Miriam O. Ezenwa, PhD, RN, FAAN

Greetings, my people! On Week 3 of our series, Strategies for Strengthening your Core and your Will to Turn your life Around, I will discuss “Healing Dance,” the third strategy I used to turn my life around. I will start by asking you several questions to get you thinking. Here you go:

Have you danced today? When was the last time you moved your body in a ritualistic way that your body starts to speak its needs to you? When was the last time you moved your body with such fluidity that you freed your soul from all types of bondage — the bondage of time pressure, the bondage of doubt, the bondage of writers’ block, and the bondage of negative emotions? Do you know that through ritual dance, you heal your body and expand your soul to manifest your dreams?

People always ask me what kind of exercise I do to stay physically fit. When I tell them that, “I dance,” they seem surprised. They want to know my “real” exercise regimen. In the past, I had done other forms of exercise such as abdominal crunches, weight lifting, used treadmill, and other equipment. However, I had an ankle injury that prevented me from exercising vigorously for years. Dancing became my major form of exercise. I could stand on the same position and slowly move my hips, head, shoulders, and hands. It was during this process that I discovered ritualistic dance, and its healing and creative power.

What am I talking about?

In a ritual dance, you are listening to your body to tell you where it hurts, where it needs more attention, and where it needs more love. When you discover where it hurts, you gently massage it to relax the muscles. This massage reduces muscle contractions and spasms or nerve compressions that cause the hurt. Where you feel tight because of neglect, you give it more attentive energy by rocking that part of your body more vigorously. You can also massage it. Where it needs more love, especially, the neck, back of the ears, forehead, and areas around the nose, you stroke them to release trapped fluids, so you can breathe better. Gentle massage also helps. Throughout the ritual dance or movement, you take deep breaths and occasionally sing along to your favorite music.

While the dance heals your body, it expands your soul. It allows your soul to soar up, twirl around the universe and connect with God, the Higher Power, or the Creative Source. Through this process, your soul fills itself with creative energy. When your dance is over, your soul begins to imprint the creative energy upon your heart and mind. If you paid attention, you would notice that after you danced, good ideas would begin to flow in your brain to help you tackle difficult tasks. 

I know that ritual dance works because as a professor, I actively engage my brain throughout the day by reading, writing, teaching, grading assignments, or attending meetings. When I am mentally exhausted to read one more word but still have lots of work to do, I give myself a “dance break.” After 5-10 minutes of my ritual dance, more often than not, I have a surge of creative energy that helps me finish my work.  

I invite you to develop your own healing dance and judge for yourself.

I would love to hear from you about your success with engaging in healing dance. How did it help you begin the process of turning your life around?

I will connect with you again soon to discuss the fourth strategy I used to turn my life around — Self-love.

I wish you strength, always!

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