5 Rhythms as Movement Medicine

Created by Gabrielle Roth, the 5 Rhythms is a moving meditation dance practice which takes the participant through five rhythms: flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness.

There are no dance steps, but the music and the teacher, act as a guide to movement. In a two hour class there will most often be two waves of music, each an hour in length.

"Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that, energy, waves, patterns, rythms. Nothing more. Nothing less. A dance. " (Gabrielle Roth)

Throughout the ages dance has been used as a rite of passage, an initiation, as part of ceremonies and rituals, a way to celebrate life and clear negativity. Increasingly in our society, bombarded with information and technology, we are required to reconnect with body, spirit and breath.

Research has shown that movement is medicine and that those suffering from physical or mental dis-ease have benefited greatly from dance.

http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/info-03-2011/dance-for-health.html

Similar findings in the UK have led to the publication of this study:

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/dancing_for_living.pdf?view=Standard

Further proof if you still aren't convinced on making dance a serious part of your health and wellbeing routine is this fascinating article which claims dancing makes you smarter!

http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm

We are all essentially going through similar challenges, processing similar emotions, resisting similar changes and experiencing similar successes. From this joint visceral experience, on the dancefloor, we can learn to come back to the heart and trust ourselves and our feet again.