The 4 Tenets of Dance Your Bliss

There are 4 basic tenets in Dance Your Bliss. I invite my students to utilize these after our workshops:

1) Mindfulness; Yes, I know this is a big buzzword these days. Buy for good reason – it works. We need to slow down, take in in 3-biggest breaths of the day. Stop the fidgeting. So we work on being in awareness. This includes breath work, seated meditation, walking meditation, T'ai Chi, nature play, restart-making, guided imagery, prayer, ritual, intention setting.

2) Motion; we must remember to move the body every day, consciously, in ways that feel pleasurable.

the body excels at locating the present moment – there is no way to take a breath for yesterday or tomorrow. Mary Starks Whitehouse, creator of Authentic Movement, tells us; “the body is the personality on the physical level and movement is the personality made visible.” I ask all of my students and clients to find a physical activity that they enjoy. Not everyone loves to dance. And that is ok.

3) Connection; many of us are starved for contact. We need to spend more time around people and animals each day (not just our clients, which can be alienating). We must reach out and share intimate contact. This is crucial for us in a time when social media (I call it “anti-social media) is ubiquitous, and it can be easy to disconnect from others. But we have within us this deep, intrinsic hunger for connection. When we nourish that, we can be well again.

4) Creativity; I believe we are all creative geniuses. We just need the chance, and comfort to shine our light.) In the early 1960's in a lecture at the Cooper Union Hall in New York, Joseph Campbell was asked what you should if you are stuck in your life: “Follow your fascination, he immediately replied. Your fascination reveals your deepest connection to the life force; if you follow it rather than what society tells you you should follow, you will be all right.” By following what moves us, we grow in mind-blowing ways. Lately, I am obsessed with making terrariums and giving them away as gifts. These miniature and magical worlds are so whimsical and playful to me. It does not need to be high-art – but we must follow our bliss, and stoke the creative genius that I believe we all have.

I believe that if we can live with more of these elements, we can achieve more balance and health.

Here's you you. Your art. Your journey., Your dance.

Rachel Fleischman, LCSW, REAT is an experiential psychotherapist and workshop facilitator. She has a practice in San Francisco and leads workshops at retreat centers across the US and MX. DancingYourBliss.com BlissCounseling.com

Books:

Returning to Health with Dance, Movement and Imagery; Anna Halprin

Moving Toward Life; Five Decades of Transformational Dance; Anna Halprin

The Three Marriages; David Whyte

Film: Breath Made Visible (about the life and work of Anna Halprin)

The Expressive Body in Life, Art, and Therapy; Daria Halprin

Wisdom of the Body Moving; Linda Hartley

Bone, Breath and Gesture; Don Halon Johnson

Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology: The Moving Imagination; Joan Chodorow

Stoking the Creative Fires; Nine Ways to Rekindle Passion and Imagination; Phil Cousineau

The Power of Blessings

The Power  of Blessings

Every blade of grass
has its Angel 
that bends over it 
and whispers, 
"Grow, Grow."

                          -The Talmud

The blessing...
I recently shared Dance Your Bliss as part of a Womens' Retreat in Marin County, CA. It was hard not to feel the warmth and connection bubbling in this amazing group of creative, compassionate, funny, and open-hearted women. We were women of all ages;  many moms, some grandmoms, some women sharing joy, some experiencing deep grief, all of us wanting - and needing a space to slow down, to breathe, to be here now.

The theme of the retreat was Blessings, and we discussed our own experience with the ritual of of Blessings. What are blessings? Are they important to us? Do they really make a darn difference? Can only clergy give them to us? Or do we all have the power of being blessings givers? What blessings could we feel in our lives - with all the ups and downs and chaos? 

Need a Boost?  Try a Blessing Walk
We went on a Blessing Walk. One by one, in silence, we walked slowly in nature, just repeating all the blessings in our lives.  I found myself saying "thank you for my wins." and, "thank you for my failures." "Thank you for all the kind people. And for the nasty ones as well." "Thank you for my fears. Thank you for my courage." 

We were so refreshed from our Blessing Walk. It was so healing - and I highly recommend a blessing walk anytime you need a breath of fresh air, a clear mind, and an open heart. It doesn't even need to be a long hike - just 20 minutes will do the trick.

Some resources for you:

a comfy as heck pair of sneaks. 

Julia Cameron; The Artist's Way (for her Walking Artist's Dates)

Prayers for Healing; 365 Blessings, Poems and Meditations from around the world. Maggie Oman

WalksWithBliss.com -  with Allison Bliss, in the East Bay, CA 



An enchanted stairway in San Francisco. 

Kick Depression Out of Bed; Snuggle up with Joy Instead.

"My mind is like a bad neighborhood. I try never to go there alone."

