Dancing to Ecstasy! Biodanza, The Dance of Life

Imagine yourself on the fourth night of a festival in the desert, having been super sick the entire festival, scraping the bottom of your positivity barrel. Is that the moment you would expect to discover one of the greatest passions of your life? Well, that's what happened to me.

There's my back, in the blue tank top, at my first Biodanza! (Zorba the Buddha Festival, Israel)

From the first thirty seconds of the opening group dance, I felt comforted, the warmth of a hundred strangers beaming their warm smiles at me while looking gently into my eyes. The second instructions we were given sounded basic, just to walk proudly around the space and make any sweeping arm movements that came naturally. As Jade, our fabulous blond South African instructor, started the music, I took my first steps and slipped into the beat of the Jason Mraz song. Soon my steps became bigger, my sweeping arm movements became grander, and I was completely, one hundred percent in the moment. I started experiencing boosts of self worth, and a deep connection with myself and the people around me. As I walked past other 'dancers' whose goofy smiles resembled my own, our eyes met and I felt pure, joyous goodwill pouring from their hearts into mine. A few tears squeezed out of my eyes and I was propelled into a state of pure bliss.

The next hour continued in a similar fashion, but each exercise seemed to have a different lesson, calling a different feeling to arise within me. Some of the feelings that came up for me that evening were teamwork, wild abandon, inner calmness, creativity, acceptance, and harmony with all humanity. Later, I found out that Biodanza was created specifically to evoke all of those feelings, and more.

I'm in the blue tank top, lovin' it

Back in the 60s, Rolanldo Toro, an anthropologist and psychologist, developed a system of music and movement to address a large range of what he viewed as essential emotions for humans (to realize their full potential). Rolando called this system "The Dance of Life," but in Spanish, because he was from Chile - "bio" meaning life, and "danza" meaning dance - hence, "Biodanza."

I did a bit of research and discovered that Biodanza is practiced all over the world, and there is even a school for instructors in my home base of San Francisco. Although I only practiced Biodanza for a few short months, I feel that it's going to be a part of my life for a very long time. I aspire to be a great Biodanza instructor, one who brings people together in a spirit of love and openness, celebrating individuality as well as harmony with the world around us.

If you want to embard on a journey of self improvement and self discovery from the comfort of your own city, I encourage you to find the nearest Biodanza class and jump in! And I hope someday soon I will have the pleasure of inviting you to join my own Biodanza class!

Alone Time (Not Lonely Time!)

Some people do a great job at this, sometimes not necessarily by choice. If you live alone, alone time is probably quite regular for you, as you have to make a conscious effort to have a social life. For those with roommates who are close friends or significant others, alone time is harder to come by, but it can still be achieved naturally with conflicting schedules. The hardest person to separate from, however, even for as little as 30 minutes - some of you no doubt have experienced this - is a travel companion.

Me with some of my past travel companions

It is the trusty travel companion who can be there to share in the joys of new experiences, who can ward off loneliness brought on by language barriers and big cities and tiny towns and shyness, and it is the trusty travel companion who can support you throughout your journey, helping you to reflect on lessons learned. But, sooner or later, as I have experienced on every trip of significant length, and with a variety of travel companions from friends to family to lovers, alone time is absolutely necessary!

Me and my current travel companion, my husband Eyal

Notice that I don't just recommend time apart from your travel companion - that is important as well, to develop relationships with different people you meet along the way. But time where you are truly alone is something different, something to be held and cuddled and treasured. As psychiatrist Abigail Brenner says, "Being alone allows you to drop your 'social guard,' thus giving you the freedom to make better choices and decisions about who you are and what you want without outside influence." 

Alone time refreshes the senses, provides new perspective, allows us to switch our minds into a new gear, to turn our focus inward and put all our thoughts in order. For some of us, being alone is our time to switch off, to daydream, to answer to nobody except ourselves. This time can be spent walking, writing in a journal, working on a hobby, anything that helps you to feel good - but not sleeping!

I have to admit, I myself am not the best at getting in my much needed alone time. Since my husband and I began travelling together seven months ago, our alone time has been circumstantial and minimal. A few weeks ago, my husband was asked to drive with our work exchange host to Spain to buy some plants (we were in Portugal). I did some work in the morning and had a few hours to myself in the early afternoon, before they returned from Spain. As I munched on some lunch, I thought about what I wanted to do next. Wow, what a feeling! It sounds trivial, but I hadn't felt that in months, and boy, did it feel good. Thinking about what I wanted to do, with nobody else to consider. I imagine that mothers with small children know what I'm talking about! So, in the end, I took a nice hot shower, sat in a lawnchair in the sun, and invited one of the 15 kitties living with us into my lap for some cuddles. Then I picked up a pen and notebook and wrote my first blog entry. I had been meaning to start a blog but hadn't had the inspiration until that very moment.

