We have come to be danced

Hello Reader,

Whooosh

We’re both making swishing wave sounds while our hands trace the shapes of them in the air.

‘This is how they come and go.’

Whooooosh whoosh

‘Some are very big and some are small. Some feel easy and some feel hard. Sometimes there are even many of them together!’

Whoooosh whoosh whoosh woooooosh

Our hands tangle and twirl together in the air, wave upon wave upon wave… We giggle.

‘Did you feel them in your body this week? There were some big ones.’

She latches on to nurse, but nods her head yes. I notice how the uncertainty and discomfort of the topic makes her retreat back to the safety of being a newborn nestled in my arms. Shadowing herself into me like when we shared a nervous system and sense of self. I am her refuge, her guide and her solace.

Oh to be two and a half years old, feeling so much for the first time ever.

She is lying in my left arm, head on my shoulder getting ready to go to sleep.

It’s been a big week of challenging diagnosis and unclear paths forward in the broader family. We’ve all felt it strongly. The waves have settled for us. But she has felt us too. And I can sense that for her the swell is still swirling.

‘Did you feel the waves of worry?' She nods yes.

‘Did you feel the waves of sadness?' She nods yes.

‘Did you feel the wave of anger just now?’ I ask, checking in with the upset she brought with to bed.

She unlatches and pipes with indignation ‘pappa took my bollas away’. This one at least is a familiar wave.

‘Oh no! I’m sure you’ll get them back tomorrow. Are the waves gone now?’ I ask her. She latches back on and nods yes.

Soon she is serenely asleep.

A year ago, waves like the ones from this week would have drowned me.

This time they brought me insights.

Clarity on my boundaries and priorities. Clarity on where my energetic capacity to hold the waves for myself and others is still growing. Clarity on the enormous depths to which I can trust my body to show me my truth.

Clarity is a gift that comes from practice.

Whether it's yoga, dance, meditation or creating art. Wrestling with the challenge and the discomfort. Letting the waves wash over you again and again until your sea legs are strong and you can find your way back to the reassuring shore when you need it. Where the stories of the mind drip off your shoulders with ease and you find yourself resting in the aliveness of the moment.

To celebrate this, I have signed myself up for beginner surf lessons. My body has been feeling the call of the ocean for a while.

What is calling you?

Dance Practice for Clarity

Sway. Slide. Stretch. Shimmy. Shake. Stomp. Sound. Shed. Sacrifice. Shift.

And then allow yourself to slow down, simmer and settle into silent satori.

The invitation this week is to trust yourself to be with whatever waves arise when you move. Woven out of the insights of Totality Tantra, this conscious dance practice's simplicity belies its profound impact.

All you have to do is move as your body wants. To follow the energetic impulse in response to the music. To see and feel whatever arises within you. To learn that you can hold the waves without being swept away.

This is not a pretty dance. It’s not performative. It is for you.

If you are tired, dance it. If you are angry, dance it. If you are sad, dance it. If you are bored, dance it. Be compassionate, creative and courageous. Feel the pattern and then spiral it out wider. Dance it to the end, whether you like the music or not.

This simple sweet wave is an exploration of the rise and fall of the watery waves within. An ideal invigorating morning practice or a shedding practice at the end of your day. Make space somewhere where you can dance undisturbed for about 25 minutes.