By Laura Escudero

ChakraDance(TM) is a healing, meditative dance journey through the 7 chakras. Using free flowing movement (NO background in dance needed just an open mind) with specific music from different cultures and guided imagery we dance to connect with our inner and outer world.

Drawing on the wisdom of Jungian Psychology ChakraDance(TM) is dance for healing and self-discovery. Each dance gives rise to different insights and feelings and we use mandala art to anchor and integrate our experience.

The 7 Keys to Freedom Workshop, What to expect:
CHAKRADANCE music is modern-world-music, which has been created with the intention of using sound as a healing force. Music has incredible therapeutic powers and is considered to be the oldest form of healing. In many ancient cultures music was both composed and performed with the intention of promoting physical health, freeing emotions, entering into altered states of consciousness, and ultimately, of healing the soul. Music was considered sacred and magical. Long before psychotherapy existed, music played the role of healer, doctor.

CHAKRADANCE puts you in touch with the sacred, both within yourself and within the universe. It helps you connect with your soul. Dancing the seven chakras is like dancing into seven different worlds, each with their own lessons, meanings and stories. While everyone’s experiences are unique, it’s interesting to note some often-shared features of the dances of each chakra, which reflect the ancient roots of dance across cultures.

The Chakra system, and the benefits of Chakradance

The role of the chakra system is to help regulate the human energy field, commonly known as the aura.  The aura is a dynamic, energetic matrix, which includes the physical, emotion
al, mental and spiritual aspects of our being.

Every human being has seven major chakras and each one influences an aspect of our lives.  From our instincts, sexuality and personal power through to how we love, communicate, use our intuition and connect to our deepest source of spirituality.

When you discover the power and the energy that resides within you, it is like coming home.  Chakradance is a form of nourishment for your true self, for your soul.

Blending free-flowing movements with particular frequencies of sound, Chakradance will free the energy in your body and open you to a deeper experience of life.

In a darkened room, lit only by candle-light, we move to music created to resonate with the vibrations of each of our 7 major chakras.  We dance with our eyes mainly closed, and our attention turned inwards, for unlike most other dance practices, Chakradance is about making a connection with our inner world – the world of our imagination, feelings, intuition and senses.

The experience is like a waking dream – we dance up forgotten parts of ourselves, and release the memories stored in our muscles.  Our aches and pains reveal their stories and our hidden fears unmask themselves.  The experiences are deeply personal and reflect our own nature and history, yet at the same time we tap into the collective heights and depths of human experience.

Drawing on the wisdom of Jungian Psychology, Chakradance is a dance for healing and self-discovery.  Each dance gives rise to different insights and feelings… and we use the creation of personal ‘mandala art’ as a way of anchoring our experiences back into our conscious world.

Each dance leads us closer to the person we are truly meant to be.

Welcome to Chakradance.  Come and and explore.  Have fun.  Find meaning.  Let go.  Come and look deeper into each chakra, each part of you, and experience more within the dance that is uniquely yours.

The Chakras

BASE CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF INSTINCTS

The dance of the base chakra draws inspiration from tribal dancing, as found in the indigenous cultures of Africa, Australia and North America.  These dances are linked to our roots, survival and grounding.  In Chakradance we envisage dancing around an ancient campfire, bringing our own tribal dance to life.  We also draw inspiration from the natural movements found in the animal kingdom.  Shamans believe that animals can teach humans the power of instinctual energy and animal dances are deeply entrenched in shamanic ritual.  A tiger, a snake, a dragon may join you – all animals whose energy corresponds to the base chakra energies.

SACRAL CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF SENSUALITY

The dance of the sacral chakra often relates to the feminine dances found in the Middle East, South America and Hawaii.  Dances from these regions celebrate many of the qualities associated with the sacral, including emotions and sexuality.  This sacral dance can be slow and sensual, or flirtatious and erotic, with fluid movements of the hips and belly.  Through this dance, the dancer can transform into a gypsy, a belly dancer, an ancient goddess, as he or she surrenders to the serpentine movements of the feminine.  In this sensual dance the connecting force of Eros is evoked, and its energy infuses throughout our bodies.

SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF POWER

To dance the solar plexus chakra is to call on the warrior dances of the Maori, ancient Morocco, Spain, Mexico, Brazil.  These warrior dances were masculine, powerful, athletic and virile, as they rhythmically mimicked the art of the fight.  In Chakradance, fast dynamic movements ignite the fire in our belly, fuelling our dance with energy and strength.  Reining all this fiery energy in, movements then become strong, purposeful and clearly defined as our inner warrior emerges triumphant, brave and strong.

HEART CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF LOVE

To dance the heart chakra is to move with lightness, joy and compassion, as reflected in dances from ancient Spain, Egypt and China.  Many of these dances used exaggerated arm movements to gently whirl into deep states of joyful harmony.  Other dances of China symbolized balance, where mimetic movements expressed the union of heaven and earth.  We’ve drawn inspiration from these dances, and move the arms to feel uplifted, light and free.  Inspired by the whirling of the ancient ones, we dance a soaring journey of love, compassion and joy.

THROAT CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF EXPRESSION

The movements of the throat chakra have been inspired by many ancient dances.  So many cultures all over the planet interweave the voice and dance to increase the awareness of spirit.  The Greek word horus refers to both dance and song, and is the origin of the word chorus.  In Ancient Egypt, performers often danced while reciting poetry, while in Hawaii, chant and dance are blended to communicate the story.  In Tibetan culture, mystical rituals performed by monks interweave chanting and sound (gyaling horns, cymbals and bells), with delicate movements of the body.  In Chakradance, we weave sound and movement in a ‘mantra-dance’ which intensifies our self-expression and creativity.

THIRD EYE CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF INTUITION

At the third eye chakra, we can lift up into ecstatic and altered states of consciousness through trance-dance.  The practice of trance-dance is hugely popular throughout the world, and has its heritage in many of the ancient cultures of South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.  The movements tend to be simple and repetitive.  The dance of the third eye is the dance of the intuitive mind.  Each dancer drifts into his or her own visual universe of images, colors, and insights, achieving a deeply meditative state.

CROWN CHAKRA – THE DANCE OF THE SOUL

The dance of the crown chakra is a devotional dance, one in a long line of dances that embrace the religious and the spiritual.  In ancient Shamanic practice, from the Celts to the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Asia, dance was used to commune with the spirits.  In Ancient Egypt certain ritual dances were crucial to the successful outcome of religious rites.  In Chakradance we open the gateway to the soul through this meditative sacred dance.  This is a dancing prayer; our soul’s turn to dance.

Laura will be conduction a 2 hour workshop to explore Chakra dance.

With: Laura Escudero
When: May 20
Where: SomaChi Yoga Studio Collingwood
Cost: $49 (20% discount for Auto renew members)