Photo by welsh boy
Dance is a poem. Each movement is a word - Mata Hari
I love dancing. When I was 3 years old I suddenly appeared in the lounge at 11 o’clock at night - stark naked and completely silent. My parents told me that they watched open-mouthed as I began to dance to a complete Beethoven symphony they were listening to. After 30 minutes of dancing, I went back to bed without speaking a single word - so my mother told me. Some years ago, when my mother was slipping into dementia, I told her that I was going to tango classes and was surprised to feel so at home.
She looked at me and said, “Oh, you silly mutt- how you could forget how much you love dancing?”
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These days, dance has come back into my life. David, my partner, is a tango teacher and I am his assistant and dance partner. Whenever there is music to dance to, David and I get up and dance -whether it’s the samba in steamy Rio de Janeiro, or the tango in Buenos Aires . I know that some people find it strange that a Zen master should also be passionate about dancing. As if Zen should be severe and otherworldly! In the West we imagine that sensuality and spirituality are at opposite ends of a spectrum.
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There is a close link between dancing and spirituality. I think that one dance in particular is closely aligned to Zen. That’s Argentine tango. To dance the tango you have to abide in mindfulness. The moment a tango dancer falls out of mindfulness into thinking, the connection to the dance and to one’s partner is broken. It’s like falling out of heaven with a thud! There is an interesting book by Chan Park, called Tango Zen. In it he traces the connection between tango and Zen. You can find his website and new blog here.
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When we dance we tap into deeper patterns of the universe and link into life’s vital energy. That is why dance is one of the ancient ways of connection with the sacred and dance forms part of ritual for many spiritual traditions.
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Here are seven ways dancing enhances spirit and body:
1. Dancing fosters intimacy with self and other
When we dance with someone, we open to another person. It’s as if this hard shell that we think of as ‘I’ becomes permeable. Not only does dancing help us connect with others, it also helps us re-connect with ourselves.
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Dancing gets us in touch with who we are. We can so easily to lose touch with aspects of ourselves. When you look back, were you maybe more daring, more outrageous, funny, more sensuous, or more playful in the past? You can recover those submerged parts by dancing. I’ve definitely recovered my innate playfulness and sensuality through dancing! Check out a short clip of a tango performance by David and myself on YouTube:
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2. Dancing promotes health
***Dancing encourages and improves the overall health and fitness of the body. Dancing
- Strengthens bones and muscles without hurting your joints;
- Improves your posture and balance;
- Increases your stamina and flexibility;
- Reduces stress and tension;
- Wards off illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression.
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3. Dancing enhances mood
The beat of music affects both body and mind. A slow piece with a beat of about 60 beats per minute (bpm) can trigger alpha waves in the brain which trigger a tranquil but alert state of mind. Music with a faster beat can accelerate the heart-beat and speed up our endocrine system.
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When we hear and move to music, our body resonates with the sounds we are hearing. Lower frequencies, such as drums produce, are felt in the pelvic area, whereas higher frequencies, such as flutes produce, are felt in the head area.
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As Keti Sharif explains, this is why African warriors dance in low, grounded, aggressive movements to earthy drums, while the Sufi dervishes spin to flutes for enlightenment. Guitar sounds resonate in the mid-body area of the solar plexus and evoke feelings of pride and courage, apparent in Spanish flamenco. The emotive heart area tunes into a higher frequency again, so instruments such as piano accordion, bandoneon, flute, or violin create music that engages feeling and “pulls the heartstrings”.
4. Dancing sharpens the mind
Dancing assists our ability to focus, learn and retain. Learning sequences is good for the mind. Learning to dance creates new neural pathways and helps us to stay younger for longer.
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5. Dancing raises self-esteem
Movement skills build confidence. And with confidence comes a forgetting of self. We get absorbed in the task. Dancing is a wonderful way to appreciate oneself in a new way.
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6. Dancing brings joy
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Dancing lifts the mood. When we feel the music and express it, we can feel joy and well-being. When you learn a particular dance, you may feel awkward and stiff at first, but soon, you will find the graceful you hidden within.
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Mary and David at a tango dance
7. Dancing provides companionship
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Dancing provides opportunities to meet people. Each kind of dance attracts different kinds of people and if you choose the dance form that is right for you, you will meet like-minded people with whom you can connect. I met my partner David at a Latin night 8 years ago. That chance meeting brought lasting joy, love and fun into my life.
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Dancing is a natural human function. Babies delight in bouncing and dancing to music. In the course of assisting David at tango classes, I meet many people who say to me, “I can’t dance; I’ve got two left feet.” But in fact, everyone can dance! All you need to do is to re-discover your innate ability to express yourself in movement.
