Random Acts of Spirituality 26

A guest post from Dr Sabina McCollum Singh

Dance is a spiritual practice.

Every movement your body makes is a type of dance, a gesture, a look, a head movement. Yet when you push yourself in dance you will often be amazed by what your body can do. The body speaks to the mind and even guides the mind. It gives us a chance to open the mind body connection and remember that we can be open to surprises our body gives, and this allows us to feel great joy.

I have been dancing for 50 years. Every time I walk into a dance practice now, I touch the floor we will dance on and then touch my heart. I know that the dance floor gives me great teachings and each time I go for a class, workshop or other movement experience, and for this I am so grateful.

In ancient traditions from India, dancers were almost aways temple dancers. In fact, most places in the world have some connection between dance or movement and spirituality. We have used to body and movement to connect with the divine spirit all over this planet and we have used it to speak to each other and display our feelings.

If you have a chance to even watch or be a spectator of dance the same feelings can overcome us. The amount of spirit coming off the stage can move us and give us that sense of bewilderment at human existence.

Dance is one of the beautiful things that life gives us. 

Artworks

Top, La Danse I, par Henri Matisse. Public Domain.

Bottom, Thanjavur, Brihadishwara Temple, dancers