Hello Friends!
Recently, I got invited to go salsa dancing at a local coffee shop in Austin with a friend. Having learned the basic steps of salsa a few years ago, I felt confident to step into this opportunity and go have fun.
When I walked into the salsa atmosphere, there were definitely some spicy movements, and the air was thick with humidity from body heat and energy. I started dancing and made it my goal to dance with people of all ages that asked me to dance. I was also happy to ask others to dance along.
In Salsa, the man leads, and the female is aligning with his steps. It’s important to know the basic steps too so you can stay in rhythm. I danced with several people, and I will categorize the 3 types of dancers that I experienced:
1. The Rigid Leader = One of my dance partners kept stopping my movement to tell me how to do it correctly. It caused me to leave my body and get into my head. I looked down at our feet. I felt disconnected. I also struggled to hear him above the loud music. We found the steps, but I felt unsure and I perceived he was uncomfortable.
2. The Experienced Leader = I found a willing partner that jumped at the chance to dance together. He was excellent at the basic steps and a few turns and never missed a beat. We felt close, we smiled, and I didn’t have to look at my feet because our hips moved perfectly to the beat. He felt my confidence and led me through a few turns. We laughed when everything didn’t go as planned. We looked good dancing together.
3. The Freestyle Leader = This partner knew the basic steps and knew how to allow me to follow him. There were no corrections but close connection. He knew to let me mess up and then, just when I thought we were in perfect sync with our steps, he would let go and do movements that were nontraditional. He was freestyling. I let go, mirrored his movements, and found my own creative way. I asked, “What was that?” He told me that he could tell I needed to embrace freestyling within the dance. He read me well.
This is a wonderful analogy for how I work as a yoga therapist and teacher. It’s important to know your stuff and be well trained in understanding the technology that is yoga. This takes years. And then, there’s freestyling where you adapt to what the person needs when working with mind/body/energy. This is the artistry of being an effective yoga therapist…
you are able to hold their story:
allow them the safety of expressing their story
help them rewrite their story
and gradually lead them toward a sense of playfulness and joy
This is my goal in working with others and in how I want to live life. I want to become “Joy and Playfulness” itself.
As I looked around the dance space, I observed all types of dancers. But the ones that appeared to be having the most fun were the couples who had embraced freestyling. They had to start somewhere and become educated around the basic steps and practice, practice, practice. Gradually, confidence built and somewhere along the way, salsa dancing inhabited them. They were free to play and express themselves. They became the dance itself.
It’s like that in yoga too. We AWAKEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT. Working with the postures and breath becomes a form of expression. We are telling a story from the inside out.
The first step is to learn =there is no timeline
Practice, practice, practice
Do the activity with joy and playfulness