My first encounter with Biodanza
A room with beautiful decorations, joyous laughter, hugs and whispers, many pillows arranged in a circle on the floor. The same amount of humans as the pillows. Everyone is a stranger to me. Yet we will join in one common dance and celebrate New Year’s Eve together. I feel awkward and shy. I did it again. By following my crazy inner voice, I end up in funny odd settings like this that require trust and courage. At the moment, though, I am just standing here and observing the whirls inside me and around me.
Suddenly a sweet friendly-looking woman appears right in front of me and gives me a warm welcoming hug. We are smiling. Slightly taken aback I ask: Who are you? It turns out she will be our guide on this journey into an unknown territory called Biodanza. At least unknown for me because I never tried it before.
We form a circle holding each other’s hands and begin moving, dancing, embracing, breathing, caressing, connecting, departing, flowing, living and loving and getting to know the other travellers, getting to know ourselves, getting to know a divine feeling of being nourished, getting to know God on our terms. “What if god were a verb, an unfolding dynamic processing?”
The whole universe is unfolding in one embrace. One of my fellow travellers is coming closer, I am getting closer, we are so close that I can feel the presence, the energy. I can smell the body. I can see the details of the neck, the hair, the shoulders. And then my mind kicks in, begins its job to compare and judge all the information that my cells are transmitting to the brain in the split of a second. Draws on past memories or is flying into the future to find a label of positive or negative and provide me with a plan of how to react and what to feel. The first touch of hands and arms reminds me to come back to the present moment, to let go of thinking, to focus on every single breath. And to dive into the physical sensation of being in contact, of letting our souls come forward and greet each other. What a pleasure this is. Our eyes have not even met yet.
Leaning against each other, shifting weight, finding comfort, being able to relax. Enjoying holding and being held at the same time. The waves of our breaths tune into the same rhythm. Out of this contentment arises the next stream of energy. A fragile emotion helps us into the dance. A dance in silence. Turning around in slow-motion. Adjusting inch by inch. Fingertips wandering and exploring and resting into new positions. Muscles, bones, limbs working perfectly and precisely together. Making space for our bodies without losing the soft bond that we created. Being cautiously aware of this delightful gift of trust and love that we share in this moment. Full of gratitude we finally sink into a warm embrace. Our faces resting against the shoulder of the other.
When our eyes meet for the first time, we already know each other, we are already at home with each other. My glorious joy is mirrored in the eyes of the other. We are One. I am you. You are me. Every cell of my body is filled up with this feeling when breathing in. It eventually enables me to breath out and easily let go. With mutual understanding and tenderness we depart from each other. In slow-motion. Honouring and cherishing this divine connection.
Both my feet are well grounded on the floor which is an unusual state for me. I feel the strength and stability from our Earth and abundant love is rushing through my heart. I can stand here in peace and beauty. And just be me, a living and loving human being, one of the tribe. Through embracing someone else I embraced my Self. Thanks to a journey called Biodanza.
