LEARNING TO LOVE YOURSELF THROUGH MOVEMENT
Posted On: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
By Susanne Liebich of Dancing Wellness
I have always been a dancer, and one who can’t stop moving. My learning style is kinesthetic, and when I feel stressed, there is nothing that beats turning on the music and free dancing. It’s been a dream of mine to take my business background (MBA, finance and sales) and integrate it with my joy of movement. But how? Why? Could I ever make a career out of this? About 7 years ago, I started on a journey. In fact, this journey has changed my life, and honestly, I would say I have changed more in the last 7 years than I did the previous 25. The change happened when I started to take a look at my life, and found ways to heal through movement.
Throughout middle school and high school, my daughter was constantly striving to ‘fit in’, even though she had so many wonderful, unique qualities. I knew that she was not alone, and that in the society we live in, where girls are barraged with media images of who they are supposed to be, being happy with who you are would not be an option for many girls. I decided to come up with a program when my daughter was a high school senior called “Summer Teen Wellness Program”, which eventually became “GirlPower! A Positive Growth Experience for Girls Coming of Age”. I wanted to create a different type of program where girls could learn to make healthy choices, make new friends, and learn to value their independence and unique selves. A huge component of this program was creative movement and somatic exercise. I wanted each girl to be “in her body”, to relax and appreciate her body and to discover the joy of movement. I hired strong women role models to teach the girls other skills to augment the program. Overall, I have taught over 200 girls including school vacation and summer programs, school day programs, private groups and Girl Scout troops.
Part of the journey which was commensurate with GirlPower! was my undertaking of Nia certification. Nia is a blend of dance arts, healing arts and martial arts. I earned my Black Belt certification in Portland, Oregon last summer. Learning and understanding Nia has been an incredible journey, one where I have developed a healthy and strong body and emotional connection. I have learned to honor and respect my body, while also feeling intuition, passion, tension, and fear manifesting in physical sensations in my body. Appreciating my body as a middle aged woman has also given me confidence and joy; unlike any movement form I had ever practiced, Nia opened my heart and guided me toward healing myself.
The final leg of my journey has been in instructing therapeutic dance over the last 2 and ½ years. I was referred to a movement modality called “Dance for PD” , which was a dance regime created for individuals with Parkinson’s. I had never taught this type of somatic movement to people with disabilities or movement disorders. I also started to teach children with profound burns at Shriners Hospital in Boston, and most recently, I began teaching a movement class to individuals with Alzheimers. Through guiding and moving, creating and emoting, I am able to assist these individuals connect to the movement in a deeper way, one in which they can learn to heal and move from the inside out. “Dancing Wellness” is all about holistic movement, self- healing, acceptance and living with joy. Every class and program I teach integrates these qualities, so when you arrive, you learn to love yourself through movement.
Check out her video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWPk8c3GLks#t=13
