“In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: "When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?”
― Gabrielle Roth
Photo by Hanna Morris
Today, right now, we find ourselves in a deeply disheartening, dispirited moment in the history of the Collective. Everyday we watch small people, making big decisions that affect so many. They have always done so, but never so openly… brazenly. Many feel helpless as we watch the world we thought we knew falling and/or being torn apart. But we are far from helpless.
Born within the biology of our beautiful bodies, are the very tools we need to remember who we truly are, and the true power that resides within us. It is our sacred birthrights of movement, stillness, sound and story that will save us. These sacred arts allow us to access deeper parts of ourselves, to connect with Nature, the numinous and Divine. They are the practices of ritual, remembrance and community connection. In denying them, we have nothing… not even ourselves.
How do I know? Because there was a time when I lost myself. Back in the sepia-stained corners of my mind are fond memories of Dreamsicle popsicles, summer cook-outs, the electric slide, and impromptu family Soul Train dance-offs, filled with laughter. Dance was in my muscles, it was in my bones, it was a family tradition. I don’t even remember when I stopped dancing. Life got busy and chaotic, bills had to be paid and family crisis had to be handled. And, because of this, I suffered.
For years, I lived in this pitiful state, disconnected from my body, my peace, my joy… even though I had a head full of knowledge. Life wore me down and my health began to reflect it. Then in December 2016, at the invitation of a friend, I attended a Seattle InterPlay year end event. I was hooked… immediately. My body remembered what my head had long forgotten.
“The shortest distance between two people is a story.” - Patti Digh
What is InterPlay?
InterPlay is an active, creative way to explore the wisdom of the body. It is easy, fun, and life changing, based on a series of incremental “forms” that lead participants to movement, stories, silence, song, ease and amusement. In the process, we discover the wisdom in ourselves and communities. InterPlay integrates body, mind, heart and spirit, and helps to pull everything back together so we get more of what we want. It fosters resilience, creativity, innovative thinking and community.
Born of the collaboration between Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter, two dancing ministers who sought to explore the intersections of movement and spirit beyond the boundaries of religion. Now, 30 years later, it is practiced in communities, schools and organizations in the US, India, Australia, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands and beyond.
Learn from communities of practice, exploring wisdom of the body, in gentle and fun ways, through the arts for 30 years. There is much wisdom here.
Slowly, I began to come home to myself. Attending a Seattle InterPlay class, led by skilled and welcoming leaders, became my lifeboat on the journey of remembering and healing myself. The InterPlay forms, dancing, singing and impromptu storytelling, slowly thawed the frozen disconnection and helped me to unlock my creative power. I did not understand the science of it, back then. All I knew was that I felt better.
After the loss of my beautiful mother in 2020, I was paralyzed with grief. Everyday tasks became chores and I was in what felt like a hopeless situation. When I did not know how to go on, the skills and tools I learned studying InterPlay philosophy and practices, saved me once again. Shaping my day and dancing on behalf of my mother gave me strength to move on.
While working on The Magical You Playbook and Embodied Self-Care Journal, dancing on behalf of the project and all my relations, opened the door to creative inspiration and brought a surprising encounter with a pack of coyotes and a magical connection with my father (MHRIP). The list can go on and on. Coming home to the joy and spontaneity inherent in our beautiful form is akin to tapping into a world of power, beauty and grace… always there and available. Dancing on behalf of ourselves, someone else or a situation allows us to engage the immense wisdom of the body… the power of the subconscious mind. Plus, it's fun.
Dancing with friends builds community and trust. Bodies that move together, groove together. Similar to as Dr. Joe Dispenza tells us… “neurons that fire together, wire together.” This is how we change. I invite you to give yourself the gift of dance. In as little as 3 minutes, you can make your day or the day of someone else… or, even begin to embody the vision that calls to you.
In the highly recommended, Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy book by Barbara Ehrenreich. She uses the term "collective joy" to describe group events which involve music, synchronized movement, costumes, and a feeling of loss of self. In this deeply optimistic book, Ehrenreich concludes that we are “innately social beings, impelled to share our joy and therefore able to envision, even create, a more peaceable future.”1
What does science say about dancing?
“Other studies show that dance helps reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition.”
IF YOU are wanting to connect with and nourish your inner grace, power and beauty, please join me a FREE INTRO to my upcoming class The Sacred Tree of Life - Embodying Your Innate Grace | Dancing through the wisdom of the 7 chakras
FREE INTRO EVENT on Monday, March 31st | 10-11 AM PT
Come to Dance Chapel! YOU ARE INVITED – Wednesday Rising Dance Chapel
It is an honor to serve as a Dance Chaplain with InterPlay co-founder, Cynthia Winton-Henry’s Hidden Monastery and The Dancing Center. There are several Dance Chapels to choose from every week.*
Come join me every Wednesday, us as we dance our prayers for ourselves, Ancestors, Big Momma Earth and all our relations. An hour of poetry, inspired music, connection and indigenous wisdom creates a circle of belonging and healing.
Divine Love Rooted: body prayers for all our relations… Hip Hop Dance Chapel: PRAISEWORTHY - the 1st Wednesday of every month
EVERY WEDNESDAY, 9-10am PST | 11am-12pm CST | 12-1pm EST
Modern Root Woman and Women of Wisdom Foundation, invites you to Call Your Power Back! We are powerful beings. Our personal power enables us to create, be sovereign and resilient. Many of us leak power daily through habits, negative thinking, unhealed traumas and belief in authority… or the belief that we don’t have any.
We need our power to live well. Join us as we call our power back using our creative birth-rights of sound, movement, story and stillness.
Bring a candle, journal or art supplies, and a glass of water.
Sunday, April 6th |1-2pm PT Monday, May 12th |5-6pm PT Sunday, June 8th |1-2pm PT
“If you love the world, it will love you back.” - Wahei Takeda
Join us as we embrace the power of gratitude to oomph up our ability to attract great things in our lives.
Open to the power of gratitude to change your physical and emotional state.
Experience the Physicality of Grace as your body opens to the blessings all around.
Leave inspired and motivated to create.
Wahei Takeda, (“Warren Buffet of Japan”) a billionaire investor spent his final years giving and spreading joy and sharing the powerful technique he used to become Japan’s wealthiest man.
“Everyday, Wahei “maros” up. Maro is short for magokoro, which means “true heart.” [It’s] a spiritual state of unconditional love for yourself and others. According to Wahei, it radiates an energy that draws good fortune into your life. In order to maro up, Wahei says “Arigato” (Japanese for “thank you”) hundreds and even thousands of times a day… appreciating even the smallest things, oomphs up a person’s ability to attract great things in their life.
Wahei’s philosophy: “If you love the world, it will love you back.”
— Pam Grout EXCERPT FROM: Thank and Grow Rich, A 30- Day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy
So grateful for you dear friend!! Your offerings, deep faith and stories are such a wonderful gift.
Just beautiful. Very moved to read your story dear Marla!