Using Dance as a Way to Cope During Covid May 3, 2021
Yes! I can’t wait to go downstairs to my studio to move my delicate body to the beat of a drum, the echo of a trumpet or the sweet sound of a steel pan. It really doesn’t matter where the sounds or the beats are coming from. I sometimes use my own vocals in musical rhythm to connect with all parts of the self. Covid has plans for us all but I will conquer its intentions by starting my day with a dance. I refuse to let Covid win!
Dance and movement is a powerful practice which helps me feel fit – emotionally, physically and spiritually. It brings all the pieces of my true self together in harmony. It brings me joy. I have always used dance and music as ways to cope with my day-to-day stressors. Despite what the universal throws at me, I can always turn to dance and music to shift me to a platform of stability.
From a physical perspective, I use dance to stimulate all my inner organs so that a smooth flow of vascular nourishment can reach all my systems. Through physical dance movements, I am also able to release and let go of the poisonous lactic acid that often gets trapped in my muscles blocking the smooth flow of my circulation. Dancing for me is part of living. I once told a colleague that I street dance for 12 to 14 hours annually each Carnival Tuesday on the happy island of Trinidad. With a questioning tone and doubting lifted eyebrows, she asked me “How is that possible?” Yes, it is possible and it has been possible for me annually for most of the last 36 years!
Emotionally…….dance and music help my body secretes my happy hormones, bringing a smile to my face and erasing the frowns of despair and worries. Through dance, I am able to smile, laugh, sing, and hum – all toning my facial muscles leaving my aging face wrinkle-free. At the same time, I readily connect with the little girl in me. This little girl is fun, playful and stress-free. Her infantile state helps me to be free-spirited yet grounded causing me to maintain a strong sense of balance.
Dance leaves me with ‘feel good feelings.’
Dance pushes me spiritually to connect with my soul, taking me to places and spaces that I don’t readily go. To places that are brighter, safer, non-judgemental and way happier. Dance can be seen as a moving spirituality. I consider dance as soul food because it releases endorphins that prompt me to fall in love with the spirit of my being. When this happens, I am forced to leave all the garbage of the moment behind. Dance has become my spiritual healer.
I discovered the magic of dance and movement very early in my life. I learned that movement has a symbolic function and as such aids in the understanding of the wholistic self.
“So, just Dance!”