“There was no turning back. There was only surrender.” GABRIELLE ROTH

One of the crucial things that I have been learning by practicing the 5 Rhythms is how to live with changes. Changes in the body, emotional changes, changing directions, changing roles, changing seasons…
I still remember, after having taught the Rhythms as such for some time, how I shifted my focus to teaching about transitions from one rhythm to the next. I remember, after many years of dancing, the moment when I realised in my gut, not in my head, that the whole Wave was actually teaching me about change. Every living thing, everything that breathes has movement, and as long as it is moving, it is changing. I also realised that it took a lot of my life energy to stop the natural energy flow, to bottle up my emotions as they were rising and falling and how much I struggled to stop my own thoughts about how I think too much.
Thanks to Flowing I discovered where my trust lives inside of me, the trust to really let my energy flow naturally, organically. I learned to trust that if I am patient enough and listen to my deep instincts long enough, there will come a time when my words will want to be shaped, my direction and intention will show up and my heart will be ready to act.
Thanks to Staccato I discovered what lay beneath the superficial order and hierarchy, what vibrated behind all my attempts to be perfect and always do the things that were useful in life. I found a strong and vulnerable heart, a constant inner beat that never gives up on me, a song that sings both in low tones of sadness and high tones of exhilaration. I touched the truth, which had been beating in my chest all the time, and which I had hidden first and foremost from myself, that I wished to love and be loved and that I knew how to love and be loved. I could see that it was my power, my (birth)right, my freedom.
Thanks to Chaos I explored the vast wilderness of my own mind, I danced with all my body parts to the cacophony of absurd and crazy thoughts until my head felt at least a little emptier. And in that emptiness, my mind could become a student. In that emptiness I began to get a glimpse of a higher intelligence that was guiding me and to which I could surrender more and more. I began to listen to the wisdom of my errors, the pain of my wounds and breaks, the sadness of my losses and I learned that right now was the best moment to feel both my feet on the ground, one hand on my belly and the other on my heart and follow my breathing.
Thanks to Lyrical I was surprised to see that I could be easy when things are difficult; I could be open when the door is closed; I could be present when others were absent; I could be interested in boredom and fascinated by apathy. I could be playful in this game called life. I was fascinated to see how something as light as the soul (21 grams?!) could fill my life so much. And how things do not need to be perfect in order for me to feel good.
Thanks to Stillness my unheard cry for meaning was heard in the silence.. My inner hamsters’ paws could take a rest from running on the wheel of life. My own breath became my inspiration. The mystery of death brought the numb survivor to life. All that was separated became one. I danced all the way to the end.

With love, Silvija

“Unless we value our feet as much as our frontal lobes, we’ll end up disembodied talking heads with no rhythm, no root.” GABRIELLE ROTH

In Flowing I move with my feet following the empty space, following my own pace, following my own destiny on the journey to ecstasy.
In Flowing I rest my body on the ground, loving myself all around.
 
In Staccato I move with my hips connected with my heart and turn my suffering into art. I walk my talk and commit to the dance that takes me into trance. 
In Staccato I rest my heart in the beat, tired of being in the back seat.
 
In Chaos I move with my head and all it’s mess, surrendering to being work in progress. I release the stress of wanting to impress and I am on my knees praying for some ease.
In Chaos I rest my mind in the present moment and finally there is no comment.
 
In Lyrical I move with my hands and watch how my soul expands. The key is total fascination and disappearing in  life’s vibration.
In Lyrical I rest my soul in the spaces in between and in nature’s green.
 
In Stillness I move with my breath, as it is a matter of life and death. I am building the muscles of my awareness and devote my whole body to become spirit’s mistress. 
In Stillness I rest my spirit in the moonlight, remembering that dance is my birthright.
 
 With love, Silvija

“Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.”  Tao Te Ching

What are summer holidays for me? What type of holidays do I want and what do I need to rest from? I am fed up with holidays from which I come back home tired. I want summer holidays which offer balance that I am trying to achieve in my everyday life. Time to be in the sun and time to sit in the shade. Time to be in the sea and time to sit and look at the greenery. Time with my eyes open absorbing the light and the summer colours and time with my eyes closed, resting deep in the darkness. Time away from everybody and time when I feel so close to myself. Time for connecting with others without too many words and time to connect with nature without a plan or a schedule. Time to spend with my family and time to dance with the dancing tribe where I feel at home. Time to be active and leading and holding the space as well as time to relax, float and drift. Time to be a mom and time to be a wild woman. Time that is planned with a beginning and an end and time that is totally free and spontaneous.
Our summer workshop “Move’n’Rest” provides just the balance I am looking for and wish to offer and share with others who are looking for this type of a summer vacation. We wish to explore how each of the 5 Rhythms can wake us up from inertia and our autopilot and stir in us the power of being where we feel so safe and on our home turf that we can really relax and rest. What a gift it is to have time to find our dance, the dance that does not need to accommodate anyone else, or look a specific way, or even follow the rhythm of the music. The dance that we create ourselves. The dance that regenerates us because it is honest. The dance that moves us from the inside.
The dance in which movement leads to rest and rest prepares us for movement. The dance in which dualities and opposites merge into one. The dance in which everything vibrates and ebbs and flows like the tide.
I hope that you will dance this summer wherever you are, especially if you haven’t got the time, whether to music or to the murmur of the sea, under the stars or under the AC, hand in hand with someone or in the arms of the Universe.
Love,
Silvija

“We don’t have to wait till we’re eighty-seven to experience stillness. We contain our future within us. Any time we are ready we can access the lessons of stillness: wisdom, compassion, and inspiration.” GABRIELLE ROTH

Silence needs empty space
Silence needs the fullness of surrender
Silence is hiding in the depths
Silence dances right on the top
Silence asks for all or nothing, or perhaps both
Silence has the sound of a heartbeat
Silence gets closer on the inhale
Silence stretches out on the exhale
When the body has told all the stories that I keep even from myself – silence.
When the heart has let go of the shame for what I am and the guilt for what I am not – silence.
When the mind has sweated off all the options for avoiding the present moment – silence.
When the soul has found another soul which it feels at home with – silence.
When the flow of breath has become completely free in absolute trust – silence.
I am afraid of disappearing in silence.
I hunger for the nourishment of silence.
I take delight in my reassembling in silence.
I am grateful for the stillness in silence.

I hope we will meet there…
With love,
Silvija
 

“STACCATO: Flamenco, kung fu, fire, dog having sex, the crack of the bat, woodpecker, kodo drums, funky music, slamming doors, tap dancing, New York Stock Exchange, cutting hair, crunching an apple, cha-cha, red light green light, striking a match, sushi chef, stapler, pinball, fireworks, metronome, heart pounding…” GABRIELLE ROTH

ODE TO STACCATO 
 
I breathe out the clarity that comes from my moving center.
I dance out the truth that I find in the consistency of my heartbeat.
I live out the desire to show up in my full power and vulnerability.
I speak out what I see, what I feel, what I want.
 
I bring you as medicine into my rigid heart and locked hips.
I invite you as a wake up call into my boredom and heart denying routine.
I call your spirit to show me direction towards what is really important to me.
I use your fire to burn the walls of separation between me and you. 
 
You align me with what is really needed and what is the right action.
You teach me about how loving is to have clear boundaries.
You connect me with the super power of self-discipline. 
You kick my ass to take the lead in my own life and focus on love.
 
I bow to your juiciness. 
I lean into your warmth.
I salute your integrity.
I look straight into the eyes of your dedication.

Silvija