Welcome
Movement is life and life is movement. Movement is the language of the brain. Most experts in health related disciplines agree that movement is central to our heath and continued well being. That is movement with mindful attention. When we bring mindful attention to our movement,-this can be movement of our physical bodies, feet, hips, heads, hands; it can be thoughts moving across our minds or it can be the movement of feelings in and out of our hearts,- research has shown that the brain starts growing new neural connections, creating new pathways and possibilities for change.
If our movements are done automatically or mindlessly, this does not provide our brain with new information. On the contrary it tends to deepen already existing brain patterns which can contribute to deep-seated habits or a type of sameness to our everyday life and a loss of flexibility and fluidity in our bodies and minds.
Movements linked with mindful attention to our sensations, feelings and actions serve as rich sources of information to the brain. By paying mindful attention to our movements weariness can turns to vitality, curosity and interest; rigid shoulders have possibilities to loosen, feet can become flexible and grounded and locked up emotions are given space for expression.
When we operate on automatic pilot, falling into habits and routines in the ways we move, think, and feel, we not only feel less alive, we also develop chronic joint pains and muscular strain; stuck thinking and a certain flatness or sameness in our emotional and physical lives. Routines can turn into ruts, we become predictable . Inertia becomes a way of being and we may find ourselves continually resisting any suggestions that might help change how we think, feel or act. Living too much out of habit, routines and sameness can strip us of our curiosity, vitality and new experiences
Years of maintaining similar routines and movements that are repeated over and over in the same mindless ways, can become restrictive. Pain and physical discomfort affect our emotional and intellectual lives, limiting our responses to the world around us. This can all contribute to losing the zest for life.
Yet we do not need to be trapped by repetitious routines and painful limiting beliefs. When we bring mindful attention and awareness to our movements,our brains are able to use this new information to lay down new and life giving pathways to health. With mindful attention and awareness different movements are introduced and discomfort begins to disappear and is replaced with a sense of well-being, energy and increased zest for life.
The 5 Rhythms® Movement Meditation Practice (MMP) offers you the opportunity to make all this movement mindful, to bring it into your awareness so you can begin to appreciate the uniqueness of your contribution to this ever changing world and to find a life where calm,contentment and caring are the bedrock. It is a physical practice that supports us to ground ourselves in Flowing, centre ourselves in Staccato, release stresses and tensions from our bodies in Chaos, experience lightness of spirit and creative possibilities in Lyrical and to find the stillness we require to be quiet and reflective in Stillness. The rhythms teach us how to move through our insecurities, self-consciousness, and restrictive emotions into curious, unpredictable, spontaneous, authentic beings. They demand that we pay attention and wake up to new possibilities of being in this world. So find out what your hands, your shoulders, your elbows, your knees, your hips and your feet have to say to you today...... There is a dance only you can do, that exists only in you, here and now, always changing, always true. Are you willing to listen with mindful attention and curiosity to the continual growth and development of your brain through your body?
The benefits of the 5 rhythms can be found here. Personal stories can be found here. A short DVD can be found here. Some of the workshop venues can be found here. Weekly classes and Workshops ranging from a single day to week long retreats are available, during which each of the five rhythms is explored more deeply and purposefully, allowing the dancer to identify how they relate to their individual body, mind, heart and spirit.
