we don’t know what the space has been used for previously. It’s good to clean the space psychically and energetically as a routine. Use sage, gopal, or any other smudge you like to use and has meaning and power for you. Be careful of burning certain plants that other people may carry beliefs around. For example impepo is often used to call the ancestors by Sangoma’s, so someone with that association walking into the space and smelling it, may be pushed into an experience with their ancestors and this may not be what your intention is. You may or may not carry that belief but it is important to keep in mind the dancers, and their beliefs. Beliefs are powerful and can definitely bring interesting experiences to people. 5. A suggestion while smudging the space, mentally or verbally repeat your intention for the space and class, and if you are inclined to invite your teachers, guides, helpers etc to come help support you in this. Say a prayer. Do what feels meaningful to you. If this doesn't feel comfortable then don’t do it. Find your own way of invocation. Explore ways in which this invocation makes you feel supported, held and able to hold the space. 6. Setting up the space is an important part of creating a container and it serves to help get you focused, clear and ready. ## **D) Maintaining the space throughout the class** - During the warmup invite that **non-judgmental attitude**. - Invite people as they are arriving to really connect to the space, get friendly with the physical room, other dancers. To make contact with the outer environment. (see later) - **Mention the guidelines** in the beginning of the dance, after the warmup. The guidelines create the container and provide the necessary boundaries for the space. - Feel and listen to the space, watch what is going on in the space. Speak to situations that arise and require intervention. - ==Call people out through indirect facilitation facilitation if their behaviour is disruptive. If they continue get more direct.== - Stay clear what your intention is for the space and do not allow other peoples agendas to create other directions in the space. You are responsible for all the dancers and cannot allow other people to hijack the space with their own agendas. Particularly predatory behaviour where they are not respecting other dancers boundaries. - ==Do not rescue, and do not allow others to rescue but be aware of dancers that are going though a difficult or traumatic process. It is good to speak towards in a supportive manner and ideally check in afterwards with the dancer. People like knowing they were seen, it will make them feel safer.== If necessary (you will feel it) smudge the space again at the end. Usually with the intention of blessing, gratitude, and love for the dancers and a clearing of energies that have been released and let go. ## **E) Close the space:** We usually close the space to end the class by gathering together or circling then doing a little ritual of everyone clapping three times and placing the hands on the floor. We release everything that was called with gratitude. ## **F) Time Keeping:** Be punctual and on time. If you advertise that the class ends at 20:30 then make sure that you are finished by then. This is important aspect of keeping a safe container. # Les musiques à choisir en fonction de l'élément **Earth** - Music that is heavy, slow, weight, and deep. a density to it. A feeling of bringing one into ground.   no beat or slow beats. a gravity.  Lower end of frequencies. Music that feels heavy. low octave drones, and deeper voices. Movements from the ground. Rooted. Ambient with lower frequency. solid.  **Water** -  music that creates a sense of flow.  One move into the next, fluid like, fast or slow, rhythm that invites movement like a waltz. circles, paths of least resistance. Lower intensity although can also be intense as water takes on many forms.  **Fire** - Music that creates heat!  Usually fast with high intensity and complex texture and rhythms. Anything from a warmth and glow to a really cooking experience. Slow deep and with a beat to wild crazy trance music that has an intensity that causes energy to rise.  Music that cooks, has heat, and makes you want to move with full energy. Can also be slower deeper cooking tracks.  **Air -** Still fast but with a lightness and spaciousness entering into the music. Lifts one up from the fire. May have similar intensity as fire but opens up a bit more spaciousness in the music. Dynamic. Feelings like you want to expand and lift up. Still lot’s of movement.  **Ether** - stillness - spaciousness, generally slow people down to a place of witness. Usually ambient with higher frequency than earth. Music that centres one in a still point. A feeling of transcendence and lighter. Angelic music. internalised and refined movement. # Movements models Here is a detailed, bullet point summary of the text: **Movement Models in Facilitation** 1. Movement facilitation can incorporate various models, engaging the power of visualisation, imagination, and awareness to create movement. 2. Combining visualisation with awareness can explore movements in a novel way. 3. This technique can be used during warmups, at the start of a class, or incorporated into the dance itself. **Naval Radiation** 1. This model, originating from yoga, is useful in exploring Somatic and Ecstatic Movement. 