Meditation is not for me. Too still, too silent, too much contemplation – not enough action.
I know it’s good for you, I know it stills your mind, reduces your anxiety - I know it all, but I find stillness in being busy. In my job as a PA, I’m constantly multitasking, managing an ever-changing diary, preempting meetings and working meticulously on the details of events. And that’s how I like it.
So when I found out about Spirit Dance Meditation, a class that offers a more active form of meditation that draws its inspiration from shamanic practices, Brazilian samba, yoga, tai chi, and somatic bodywork - which apparently, both helps anxiety and gets you fit at the same time, my interest peaked.
What is Spirit Dance Meditation?
According to the blurb, Spirit Dance Meditation is about “using music and movement to have less clutter in your mind and allowing release in your body”, promising that the freestyle nature, with powerful music and guided meditation, will clear my mind, boost my mood, and increase emotional wellbeing and confidence. I was sceptical, but intrigued… Could there really be a form of meditation that didn't bore me silly?
By letting go and surrendering to the moment, and allowing your body to move freely, you can unlock hidden parts of yourself and experience a deep sense of healing and connection. Reaching ecstasy can be defined as a state of ‘going outside of oneself’ or ‘going within’ to experience a deep sense of connection within the self.
What's the history behind it?
I do a bit of research, and discover these forms of ecstatic dance, movement and rhythm have been in existence for hundreds of years. They have been used to help people heal, connect with the divine, and achieve an altered state of consciousness, as well as prepare for battle, and release collective trauma. It’s been seen in rituals like Egypt’s Zar or Tunisia’s Stambali, who believed we can surrender the ego to connect with divine energy and communicate with spirits. The practice went underground in the 18th and 19th centuries, then it resurfaced in the 20th century, especially during the 1960s hippie movement and the 1980s rave scene in Britain.
The Class
When I enter the class at my local David Lloyd gym, there are four other women already in the room, barefoot, in their gym gear and eagerly waiting for something to happen… We start by slipping on a pair of headphones, the teacher explains we’ll hear the music, the beats and also her voice to guide us through the meditative dance - it’s akin to a silent rave. The class begins gently, we’re dotted around the room and on our feet, easing in with deep breaths and light meditation; the teacher tells us to close our eyes and begins to move our awareness to each body part, starting at our feet and working her way up to our facial muscles, with the aim of getting the whole body relaxed.
So far, so predictable.
Still standing, we’re then told to breathe more deeply and sway gently, slowly increasing the movement. The teacher walks us through the dance with instructions, affirmations, and words of encouragement; “Deep breaths, let that energy move”, “Where can you feel tension?”, “Can you loosen that..?”
The aim of the class is to feel into your body, let your inhibitions go and feel the ultimate freedom. Once I’ve found the rhythm in this slow movement, I began to move into a full-blown freestyle dance, encouraged and guided by the teacher, who begins shaking, moving and spinning around the room.
We’re swinging our arms, swaying our hips, bending the elbows, extending our arms, fingertips gliding through the air, our knees bent jerking forward and backward, eyes closed, with just a little peek now and then to check we’re not in each other's space.
The teacher chants: “Can you go a little deeper?”, “Can you move a little more?”, “Don’t think, just move,” and if we weren't moving, shaking and gyrating enough, we are now.
At first I feel silly, embarrassed, afraid of what the others in the class are thinking of my lunatic moves. But once I start to feel the rhythm and begin not to give a f*, the embarrassment or shame fades away and I melt into the moves. Eyes closed, eyes open, slow paced or fast paced, I weirdly feel like I'm in control, and have more power.
How does it make you feel?
Music has a huge effect on our mood and emotions, Spirit Dance Meditation taps into this through binaural frequencies (a type of music made up of two tones of different frequencies at the same time creating an illusion in the brain to promote relaxation, and meditative or creative states). The music of Spirit Dance consists of varied tempos, rhythms and melodic moods; deep percussion, tribal beats and animal sounds; like birdsong or primate sounds, created bespoke for the classes, by Ibizan artists from Six15am.
I enjoyed the music so much, I asked for the playlist.
Finally, after what feels like at least half an hour (who’s counting when you're dancing like a maniac in a room full of strangers) we wind down into a spoken meditation by the instructor, to calm our energy and release any remaining tension. The aim of the dancing is to loosen up any stagnant energy, open the chakras to get this energy moving around your body and then let it all out, let it go, and feel a sense of relief and renewal.
The best part? Anyone can do it. Whether you’re young or old, coordinated or clumsy.
We end with a moment of silence with each of us taking a few calming breaths.
On leaving, I have mixed feelings but the overall one is a high, feeling like I've accomplished something good and been brave enough to come out of my shell and crazy-dance in front of complete strangers. My confidence and mood skyrocketed and I found myself smiling as I walked out onto Fulham Broadway.
Spirit Dance Meditation to me was empowering, freeing, and so much fun. I'll definitely be back for another dose!
To find out about joining David Lloyd Clubs, please visit https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/. *Membership required
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