Dancing Soothes and Heals

You have no doubt noticed children love to dance to music—they move their body with the music openly and freely in whatever way feels best.

Few people have retained or regained the ability to engage in dancing un-self-consciously. Many adults have stopped dancing altogether. You might have hang-ups about your body, or you may fear being judged that your body movement is not artistic enough or have the correct rhythm. You may have simply gotten out of the habit of dancing and then think you are too out of practice or too old to dance.

Whatever the case, you can put aside those false fears or excuses and rediscover the healing/soothing pleasure of moving your body to music-alone, or as part of a couple, or in a group. Opportunities to dance formal or informal abound wherever there are people.

The origin of dance may be as long as the history of humans. We can only guess what dances looked like in earlier epochs.

An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which the modern interpretation classical Indian dance (e.g. Bharathanatyam) is based.

The ancient chronicle of the Sinhalese (Sri Lankans), the Mahavamsa states when King Vijaya landed in Sri Lanka in 543 BCE he heard sounds of music and dancing from a wedding ceremony. Origins of The Dances of Sri Lanka are dated back to the aborginal tribes. The Classical dances of Sri Lanka, Kandyan Dances features a highly developed system of tala (rhythm), provided by cymbals called thalampataa.

In Europe one of the earliest records of dancing is by Homer, whose "Iliad"; describes chorea (khoreia).

The early Greeks made the art of dancing into a system, expressive of all the different passions. For example, the dance of the Furies, so represented, would create complete terror among those who witnessed them. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that certain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions. Greek sculptors studied the attitude of the dancers for their art of imitating the passions.

Rock-shelter drawings in India reveal the earliest examples of dance. Todo, forms of monkeys at Gupteshvara and a number of human figures at Pahadgarh, Tikla and Abachand present evidence of dance being prevalent in those days. These drawings belong to the period from 5000 to 2000 B. C. As revealed by the stone statuette of a male dancer from Harappa and the bronze figurine of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro, the Indus Valley civilization had a well-evolved dance culture.

Ballet dancing started in the 16th century. and its became so big that royalty were getting dance masters to teach them ballet.

If you think you have lost the knack for dancing and feel too self-conscious to start in public, reintroduce yourself to the joy of listening and responding to music in the comfort of your home. Set the mood by turning the lights down. Remember it is more fun when you are not thinking about what you look like. You will be surprised how quickly your body moves easily to the music's rhythm. Feel the music in your mind, body and spirit—feel the vibrations healing/soothing your body. Give this experience the attention and importance of meditation in which you agree to allow yourself to fully inhabit your amazing body.

If you think you are awkward, that is what you will create. If you think you are a graceful swan gliding and moving with the music, that is what you will create. Everyone carries the memory of dance in their cells.

If you prefer to take your dance moves to another level, take a class. There are dance studios in every city—in small towns the classes might be taught at the high school. In most cities, you will find every kind of dance from modern to African, ballroom and salsa. Whichever you choose, you will not regret choosing to rediscover your body's natural birthright—the healing, soothing joyful thrill of dancing.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What a Personal Self-Esteem Coach Can Do For You

A personal self-esteem coach can provide an objective perspective sorely needed to see things in a new light, challenge long-held beliefs that have held you back, change the patterns that have kept you stuck and make new choices so that you create and attract success into your life.

Creating a clear direction for your life can be difficult. Old thinking and behavior patterns are persistent. Your coach can help you recognize and replace these old patterns with new ideas and strategies which serve you and clear the way for a healthy, balanced life. Your coach can also tune in to the language you use to describe yourself, your life circumstances, both past and present, and your future. The language you use is a strong indicator of the level of self-esteem you are experiencing right now.

As your self-esteem improves, you'll notice you are more focused, more organized and more able to take action. You'll be able to create strategies, plans and structures to achieve your goals more easily. Procrastination will be a thing of the past. What once pushed you past overwhelm will no longer intimidate you.

Maybe you have self-esteem issues rearing their ugly heads in your relationships. Do you often feel jealousy, especially in the context of romantic relationships? Are you struggling with finding or staying in a romantic relationship? Do you feel too stressed and vulnerable to make good decisions? Maybe you are still recovering from the break up of your last romantic relationship and you want to firm your boundaries and learn to trust again. Wherever you find yourself feeling badly about yourself, a self-esteem issue exists.

If you are tired of living on automatic pilot and want to take charge of your life to create the happiness you've spent all this time looking for, then a personal self-esteem coach might be the right choice at this place in your life.

Blessings of Expressing Gratitude

"You must learn to understand the secret of gratitude. It is more than just so-called virtue. It is revealed to you as a mysterious law of existence. In obedience to it we have to fulfill our destiny." ~ Albert Schweitzer

How are we blessed when we express gratitude? How can we experience for ourselves the transformative value of this "mysterious law" that Albert Schweitzer mentioned?

First, we must realize that the law of gratitude, although it might seem mysterious, is not mystical or mysterious at all. It is very simple and a much more rational choice than our conditioned ways of thinking.

Over the years, I have suggested to hundreds of clients that they begin their work by expressing gratitude for everything they have as well as for the accomplishment of their desired goals. I am after a shift in perspective--from a mindset of scarcity and doubt to one of abundance and faith. That is, to encourage movement beyond thought forms which prevent taking action or produce unconstructive behaviors.

When individuals developed the habit of expressing gratitude and developed authentic feelings of thankfulness, faith and enthusiasm followed as natural "icings on the cake". Self-esteem and creativity began spiking upward. The habit of expressing gratitude came
first, then the feelings, then new actions, then the desired results.

This process is transformative. Our dominant thoughts will always generate actions that manifest those thoughts. The key is actions--nothing mysterious; although we might be amazed at how we begin acting differently. This is how the Creator designed our thoughts to affect our behavior, and our behavior to affect what happens to us in this life.

There are two choices we always have...

We can manifest negativity by spending time each day resisting how things are, thinking of how we don't have this or that, or talking about what we don't like and what isn't working. This choice is a sure-fire path to sustained misery.

There is a more functional and rational choice. If there are unfavorable circumstances, do not deny them; however, do not build walls of resistance around them. These walls will only keep them in place. Rather, observe them without judgment. Give thanks for everything. Look for blessings hidden in the turn of every season of life, the lessons of gold and treasures you would not have found otherwise.

Move above your life situation, expressing gratitude for each blessing you have now and all those yet to come. You will be thinking in harmony with your creative spirit; your actions will bring you closer to your desired goals.

The more passionately we express gratitude, the more reasons we will find for joy and new blessings to enter our lives; we will notice them and accept them. Your personal expressions of gratitude, your feelings, and your actions will bring you the peace of mind and achievements that you want.

Wishing you blessings and success,

Steve Brunkhorst