2. The naval area is the centre of the body's gravity, similar to the earth. All movements are hinged on this centre. 3. The centre is connected to the earth's centre, creating a mutual pull. 4. Six limbs radiate from the centre: - Crown line: up the spine through the crown - Tail line: down the spine through the tail - Arm Lines: up to the shoulders and out through the fingertips - Leg Lines: down to the hips and along the legs and out through the soles and toes 5. The lines can either extend away from the centre or draw towards it, with this movement potentially linked to breath. 6. This model encourages intelligent, connected movement, such as feeling arm lifts from the centre rather than the shoulder joint. 7. Different "currents" of energy can be explored along these lines, ranging from relaxation to intense tension. **Puppet on Strings** 1. This model imagines the body as a string puppet, with invisible strings attached to different body parts. 2. Movement is explored as if a puppeteer is manipulating these strings. 3. This model can enhance expressive movement and open up new movement possibilities. **Psychic Body Dances** 1. These dances use imagination to access the psychic dimension of the being. 2. Two types of psychic body dances are: - *Shape Shifting - Move Like an Animal*: Involves transforming into an animal or mythical creature to access its powers, strengths, and virtues. - *Embody an Archetype*: Involves embodying different archetypes (the fool, warrior, lover, rebel, etc.) to explore how body language and posture changes. **Dance of Archetypes** 1. Archetypes are universally shared images, figures, character types, settings, and story patterns identified by Carl Gustav Jung. 2. Dancing archetypes is a way to process and experience our personal stories. 3. Dancing as an archetype can reveal virtues and weaknesses represented within us. 4. Choosing an archetype to embody can be based on what one lacks or on the desire to express hidden aspects of oneself. 5. Dancing archetypes in a safe conscious dance setting allows exploration of different personas. 6. Personal modern-day archetypes can also be created and explored. # La sensibilité dans dance awake - Dance Awake met beaucoup l'accent sur la sensibilité et l'extension de la conscience. - L'idée est de développer une sensibilité accrue aux éléments qui nous entourent. - Cette sensibilité couvre une variété d'aspects : être conscient de notre environnement, sensible au monde vivant et au monde des pensées. - Si on cultive cette sensibilité seule, il est possible de se sentir submergé ou dépassé par les stimuli extérieurs. - Cependant, si cette sensibilité est combinée avec un état d'équanimité, c'est-à-dire un état de calme mental et émotionnel, alors elle devient bénéfique. Cela permet de percevoir et de comprendre davantage notre environnement sans se sentir débordé. # La musique dans dance awake - Le principe de la musique dans Dance Awake est de suivre le schéma classique d'un cours, qui traverse les quatre éléments : la terre, l'eau, le feu, l'air et ensuite l'éther. - Le choix de la musique est crucial à chaque étape, chaque élément requiert un type de musique spécifique. - Pour la terre, la musique doit être très "earthy", lourde et "grounding". Elle peut contenir des rythmes tribaux, mais pas encore trop dynamiques. - L'eau nécessite une musique qui fait penser à un courant d'eau, une rivière, ou comme des bulles. Il faut donc privilégier des musiques plus continues, "flowy", sans forcément de temps forts. - Ensuite, pour le feu, la musique doit être beaucoup plus dynamique, rythmée, rapide ou un peu moins, en fonction du choix. - L'air requiert une musique aérienne, comme si on volait. Des musiques plus lentes, et parfois un peu psychédéliques peuvent convenir. - Enfin, l'éther est associé à une musique qui est plus un fond sonore. - L'objectif est de reconnaître que ces cinq éléments créent chez les personnes des "soundscapes", c'est-à-dire que chaque type de musique crée un paysage corporel spécifique, des sensations et des émotions chez chaque personne. - Il est important de comprendre et de reconnaître ces "soundscapes" pour orchestrer la séquence musicale de manière à ce que les paysages s'imbriquent de manière cohérente. - Les transitions entre les différents éléments sont essentielles et doivent être prises en compte pour assurer une expérience fluide et harmonieuse. # La facilitation dans dance Awake - La facilitation par les mots dans Dance Awake a pour objectif de ramener les participants au moment présent. - L'idée est de fournir des petits indices ou des "cues" pour aider les participants à revenir à l'ici et maintenant. - ==Il est important de ne pas orienter les participants vers certaines émotions spécifiques, par exemple, ne pas leur dire "ressentez votre colère" ou "exprimez votre enthousiasme". Car chaque individu est unique, et on ne sait pas ce qu'ils ressentent réellement.== - Au lieu de cela, la facilitation devrait encourager les participants à se connecter avec leurs émotions, quels que soient ces sentiments. ==On peut leur demander de sentir leur corps, leur souplesse, leur colonne vertébrale, etc.