Dance away the condition

Dancing, ah dancing...
Dancing is full expression for me,it is like smiling with my whole body instead of just my face, it is like letting go,feeling free.

For long time I was convinced I couldn't dance: I was too clumsy,didn't know the moves,didn't know the music,didn't know the right steps. I believed I was inadequate on the dance floor,everybody would certainly just stare at me and think "who's that stupid person there, hopping around like a two-year old,and just look at her silly clothes,completely out of fashion anyway." I was so incredibly self-conscious.

At the same time I just absolutely adored watching other people dance, they looked so beautiful, elegant, so mad, so absolutely in unison with the music. I used to feel sad, envious, jealous that I couldn't dance like them, and so unworthy.

...until I realised that ONCE YOU STOP TRYING TO DANCE LIKE SOMEBODY ELSE YOUR OWN INNER DANCE COMES TO YOU! Once you stop concentrating on the right moves, once you close your eyes and let the music and rhythm enter your body, your body will start moving all by itself!
So I stopped "wanting to dance" and started to loosen up,to let go of the rigidity in my joints and let them do what they wanted to do. I began to dance inside,I might just nod my head,move my shoulders,tap my feet,or drum the rhythm with my fingers on the table...
More confident, courageous, I'd start dancing on the very margin of the dance floor, out in the shadow where nobody could see me. It worked best with eyes closed. I began to relax my facial muscles and started to smile a bit...and the more i smiled to myself dancing the more I enjoyed it. I realised that I have my very own style of moving to music, and this style is very varied, but when I look over a dance floor now I see that most people dance their own style, only very few dance exactly the same. When I felt comfortable enough with my own style I began to try out other people's style if I liked it. But without HAVING TO dance their way, just to see if it would sit with me as well.

The best dancing sessions I had were when I stopped comparing MY dance with OTHERS' dance. Everybody is unique, even in dancing.

I feel free now in dancing, I feel just myself, I can dance silly-clowny-airy-groovy-heavy-jumpy-flowing...whatever.

What I really want to learn properly now though is Salsa, maybe also Tango. When I lived in Cali/Colombia I learned to move to salsa because salsa is everywhere there. Disco music is salsa, and people from toddler to ancient, from poorest to rich,all dance salsa. It is a music and movement that 100% increases well-being, just for the mere fact that you move with a proud,upright,head-up, shoulders-back posture...and a smile, big grin, or laugh. It is IMPOSSIBLE to dance like that and still feel dull,sad or depressed - it merely is a contradiction.

Learn to feel by moving and move your feeling,dance into your recovery, recover dancing...

Love and dance,
xxx Robin xxx

I dance professionally but only went back to it recently as my recovery has progressed.
If I am having a potentially bad day, once I dance, I feel completely alive again and there is no room for negative thoughts in my mind.
You can hear the music and you can see the audience appreciating what you do but its not even that you are concentrating on dancing so much that you have no time for negative thoughts. Its more that you are completely lost in the music and the sense of freedom that dancing allows.

Ultimately for me, dance is a part of my make up. I wouldn't be being true to myself if I wasn't dancing but you certainly do not have to be trained to reap the rewards.

Dance around your room, dance when you're out at night; You can dance anywhere!!
It gives you a lovely awareness of yourself and a rejuvenating feeling of being alive!any type of dance will do the trick.

So heres to dancing the condition away!

"To dance is to be out of yourself.
Larger, more beautiful, more powerful." - Agnes De Mille