Sep 04, 2017

When Dance Becomes Meditation…

Aditi Divatia

“Close your eyes, relax, breathe, concentrate within…be aware of your forehead, your eyes, your lips, your ears, next focus on your throat, your neck, your spine, your thighs, your calves, your feet. Draw your attention to your chest, your breathing, your abdomen, your upper arms, forearms and your hands, one by one.” This is what my meditation instructor tells me – “look within, let the thoughts flowing in your mind slowly go away – pull your attention back within”. And with every bit of me concentrating on doing this – I finally am able to achieve ten minutes of complete solitude and peace, focusing within, being aware of myself, my body parts, my breathing. A certain calmness takes over and I am completely steady and still for a while. I have connected with myself within. This gives me the energy to kick start my day which stands before me abuzz with activity – mental and physical.

Surprisingly dance has the same effect on me. I connect with myself within.

A difficult day in terms of rushing around, emotional turbulences, mentally exhausting, physically draining, or a dull feeling at the start of a day for no particular reason – don’t we all go through such days once in a while?

How do I handle such a day? What do I do? Fifteen minutes stolen from my routine…I close myself in a room, put on some invigorating music and let my mind and body listen to it…and then just let myself go…it has the same effect like meditation. My attention is on my body, my breathing, the accompanying movements along with the flowing music. I am aware of my lit up face, the slowly emerging smile on it. I am aware of my chest, my breathing, my abdomen movement, my legs tapping to the music, my upper arms, forearms and my swaying hands, one by one…..This is exactly what my meditation instructor tells me! A certain calmness takes over and I am completely steady and still for a while. I have connected with myself within. This gives me the energy to kick start my day which stands before me abuzz with activity – mental and physical.

Lo Behold!….is this dance or is it meditation?

Prof. Divatia (second from right) during Teachers’ Day celebrations

The two seem to be so closely connected…..a spiritual feel – which takes you within – calms you, steadies you. Although the best time for meditation is considered to be in the morning, I believe that a ten minute break for meditation anytime in the day is effective – just being with yourself for rejuvenation – like dance. Anytime is dance time – it does not matter when you dance – it is what it does to you. The adrenalin, the energy boost, the cloud burst in your mind driving away the dullness is transformational!

Management students today are hard pressed for time due to the multitude of things they are expected to do. They are multitaskers, continuous consumers of internet and social media resulting in their lower thresholds of patience and much needed listening skills. They need some steady time, a connect to the self within. Management schools now have embedded courses on meditation to help them. The millennials may believe that meditation is only for the yogis or for people in another generation and not in sync with who they are – exuberant, entrepreneurial, technologically savvy, confident, unafraid and educated!

So hey – you can’t sit still for meditation? Can’t lock your mind off thinking for ten minutes? Try dancing….dance and discover your connect within. Take that fifteen minute break and do a jig to feel energised for the day ahead.

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