== - Mettre des mots sur les sensations et les émotions est très important car cela aide les participants à ne pas se sentir mal à l'aise ou étranges durant la séance, mais au contraire, à se sentir bien et à l'aise. # Conseils de base pour l'échauffement et le parcours d'un cours dance awake 1. **Échauffement** : Les participants sont encouragés à s'étirer et à essayer de danser sur divers types de musique afin de découvrir comment leur corps réagit à différents rythmes et styles. Le but est de permettre à tout le monde de s'ajuster et de se synchroniser, créant ainsi une sorte de symbiose au sein du groupe. 2. **Le Parcours** : La danse se construit sur un arc narratif, qui commence calmement et intensifie graduellement jusqu'à un climax avant de redescendre. Cet arc passe par plusieurs "éléments" - terre (musique grounding), eau (mouvement plus grand et fluide), feu (musique et mouvements plus intenses), air (mouvements plus légers et aériens), et éther (un moment plus calme et spacieux pour permettre aux participants de se recentrer). Cela se termine par un moment de silence pour se poser, suivi d'un cercle de clôture où tout le monde se réunit. 3. **Conseils généraux** : Il y a deux principes majeurs : a. **Restez présent** : Il n'y a pas de tâche spécifique à accomplir. L'objectif est d'être là, conscient et attentif à ce qui se passe à l'intérieur de soi - que ce soient des sensations physiques, des émotions, ou des pensées. Cette conscience peut être étendue à des niveaux plus subtils, comme des sensations énergétiques, et même à un niveau plus spirituel ou chamanique. C'est ce qui est décrit comme l'étendue et la profondeur de la conscience. L'étendue représente tout ce à quoi on a accès (corps, sensations, pensées) tandis que la profondeur représente à quel point on est impliqué dans ce à quoi on a accès. b. **Restez en mouvement** : Deux types de mouvements sont suggérés - ceux que vous initiez et ceux qui vous initient. L'idée est de ne jamais s'arrêter ou de se trouver bloqué par le mental. Même lorsqu'une pause est nécessaire, restez conscient de la danse intérieure qui continue, de vos sensations et émotions. En résumé, Dance Awake met l'accent sur l'importance de la conscience du moment présent et du mouvement constant pour faciliter une expérience de danse riche et transformante. # Les 5 types de mouvements ## Le mouvement somatique (écouter le corps) - Body Intelligence: The body is fully present in the moment, unlike the mind which often travels to past or future. This makes it an excellent guide for the conscious dance journey and for living a more awake life. - Physical Awareness: By placing our attention on physical sensations and biological patterns, we can move somatically. This includes becoming aware of stiffness, pain, and moving accordingly to alleviate discomfort or enhance pleasure. - Keep Returning: If the mind wanders, simply return the attention to the body. The body and the breath are always present, making them a stable point of focus. - Creating Balance: Somatic dance is about listening and responding to the physical body. By allowing the body to move naturally, it can help restore balance and harmony. - Body Wisdom: Every cell in the body contains wisdom. By focusing on and moving from the body, this wisdom can be unlocked leading to relaxation, health, and wellbeing. - Bypassing the Intellect: Somatic dance allows us to bypass the intellect and our often messy minds. It presents another valid way of being in the world, living through the intelligence of the body. - Value of Somatic Dance: Even if we never explored any other form of conscious dance, Somatic dance would be enough. It has the potential to reveal the wisdom that resides within us. ## Le mouvement Expressif - "Speaking" through movement opens possibilities for conversations in conscious dance, as words are replaced with gestures, expressions, and body movements. - Just as a child learns to speak, a conscious dancer builds a vocabulary of movements and expressions over time, which can be used to communicate with various elements while dancing, such as another dancer, emotions, challenges, memories, etc. - The body is more capable of expressing feelings and emotions than the mind, providing an effective way to deal with strong emotions, difficult feelings, and charged situations by moving consciously and embodying the feelings. - Because body language is rooted in the present moment, it offers a more authentic representation of reality than words, allowing an individual to express their authentic self and experience empowerment. - Movement language is more universal than spoken language and can't be easily falsified. It is universally understood, promoting connectivity and also understood by many species of animals. - Practicing expressive dance involves becoming present to one's feelings and expressing them through movement. Music can help to set the tone, and exploring different body gestures, facial expressions, and movements can be beneficial. - Expressing feelings to another dancer through movement can be a beneficial exercise. Conversations between body parts can also be conducted to explore the body's language further. - Dancing the expression of a question or a challenge faced in life can help find a solution as the body moves in response. Over time, understanding personal body language can be achieved, leading to a deeper level of wisdom and creativity. ## La danse ecstatic - Deeper self-exploration can lead to an experience of immortal and enduring bliss, a state of balance referred to as 'ananda'. - Movement can stimulate the energy body, raising our vibration and expanding our inner energy, resulting in a feeling of well-being, sometimes referred to as 'ecstatic movement'. - ==Ecstatic movement can enable us to tune into and move with the energy flowing within our body and its relationship with the environment, including factors like music, rhythm, group dynamics in a conscious dance class.