By the time my husband returned, I felt rejuvenated, calm, and productive, and I promised to give him the same gift of alone time. It hasn't been easy, admittedly, to start a new routine. We're still figuring out how often we need time apart, and we each don't want to hurt the other or send confusing signals by suggesting time apart. But the topic is on the table, and we're working on it!

Do you find it easy or difficult to get time alone? What do you do to get the most out of your alone time? Please share in the comments :)

Marriage: An Antiquated Tradition or A Beautiful Bond?

I thought I'd never get married. Kids, maybe, but not marriage. To me, marriage seemed an unnecessary antiquated tradition, a way for our government to mold us into responsible, predictable subjects. I had to really rationalize with myself, in order to convince myself that marriage could be a part of my life, but now, seven months into my marriage, it couldn't feel more right.

Image from www.thedreamstress.com

Back then, I told myself, "Marriage is what I make of it. It will be totally different for me than what society dictates. I make my own rules and I'm just playing the system to get Eyal, my love, over to the US with me. We won't have rings, I might not change my last name, we won't turn into cogs of society."

After we got married, however, new meaning came to the idea. Being congratulated by all our friends and family, and receiving their heartfelt best wishes for a long and happy life together - this really meant something to me. I felt a new-found sense of togetherness with my husband, as if I'm holding a delicate flower in my hand (our relationship), and I must do my absolute best to care for it, treasure it, observe its growth.

Me and my groom

Maybe, in the end, marriage means exactly the same to me as it does to society at large. But I feel like I came to this feeling on my own, and that's what really matters. (Although we don't have rings, and I didn't change my last name... but maybe one day we will do both, who knows?)

Are you married? What is your opinion about marriage? Please share in the comments!

Western Medicine vs. Natural Medicine: A No-Brainer

In high school, I used to down Advil for kicks - I liked the loopy feeling it gave me, especially when paired with alcohol. I can't remember whether I bothered to conjure up a slight headache or just went for it without much thought. I didn't have a death wish for my liver; I simply didn't know that this behavior would cause long term damage. I didn't fathom that something so readily available on the shelves of my Walgreens could harm me. 

Truth be told, it wasn't until I got together with my now-husband, who comes from a family of fairly strict natural medicine users, that I began to realize how much poison I'd been putting in my body for years, many times at the orders of my trusted doctors. Before I met my husband, at the first sign of a stuffed nose I would pop some nasal decongestants and maybe even a night time cold medicine pill to ward off any evil which might await me the next day. My husband showed me how to inhale turmeric fumes over a pan on the hot stove, which works much better, much faster, and is totally natural! Not to mention, cheap! Why doesn't everybody do this when they get congested?! (Just put 1 tbsp of turmeric in a pan over medium heat, and when smoke starts coming up, put your face above the smoke and inhale deeply through your mouth and nose. Keep inhaling until the smoke stops. Do this 4-5 times per day when you are sick for best results!)

A whole lotta turmeric, just waiting to unclog your sinuses!

My husband also encouraged me to ditch the Pepto Bismol and Tums, in exchange for some camomile tea and a short rest. What I love the most from his natural remedies is a boiling pot of fresh ginger, fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and honey, which cures any cold I get, when coupled with lots of sleep.

I'm also a big believer in the power of positive thinking to heal my body, as the great Louise Hay teaches. I haven't studied psychology, nor natural medicine, nor any alternative therapies like acupuncture, reflexology, or the Alexander Technique. But it makes sense to me that we can heal ourselves without chemicals, especially since so many illnesses are brought about by mental and emotional difficulties. When we heal ourselves mentally and emotionally, then the physical symptoms often disappear just as mysteriously as they appeared.

For the past year, I haven't taken any pills, I've stayed away from processed foods as much as possible (although I'd like to be more strict), and I try to be more aware of my body and its various cycles. I am proud to report that I was sick once in the beginning of the year, but nothing major since then! I feel like I'm on a very positive path, and I want to learn more about natural remedies so I can help myself and others around me.

I hope that we Westerners grow in our collective awareness of the dangers of Western medicine, and the great powers of natural medicine! If you know about any natural remedies, please share :)