“5Rhythms practice is a journey towards freeing the body, expressing the heart, emptying the mind, awakening the soul and embodying the spirit.”
Gabrielle Roth
One of the questions that those who are interested often ask before joining a 5 Rhythms workshop is: “What are the benefits of this practice?” or “What can I find in it for myself?” What I love about this practice are the many different ways in which it works, raises awareness, awakens, moves, connects, and balances all levels of myself as a human being. In my opinion that is exactly what makes this practice specific and the reason why so many different people find something for themselves in it. For some it is essential to meet with their physical body, and regain the trust in the body and its movements. Some people find their feet in the dance for the first time, some find their arms, and for some it is the falling in love with their whole body and coming back ‘home’ to it. Some are driven straight to the dance by their heart, which thirsts and hungers for space and freedom to fully express itself. They can find a song that sings about each emotion they feel, and they can also find a dance to express and release it. For some the dance is the only way to quiet their mind, to dance all their foolish and crazy thoughts, to recycle their old convictions into new. Surrendering their body, heart, and mind to the movement is the only way for them to find the empty space between words and thoughts. For some of us the soul is a dancer. The dance is the way to spread our wings and leave the cage; every song touches a different part of the soul. While for others the dance is a prayer, a meeting with their spiritual part, and the spirit that permeates everything. Through the dance they communicate with their ancestors, with the angels, with the invisible threads that connect us all.
The dance helped me to awaken all of these aspects of myself, and to discover those that I didn’t know I had, and I didn’t know how to live. It helps me exactly where I’m weak and leads me into the unknown. On the journey I am helped and supported by those parts of me where I feel at home.
May you too awaken these 5 levels of being (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit), whether through dance or anything else, and thereby all the 5 Rhythms.