== - ==Our awareness first needs to focus on the energy as it manifests in the body, the mind, or emotions, with the breath being a key focal point reflecting the current energy state. == - Experiencing energy moving in the body can be different for everyone, ranging from tactile experiences to visual perceptions like colors and light. - ==Cultivating an awareness of energy requires time and deep presence, moving from gross sensation to subtle experiences. It can feel like **dancing with a sixth sense**.== - You can explore energy through shamanic dance, moving with breath and awareness in specific body areas, or along imaginary pathways of energy. This could involve feeling another dancer's energies or playing with the flow of your own energy. - Over time, you can differentiate between real energy experiences and imaginary ones. Real experiences are usually met with a feedback loop that confirms their authenticity, leading to feelings of groundedness and well-being. - Many spiritual traditions have energy maps to explain energy flow and function in the body, such as Chi and meridians in Chinese medicine or prana, nadi's and chakras in Yoga. - However, these maps should be used as guidelines rather than substitutes for your own personal experience of energy. It is important to trust and map your own energy experiences. - Harmonious and balanced energy flow can lead to physical health, mental balance, and emotional stability. Blocked or stagnant energy can lead to dis-ease in the body, mental disorders, and emotional stagnation. - ==Movement and dance can help unblock and stimulate energy flow, potentially leading to feelings of ecstasy. While higher vibrations and ecstatic states can occur through energy flow, these are not the ultimate goals. The aim is to learn to feel, to move with present energies, and to go deeper into oneself.== - MAIS : *Cultivating equanimity is vital, as expectations or desire for ecstatic states may lead to disappointment and cessation of the practice. Similarly, when an ecstatic state is achieved, it is crucial to remember that it is temporary, but can bring insight and wisdom.* ### La danse du YES pour rentrer en état ecstatic Faire une danse du OUI ! YES, j'accepte la douleur YES, j'accepte les galères, YES, j'accepte l'amour, YESSSSS ### Il y a un point de calme dans le choas Il y a un point au centre de nous qui est le calme absolu, au milieu de tout le chaos. Si on peut reposer dans ce point et observer tout le reste, on est dans l'ecstasy. ## La danse Shamanique Conscious dance can lead to a deeper exploration of our being, triggering trance-like states and transforming the dance floor into a surreal dreamscape. In this state, we might experience embodying different animals or feel the influence of other personalities, archetypes, or ancestral beings. This interaction with the imagined and real world can result in experiencing different landscapes, times, and places, or receiving cryptic messages. ==Shamanic dance uses the power of imagination as a bridge between the known and unknown, which can sometimes lead to unexpected insights or visions. It's important not to force these experiences, but to meet them as they arise and continue to dance, anchoring the experience in physical movement. If an experience becomes overwhelming, the dancer should revert to basic principles: stay in movement, stay present, and relax.== These experiences can be frightening, given they might reveal unfamiliar aspects of ourselves. Hence, it requires practice to let go without becoming overwhelmed or excessively egoistic about the experiences. Shamanic dance, an exploration into the unknown, allows access to the wisdom within us. As we become more comfortable with the process, we can better navigate the space and insights that arise. This form of dance allows communion with aspects of life that were previously unknown or too abstract. The dance creates a conversation between known and unknown aspects of the self, fostering connection and communion. - Shamanic dance is a beautiful and powerful form of movement that allows individuals to process emotions and experiences. - It provides a platform for exploring, reimagining, and recreating aspects of life that may be difficult to address mentally. - The mind tends to rely on familiar information and memories to solve problems, while dance opens us up to intuition and direct experience for problem-solving. - Shamanic dance can help individuals move through challenging times, such as grief and depression, by facilitating a deeper understanding and movement with the emotions. - Dance is seen as a form of traveling through the territory of emotions, allowing for communication with different aspects of oneself and