~Ann Lamont; author
No doubt about it.
Having treated dozens of individuals with depression over the years, while reading countless books on the treatment of this "noonday demon", I still believe that the number one factor that really enables me to get to the heart of this malady is my firsthand experience with it
That's right. Not only am I a psychotherapist, I am also a bonafide client as well.
I know I would be ashamed to think of what mine might write.
The brain is plastic. It is the last part of our body to really know something. When we tell our brain that life is awful and we are doomed, our brain tends to agree. In fact, I have noticed that when we when I experience a bout of depression, it is often triggered by events where I feel exposed as a "failure".
My way out usually begins with a decision. A decision to feel better.
Get out of your head and into your feet
The body craves movement. Exercise really works. Let's not think of it as exercise though. Nothing is gnarlier to the depressed person than imagining him/herself at the gym in ill fitting sweats, panting on the stair master while svelte athletes are bopping around in all directions.
As Woody Allen says, 90% of success is showing up. Once we've got our walking shoes on, once we get endorphins cooking, the doldrums have less power to penetrate .
As Woody Allen says, 90% of success is showing up. Once we've got our walking shoes on, once we get endorphins cooking, the doldrums have less power to penetrate .
Turn on music! Now!
I recommend that my clients have an arsenal of inspiring and fun music at their fingertips.
I have even been known to make CD's for my clients. When we're depressed, the smallest task feels overwhelming. If I can kick-start someone's joy, then I am thrilled.
Turn on the light and sit in the sun.
Many of us work in windowless cubicles or offices, and wonder why we feel blue.
This time of year, when the sun sets earlier, we must 's dark out in autumn and winter, get a light, get some sun, get some more sun. And if there is no sun in your world, then buy a full-spectrum light. Get one cheap on E-bay.
This time of year, when the sun sets earlier, we must 's dark out in autumn and winter, get a light, get some sun, get some more sun. And if there is no sun in your world, then buy a full-spectrum light. Get one cheap on E-bay.
Hang out with 4-leggeds. (Unless of course, you're allergic)
Having an animal companion near can instantly relaease oxytocin, that magical hormone that we secrete when we fall in love, give birth, or are nursing. It releases a feeling of goodwill, or trust in the world.
OK, so not all of all are blessed to be in love all the time, or be breast feeding, so I recommend my clients find other ways to bring on the joy chemical. Read on.
Change your thoughts. Right now.
We have around 60,000.00 thoughts per day. 87% of them are negative and are the same thoughts we had yesterday.
I use realistic affirmations, which, at times are posted all over my room. Notice I said realistic.
People tell me, "I put an affirmation up on my bedroom wall, saying:"I am ready to meet a gorgeous, successful, charming man who will adore and worship me." It's been 3 months. Where is he?" I tell them; "You have made yourself more open to meeting this human. Finding him is another story. Sorry."
Follow a joyous lifestyle. Choose joyous entertainment.
find a class, a workout, anything that gets you in your body, preferably sweating a bit.
Affirm joy with words.
Rudyard Kipling said "I am by calling a dealer in words. And words are by far the most powerful drug in the world". It may seem trite, but changing the way we speak can be extremely influential in changing our moods.
Grab hold of a goal.
Make it a do-able one. Happiness and joy come from goals. We mustn't put off our lives.
Cultivate a relationship with the divine.
We are whom our higher self wanted to experience.
There is some truth to the pithy phrase: There's no aetheists in foxholes.
Have a smidgens of faith and the world can be a gentler space.
Choose joyous companions.
When we are depressed, we take our bored, sluggish selves wherever we go. We need distractions. We need company. We need intimacy. It is very important to be around authentic people. We need someone who believes in us. No nay-sayers!
http://www.dancingyourbliss.com

Depression sucks.
Depression started tugging at my heels by the time I was 8 years old. By 16, the dean of my high-school would call me each morning to make sure I got out of bed and showed up at school, instead of sleeping all day. By 30, I had two boyfriends; Ben and Jerry. Today, I still have low moments, but they are far less often, and last far less long. When my clients tell me that they are surprised that I really "get them", I often share that I have had my personal struggles with depression.

"The mind is a terrible thing to watch." ~Ann Lamont

I agree. Imagine if we had a scribe in our heads, even for a day.
Having done a great deal of research on depression, I have heard many expert opinions regarding its etymology. I have heard everything from environmental, historical, genetic, energetic, past-lives, DNA-related, trauma-based, kharmic law. One thing is for sure; when we got it, we got it, and it can be crippling.

What folks may not know is that there are very useful tricks we can use to alleviate a sour mood.

So, I decided to compile my "Top 10 Tricks to Kick Depression out of Bed, and Snuggle up with Joy Instead."

Write these down, stick em on your wall, and put them in motion.

First trick:

Second trick:

Third trick:

Fourth trick:

Fifth trick:

Experiencing joy is a deliberate choice. Joy takes practice. Joy is hardcore.
We must remember that affirmations don't make something happen, they make something welcome.
Sixth Trick:
Seventh Trick:
Eighth Trick:
Ninth Trick:
Tenth Trick: