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The Five Elements manifest in the body in the form of energy within the five sense organs, namely Space (through sound into our ears), Air (touch on our skin), Fire (lighting the vista before our eyes), Water (quenching our thirst on our tongue), and Earth (perfuming the terra firma for our nose).

Without ether, there would be no air, and without air there would be no flare for the fire. The hot, dry heat of the flame leaves way for the balancing element of coolly refreshing, wet water. Finally, earth is formed by the condensing of the former four.

In ether we can fly, with air we breathe, and fire catalyzes change. With water we flow and grow, and earth provides matter that grounds and stabilizes.   Each element offers the capacity for all matter and all means of energy to grow, change, stay, decay, disappear.   You can read more about my appreciation of the elements

Beyond the gross representations (gross as in manifest, not Ew) of the elements, we are privy to the subtle qualities that lie below. THAT, my friend, is where the real magic lies.

Have you ever been told to go with the flow? Or hold it steady? How about let it go? Or to light a fire under your ass?

I can certainly attest to the amazing balance of opposites. When I am burning up inside from anger or impatience, I step away to enjoy a cool drink or splash my face with cold water. As Winter progresses and the cold, damp winds blow, we find ourselves chilled to the bone, only finally finding the warming relief from spicy, hot soups or drinks. Examples of these types of balancing actions allows for blocked pathways (energetic and anatomical), so we can find ourselves truly rooted in our bodies with more awareness.

In this day of never-ending information downloading and uber cerebral daily workouts, I would argue that it’s embodiment that we need!

WHY DANCE?

I have danced ecstasy, anger, creation, passion, death and ritual. We may dance for the sake of performance or to get belly laughs from our children. We dance in community to celebrate, to sweat it out and be fit, and to honor the Divine or our Source of Universal strength and inspiration.

I am a born dancer. I started in ballet and jazz classes in childhood, and went on to study in college, even auditioning for big Broadway shows in Chicago and Detroit. As fate would have it, I suffered an ankle injury at age 17 that only accentuated the overwhelm I felt as a pre-professional dancer. I dealt with a lot of anguish about pushing myself to work through the pain and weakness, lest I see my classmates excel in their performance. Anyone who grew up seriously studying dance knows all about the search for the (unattainable) goal of physical perfection, the competitiveness, the “Bun Heads” (think Mean Girls in tights and very expensive wool warm ups). It’s a tough road.

After two years of college study, my grades suffered and I dropped out. Once a pure joy, the dance pivoted (kindly allow the pun!) and I transitioned into a career of nursing, leaving dance behind altogether. After a few years of academics however, I sorely missed movement.  I started practicing yoga pretty seriously, but felt the lack of lyrical flow from asana, and then thrillingly discovered tribal fusion belly dance while searching for adult dance classes online. I am grateful to have returned to dance in a kinder, more satisfying way, and one that allows for deep Inner satisfaction through movement meditation and conscious dance.

Mindful movement enables you to mobilize stagnant energy that has us spinning; it unearths stressors that have taken up residence within our tissues, and commands our ability to express our innermost emotions and feelings that cannot be verbalized due to limitations of our oral language.

The practice of mindful, moving meditation with delicate attention to the elements, both macro and micro, brings us into deeper awareness that improves our relationship to the physical body. Once we dissolve the inner barriers in our own body, the energies of our surroundings return to deeper familiarity and recognition.

I am Earth, This is Earth, You are Earth.

I am Fire, This is Fire, You are Fire.

I am Water, This is Water, You are Water.

I am Air, This is Air, You are Air.

I am Ether, This is Ether, You are Ether.

I love that no matter where I am in my cycle in life, I always have my ability to dance to convey my elemental wisdom; my lightness and adaptability, my flexibility and dynamism, my fiery determination and focus, my fluidity and giver of nourishment, and my steadiness and strength.   Conscious dance is yet one more amazing tool in my kit to Empowered and Lighter living.

This New Year, I invite you to investigate this for yourself. Find a space that you can freely dance, and put on a tune that moves you. Why does it inspire you to dance? What elements do you find called to and are naturally exuding? Try another song that ignites you. Can you find all 5 elements in your dance?   Afterwards, were you able to appreciate a shift in your physical, mental or emotional state?   *hint- dance has been known to be an amazing stress reliever!* Put it down in your favorite notebook and see what also comes up for you.

Feel like sharing? Please post below with your comments! Want to discuss privately? Email me at PurnimaWH@gmail.com. I’d love to hear of your experiences!