gaining insights and integration through embodiment. ## Invocatory dance - "All life is a dance," says Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati, affirming that dance, as an art form, represents the cosmic manifestation and divine rhythm that preserves the world. Dance as Sacred Art - Historically, dance was seen as a sacred art, notably in India where it was performed by temple dancers to glorify the divine. - This dance aimed to bring about divine realisation in both the performer and the audience, serving as a prayer and offering to the divine. - The ultimate goal of this dance was to unify the individual soul with the absolute, aligning with the aim of all Yoga. - Today, many forms of classical Indian dance still uphold this ideal, with such movements found globally across various cultures, religions, and indigenous tribal rituals. Moving the Creation - Invocatory movement allows dancers to express deep love and devotion, experiencing their true nature in various forms. - Many individuals may already practice this form of movement intuitively through regular conscious dance. Story, Mythology and Prayer - This style of movement uses imagination, gestures, attitudes, enactment, and personal choreography, essentially storytelling through movement. - Personal myths and prayers come to life in this form of dance theatre, where dancers embody the essence and energy of invoked characters. 3 Ways to Practice - Invocatory dance uses movement to call upon or conjure aspects of creation, similar to prayer or devotional songs. There are three ways to practice this form: 1. Specific Invocation: This involves focusing on the body and consciously deciding what to invoke. The invocation could range from a prayer for peace or rain, to embodying an aspect of nature, an ancestor, or an archetype. Gestures and movements are then choreographed with deep meaning and repeated to complete the invocation. 2. Spontaneous Invocation: This method involves being present and following the body's movements and gestures intuitively. Dancers attempt to understand what each gesture represents of their divine nature. 3. Combining the two: This approach involves alternating between specific choreographed steps and periods of spontaneous movement, all while remaining conscious of the feelings and energies being invoked. Dance as Spiritual Practice - Conscious dance is viewed as a spiritual practice rather than a religion, complementing all religions and serving as a universal human activity. - It's considered a form of Yoga and offers physical, mental, emotional, psychic, and spiritual benefits, including deeper awareness, compassion, and empathy. - People can use conscious dance for any of these benefits without necessarily aiming to attain the ultimate union of the individual self with the absolute. # L'attitude à avoir pour tenir un espace dance Awake Intention in Teaching Dance Awake - The intention behind offering Dance Awake classes should be clearly defined from the outset. It is advisable to align it with a higher vision beyond making a living or having fun. - Teaching Dance Awake should not primarily be driven by financial gain but rather seen as a form of service (Seva). - The goal of offering this conscious dance is to create a space for Awakening, assisting individuals in discovering their inner light, insight, and wisdom. Concept of Seva - As per Swami Niranjananda, any service offered to another, imbued with one's best thoughts, feelings, love, compassion, and sympathy, uplifts the recipient and acts as a disguised blessing, which is referred to as Seva. - Viewing Dance Awake as Seva can help avoid many potential ego-related pitfalls for a facilitator. Seva Attitudes for Personal Growth - Adopting the attitudes of Seva, both as a Dance Awake facilitator and in life generally, can cultivate personal growth and prevent burnout or compassion fatigue. - These attitudes are based on three key principles: 1. Performing actions with utmost perfection: - Always strive to do your best in every situation. This involves being fully aware and attentive in all actions and words. - This principle ensures that even if things go wrong, you can be confident that it wasn't due to negligence or half-heartedness, freeing you from guilt and aiding acceptance of the outcome. 2. Performing actions without any expectation: - Surrender the outcomes of your actions. This means doing your best without focusing on the results. - This detachment from outcomes helps avoid burnout, prevents feelings of isolation and frustration, and keeps the ego in check, whether outcomes align with expectations or not. 3. Performing actions with total participation: - Ensure all your faculties are engaged in the actions, integrating your head, heart, and hands to work as a whole. - Being fully absorbed in the action leads to a state of deep concentration, promoting a relaxed yet alert state filled with energy. - This ability to do your best, let go, and respond fully and appropriately to each moment fosters energy and aliveness, as opposed to exhaustion and depression associated with failing to meet expectations. - These attitudes are not a one-time decision, but rather require ongoing awareness and a dance between recognizing attachments and letting them go. ### La responsabilité du