5 Ways Dance Therapy Is Healing
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Dance therapy is an opportunity to take a break from clinical work during treatment and have a little fun.
- Dancing Requires Being Fully Present: If you’re so anxious about the future and what people will think or say or how they might judge you after this moment, the moment will be gone and no dancing will be had. Lamenting over the past or worrying about the future takes the fun out of dancing. Dancing is a form of mindfulness. You notice the music and become aware of how it makes you feel. When you move and groove, you can pay attention to the movements of your body- even all the awkward and uncomfortable thoughts in your mind.
- Dancing Challenges You To Overcome Your Fears: Everyone can dance! Movements we make all day when we step around someone or even walk around a corner is dancing. Stepping into a dance therapy session or onto a dance floor means you’re leaving it all behind you. No matter what is about to happen, you’re going for it.
- Dancing Helps You Break Down Your Walls: Part of overcoming your fears through dancing is recognizing what your fears are. As a practice in mindfulness, you learn to notice your thoughts. You might find old taunts of bullying come up. Maybe self-defeating accusations belonging to a voice which isn’t yours. Whatever the cause, you can identify them through dance and then dance through them. Dance great, dance goofy, run around in circles like a two year old- break down the walls of insecurity and be authentically in the moment, as you are.
- Dancing Is A Practice, Which Is A Metaphor: Some people are natural born dancers. Other people have a hard time adjusting to being in touch with their bodies. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned professional or a green newcomer. Dancing takes practice. Achieving all the emotional and spiritual benefits of dancing takes practice. So does recovery. There is no such thing as being perfect in recovery, but you can progress. Becoming comfortable about being who you are is the way to take little steps.
- Dancing Takes Your Feelings Out Of Your Head: Getting “stuck” in our heads means we lock all of our emotions into our minds. It can get overwhelming quite quickly. Emotions are energy which need to be moved through our body. Stuck emotions become stuck energy which can create blockages in our natural ability to go with the flow. Dance is all about flow. By focusing on the movements of your body, you stop focusing on your mind.
Dance therapy is part of the holistic therapy program at Design For Change. We understand that addiction is an illness of the mind, body, and spirit. Our treatment programs are designed to help clients create change in each area of their lives. Hope exists in recovery. For more information, call us today at (877) 267-3646.
