Dance in Your Life

Recently at a Mind-Body talk, which I hold twice a month at my office on specific Friday evenings, Kumu Hula, Hoakalei Hina (Macey) Kamauu shared something really profound to another lady about the power of dancing. This lady was asking how she can learn to make the right choices and to trust herself. This lady shared that she was a professional dancer in the past and Macey stated you will know what to do just like when you dance. You practice the dance steps over and over to the music and then one day you no longer have to think, but just flow with the music. Instead of thinking about the next steps that you need to perform, you are in the flow and having the time of your life.

In sports, athletes share this experience of being in the flow, as in the zone. It’s almost like an out of body experience where you are so certain of the outcome that you are essentially moving on autopilot and trusting yourself completely. You are no longer in your mind thinking things through, but believing in your absolute knowing. Everyday you practice becoming truer to who you really are. All the challenges and the successes you experience help to build your resilience and determine how you respond and react to certain situations. By learning to trust yourself, you increase your ability to experience more joy and stay in the present.

One of the hardest things to do is to let go of control. Control is an illusion created to provide reassurance and a sense of security. Going with the flow and following your inner guidance gets easier when you listen to your internal feedback mechanism (aka body signals). Your body is constantly giving you feedback about whether or not you are in alignment and on track. Anytime you start to stray from your certainty and truth, the body creates muscle tension, stiffness, and shortness of breath, among other signals. The next thing that follows is mental confusion and emotional distress. Ultimately if you ignore all these messages, a life crisis such as a major health ailment, loss of job, and other challenging circumstances arise to force you to make a shift and get back to yourself.

The choice of listening to your body’s signals, although appearing simple, is extremely difficult to do. Why is that the case? Your mind tends to interfere with this process because of conditioned patterns and habits that have been established over time. Your mind can lie to you, especially when certain events, people, or situations are not matching your expectations. Be honest with yourself and get clear on your values, and don’t allow another’s values to supersede your own. Doing so is the key to your happiness and clarity. The more in tune you get with your body, the more it truly becomes your best friend that you can always trust and dance with in your life.