facilitator Facilitation in Dance Awake - Facilitation is not just following a formula, it involves creating and maintaining a certain space, while being partially responsible for what occurs within it. - There are many things that facilitators don't have, and don't need to control as dancers have their own experiences, largely born from their inner space and level of engagement. - Ultimate growth in facilitation comes from taking responsibility, which involves listening, feeling, observing from an empathic perspective, and responding to perceptions with the right action. - It takes time and practice to master the ability to feel the space and respond accordingly, whether it's with words of encouragement, silence, or changes in the music. Honing Skills and Growing Responsibilities - In the beginning, it's important to hone basic skills such as mixing music and communicating clearly. As these skills improve, facilitators can spend more time sensing the energy of the room and taking on more responsibility. Feedback and Compromise - While feedback from participants is valuable, it should be taken with a grain of salt, particularly if it leads to compromising the facilitator's vision. - For instance, if participants request louder music when the intention is to foster deeper listening from a quieter place, it is necessary to discern whether to accommodate the feedback or stick to the original intent. - Facilitators should balance adjusting to feedback with the risk of attracting a homogenous group of participants. Mistakes as Learning Opportunities - Mistakes are often the best teachers; they provide opportunities to improve the offering. It's essential to view them as learning opportunities rather than setbacks. Importance of a Clear Vision - Facilitators should have a clear vision for their classes, such as creating a space that encourages awakening through mindful movement. - Having a clear vision guides decisions about what to allow or prohibit in the class based on alignment with the vision. - It is crucial to avoid the trap of trying to please everyone, which could narrow down the participant group and compromise the original vision. Shifting Energy - Facilitators should be attuned to the energy in the room, recognizing when it might need to shift due to fatigue, lack of engagement, or loss of awareness among participants. - Tools to shift energy can include an upbeat song, gentle words of encouragement, or changing the direction of the dance. - In longer classes, it's particularly important to be able to redirect the energy when needed. Encouraging Growth in Dancers - Facilitators should encourage dancers to move beyond their comfort zone, promoting a deeper engagement with the practice. # Inner Space and Conscious Dance Understanding Inner Space - Our inner space is filled with various elements: energetic, mental, emotional, psychic, intuitive, mysterious, and perceptive. It's a space of nothingness where everything is held. - Inner space awareness is developed by shifting attention from the physical to the subtle, thus enabling access to the wisdom within. - Despite constant changes in the inner space reflecting experiences from both the inner and outer worlds, most individuals tend to focus their awareness on the outer world, often neglecting signals from the inside. Exploring the Inner Space through Conscious Dance - As conscious dancers, the inner space offers an endless frontier for exploration and discovery. Initial movements and dances may engage with obvious aspects, such as stiffness, pains, and stretching muscles. - As awareness inside our bodies stabilizes and concentrates over time, more subtle experiences become noticeable. - Eventually, the space beneath our skin appears infinite and expansive, allowing us to see the macrocosm in the microcosm of our being. The Interplay of Inner and Outer Space - Change initiated within the inner world reflects in the outer world. Thus, focusing on the inner space is the starting point of personal transformation. - The pollution of the planet mirrors our inner psychic pollution, as per Eckhart Tolle. To take responsibility for our inner space, we must first listen, perceive, and become aware, and then respond based on these perceptions rather than reacting out of conditioning. Conscious Dance and Inner Space - Conscious dance serves as an excellent medium for this practice due to its built-in feedback loop that allows us to discern which movements enlighten us and which do not, based on feelings in our bodies. - Rather than chasing good feelings, the invitation is to move with whatever the feeling is, avoiding fatigue, exhaustion, resistance, shutdown, or suppression. - Exploring movements that foster openness, receptiveness, empathy, compassion, and love toward all experiences is encouraged. Practicing Dancing the Inner Space - The practice begins with awareness during movement. We feel into the space, keeping our attention focused inside and remaining open to experiencing everything there. - The dance is allowed to take over, leading to the exploration of creative ways of moving and feeling into the response received from the inner space. - The focus should be on playfulness and curiosity, touching the space with loving kindness and acceptance. No experience is ignored, suppressed, or judged. - The