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PS: You might enjoy this companion article about my tango adventures in Buenos Aires, called Zen and the Art of Travel
Copyright: Mary Jaksch 2008
(Video and second photo courtesy of Robbert Haas)
译文:
跳舞使人精神焕发的七个途径
舞蹈是一首诗，它的每一个动作都是一个词。
我喜欢跳舞。在我三岁的时候，十一点种，在一个星空暗淡，极为寂静的夜晚，我突然出现在大厅里。我的父母告诉我，当他们在欣赏贝多芬的交响乐的时候，我开始合着交响曲翩翩起舞，我的父母瞠目结舌地看着。据我母亲所说，我跳了三十分钟后，便一声不响地回去睡觉了。几年前 ， 我告诉她我要去学 tango, 而且我竟如此的释然。
她看着我说：“噢，你这小傻瓜，你怎么忘了自己是多么喜欢跳舞了呢？
这些日子以来，舞蹈已经重回到我的生活当中。大卫，既是我的搭档又是我的tango老师，而我既是他的助理又是他的舞伴。每当舞蹈的音乐响起，我们俩就会翩翩起舞——无论是在蒸汽笼罩的里约内卢的桑巴还是布宜诺斯艾利斯的探戈。我知道，许多人对禅宗的精通者也热爱舞蹈这一点感到很奇怪，好象禅宗就应该严肃而且精神专注。在西方，我们设想好色和灵性是风马牛不相及的。
这些日子以来，舞蹈已经重回到我的生活当中。大卫，既是我的搭档又是我的tango老师，而我既是他的助理又是他的舞伴。每当舞蹈的音乐响起，我们俩就会翩翩起舞——无论是在蒸汽笼罩的里约内卢的桑巴还是布宜诺斯艾利斯的探戈。我知道，许多人对禅宗的精通者也热爱舞蹈这一点感到很奇怪，好象禅宗就应该严肃而且精神专注。在西方，我们设想好色和灵性是风马牛不相及的。
当我们跳舞的时候，我们进入宇宙的更深层，次和与生活的生机能量联系起来。这就是为什么舞蹈成为一种与神圣联系在一起的一种古老方式和成为精神传统的宗教仪式之一。
这里是舞蹈能振奋精神增强体质的原因。
1、跳舞可以拉近彼此的距离
当我们在和某人跳舞时，我们同时随时欢迎别的人。这好象是我们认为自己变成擅交际的人的硬壳。舞蹈不仅帮助我们和他人交流，而且帮助我们重新与自己沟通。
舞蹈让我们真正地了解自己，我们可以很容易的了解我们自己的方方面面。当我们回顾过去的时候，，你可能是比较大胆，比较蛮横，比较有趣，比较严肃还是比较顽皮呢？跳舞可以使你重新获得那些被淹没的部分。通过跳舞，我重拾了自己天生的顽皮和感性，我和大卫在YouTube跳完探戈后只用付一些钱便可以了。
2．跳舞有助于健康。
跳舞可以提高身体的总体健康水平。
跳舞可以锻炼你的骨骼和肌肉并且不会伤害到你的筋骨
协调你的整个身体；
改进你的姿势和增强你的平衡感；
增强你的毅力和灵活性；
减轻压力和紧张感；
避免疾病，比如糖尿病、高血压、心脏病、骨质疏松症和
3、跳舞可以使情绪变得高昂
音乐的节拍对人的身心都有影响。每分钟60拍左右的缓慢且平和的拍子可以刺激大脑内的字母波，它可以使人保持平静但却机灵的状态。而较快节奏的音乐会使人的心跳加快，使内分泌系统运作更快。
当我们听到并随音乐而动时，我们的身体与我们所听到的音乐产生共鸣。我们的骨盆曲感受到的是低频率的音乐，比如由鼓发出的音乐；然而，我们头部感觉到的是较高频率的拍子。
4、跳舞可以让思维变得敏锐
跳舞有助于我们提高集中精神、学习和知识保存的能力。学习顺序对头脑有好处，学习跳舞可以开辟新的神经路径并让我们长保青春。
5、跳舞可以提高自信心
动作的技巧有助于建立自信，而且自信源于一种忘我的境界，在跳舞时，我们沉浸于其中，舞蹈使我们欣赏自己的新的完美方式。
6．跳舞带来快乐
跳舞可以振奋心情。但我们感觉到音乐并用舞蹈将它表达出来时，我们就会觉得很开心和舒适。当你学习某一种舞蹈时，刚开始你可能会觉得自己很笨拙和僵硬，但很快你就会发现你体内所蕴含的优雅。
7、舞蹈有助于交际。
跳舞为人们提供遇到别人的机会。不同的舞蹈吸引不同的人，如果你选择自己中意的舞蹈，那么你可以借此解释志趣相投的人，你还可以与他们接触。八年前，我在一个拉丁晚会上遇到了我的舞伴大卫，那次的晚会为我的生活注入了永久的快乐和爱。
跳舞是人的一种天生的功能，婴儿会很高兴的跟着音乐又蹦又跳。在上探戈课我帮助大卫i的过程中，很多我遇到的人都对我说我不能跳舞，因为我的两只脚很不协调。但事实上，每个人都可以跳舞！所有你需要做的就是重新挖掘你天生运用动作内在潜力。