Each Rhythm, each Wave, each partner, each group, each theme, each teacher gives us the opportunity to meet a different part of ourselves. And it is endless. We have so many aspects, from light and shadow to female and male, from inside and outside to top and bottom; from our emptiness to our fullness. That is why it makes sense to me that at the beginning of the Wave, at the start of the dance, when I am about to meet myself, I encounter fear in some of its forms. Sometimes it is resistance which is so heavy that I can barely make it to the venue in spite of all the good reasons why I should not come, and sometimes it is a nervous, gentle flutter of butterfly wings in my belly. Sometimes it is boredom, sometimes back pain, sometimes crazy beehive of thoughts in my head, sometimes “I’d rather be anywhere else but home”, sometimes complete numbness and disinterest. It is at moments like these that our discipline comes into play directing our attention to that which is breathing within us, that which is moving within us, to the floor and the earth that are holding us, opening our eyes so that we can see what is really going on around us. Consequently, when the fears and resistance melt away, start to flow, free up, transform, it seems as if it happened by magic. Our attention and awareness together with our power to act are truly powerful, intelligent, magical, and healing tools that we uncover in this practice. We awaken them, hone them, empower, deepen and expand them; from head to toe, from one partner to the whole group, from known to the unknown, from beginning to end.
At the beginning we sometimes go through a jungle of different convictions that hold us back from at least coming and giving it a go. Like the convictions that we do not dance, it is not our thing, our time has passed, we don’t have time, we have no sense of rhythm, two left feet, not enough energy, we are too depressed to move, we have bigger problems, we are too shy to dance with other people, we need to know the steps and choreography, we have already tried different methods and dances, we prefer to watch others when they dance, we will go when we buy new dancing shoes, and when the conditions are perfect…
Just as the 5 Rhythms are a practice so too are they a way of learning. We learn about ourselves, about you and me, about life and love, and all the details in between. And we always come new to the practice. At the beginning we don’t even know where we are, we think we’re in one place and just a few breaths later, we feel where we really are. Just a few movements, dances, different partners, and rhythms later, we come to that magical place where we can be everything and nothing. It is a place of deep transformation and the place where we no longer take ourselves, especially our ego personalities, identities, and convictions so seriously. We pay attention to the space between, the empty space. We don’t feel the passing of time because we are flying on the wings of our breath, on the spirit that inspires life.