practice is not about thinking our way into it, but feeling our way into it, letting go of control and accepting what is there. Over time, this becomes second nature. - Regular practice is encouraged, cultivating trust in our inner perceptions and responses. # The Art of Relaxation and Conscious Dance Understanding Stress and Relaxation - Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes the importance of resting and relaxing. It aids in preventing illnesses related to chronic tension and worrying while enabling mental clarity, focus, and creativity. - Stress, a normal physiological state, prepares the body to respond to threats, however, external pressures and our thought processes can trigger inappropriate and perpetual stress responses. - The habit of constant stress reaction can lead to physical, emotional, and psychological dis-ease. Our ideal resting state, conducive to healing and well-being, is relaxation. Defining Relaxation - Commonly mistaken activities like watching television or sleeping do not constitute true relaxation. - True relaxation resembles a state of relaxed alertness similar to a resting cat's capability of reacting swiftly when needed but returning to a relaxed state instantly. It's a state of non-reactive presence. Experiencing Relaxation - Relaxation manifests as slow, deep breathing, a sense of bodily ease, mental calmness, and free-flowing emotions. This state encourages creativity and receptiveness. - Prioritizing and experiencing relaxation helps the body remember this state, enabling easier return to it after a stress episode. Relaxation through Conscious Dance - Conscious dance promotes relaxation through the act of being present and non-resistant towards internal movements. - To optimally relax, it's essential to stay aware of the body's signals during movement. Movements can either induce relaxation or stress, regardless of their speed or intensity. - Trusting your body's instinct to return to its natural state and following its cues during movement can prevent unnecessary stress and promote relaxation. Mastering Relaxation - The ability to rest within movement is both an art and a skill that impacts all life's movements. The way we approach dance is similar to how we navigate work, home, and relationships. - Being present and receptive during dance and overriding movements borne out of fear, thought, fantasy, desire, and delusion can cultivate a calm, relaxed state. - Achieving a centered, calm, open, and receptive state post-dance, having moved through everything held within, paves the way to deep relaxation. - Regular practice can lead to improved sleep, digestion, energy, health, emotional and psychological well-being, creativity, and a more positive attitude towards life. # Mindfulness and Conscious Dance Engaging the Mind in Conscious Dance - The guidelines of staying in movement and staying present in conscious dance work directly and indirectly with our minds. - Though it's possible to experience the state of "No Mind," it doesn't come about by forcing the mind to stop thinking but rather by practicing mindfulness. - To apply mindfulness in conscious dance, focus the mind on the body, breath, and sensations experienced during the dance. This gives the busy mind a task, enabling us to use it as a tool for concentrated attention. Achieving No Mind through Dance - By keeping the body in motion and focusing on arising sensations, there's always something to engage the mind. We can encourage subtlety in the mind and whenever it wanders, bring it back to the present moment, focusing on the movement and feeling. This way, we may occasionally enter the state of "No Mind." Dealing with Halting Thoughts - Sometimes, certain thoughts or feelings can abruptly stop our movement during dance. By recognizing and addressing these interrupting thoughts, we can continue our movement, harnessing our compassion, love, courage, and faith in dance as a therapeutic tool. - All thoughts, feelings, and mental states can lead a dance. By allowing these thoughts to be felt and translated into movement, we reengage in our dance, seeking answers within the embodied movement. Moving equates to changing. Handling Charged Thoughts - At times, thoughts carry such intensity that they can induce powerful emotions like pain, anxiety, fear, grief, bliss, or ecstasy. - Breathing-focused movements can help during these times. With an open, curious, non-judgmental, and allowing attitude, we can navigate through such challenges. Perceiving Mind as a Sense - By treating the mind as another sense organ that perceives thoughts, similar to how ears perceive sound, we can choose to embody and move with these thoughts or simply let them flow like clouds in the sky, thereby approaching the state of "No Mind." Exploring No Matter - The concept of "No Matter" pertains to moving beyond the physical experience, where sensations dissolve and we begin to navigate from other dimensions of our being. - This transition allows us to access our psychic, intuitive, spiritual, astral nature. The dance becomes invocatory, prayerful, and creative, opening us up to our personal mythologies, archetypes, nature, the elements, and life's mysteries. - Even a fleeting experience of "No Mind" or "No Matter" can yield embodied wisdom and be transformative. #