Tag Archives: freedom

How Blues and Fusion Got Me In Touch With My Throat Chakra, My Voice

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I always used to have issues speaking up, speaking confidently. I didn’t know what my opinions were, and wasn’t sure whether anyone would want to hear them. And when I did voice something, it seemed to come out hesitant, shaky, unsure.

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I also experienced a lot of issues with my throat – dry coughs, irritations, cracking and loss of my voice. I thought that was just the way my voice was. That I couldn’t do anything about it. I thought I hated my voice. So I spoke less and wrote and listened more. I was known as the quiet one.

Back then, I didn’t realize how much our voice is connected to our individuality. That each of us has a very unique resonance. And how that resonance gets expressed often reflects what is going on for us internally- emotionally and subconsciously. I was holding on to so much that I wasn’t even aware of- fears, conditioning, anger, sadness, trauma and secrets. Maybe not even from this lifetime, but from past ones. And this was affecting my voice and sense of self. It was also affecting how I was showing up in how I let, or didn’t let, my creativity flow through me..

I didn’t know how much I wanted to speak out. I wanted to be heard. I wanted my voice to matter. I also wanted it to sound smooth and fluid, the kind of voice everyone loved to hear. I was so envious of great singers and moving speakers because of how they would express with so much passion and confidence. I was envious of anyone, in fact, who could express so deeply and move others to laughter, inspiration and tears. Whether they were artists, musicians. singers, or dancers, even other children who seemed so free in the way they played- I wanted to know how to do that for myself. People would tell me it was natural. But it felt so far from natural for me.

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How Salsa Got Me In Touch With My Wood Element and the Root Chakra

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Dance moves energy within and around us, with the potential to make space for healing and happiness.

I’ve been learning a lot about different energy systems and the important role they have in our overall healthy and happiness. I have realized how various dances really bring out aspects of these systems because dance itself is energy in motion. It moves energy within and around us, allowing us to make space for healing to happen.

I’ve decided to write a series of articles dedicated to particular dances I’ve experienced and which energy systems they highlight for me and reconnect me to.

This one is about Salsa.

The Root Chakra

Salsa was the first dance I really invested time and energy into. From taking group and private lessons, attending workshops and festivals, learning from international instructors, and going out social dancing on real dance floors, it became a regular part of my life. It was also the first dance where I experienced what it felt like to become part of a dance community.

Because of this I associated salsa with a sense of belonging and the building of a strong foundation.

Salsa was where I first learned about connection, timing, and lead-follow techniques like moving from the core, or prepping a turn, or knowing where your weight is.

Through this dance, I became aware that I even had weight. I was fascinated by how I could feel a great deal ‘lighter’ or ‘heavier’ depending on how I held myself. Was I pushing down on my partner too much, or were my arms noodle like and disconnected from my body? Was I accurately matching the pressure or connection that my partner was giving? And was I engaging the appropriate parts of my body to feel these changes? I never asked myself these question before, but once salsa had me looking into them more, I couldn’t go back. It became something I could take notice of and change whenever I wanted.

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How Dance Connects Us to Our Intuition

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I should actually rephrase this title and call it, “Dance Can RE-Connect Us to Our Intuition,” because I believe we are all intuitive beings. We came here with the power of intuition to help guide us through this journey and beyond. I think we just forgot, or it was scared or ‘sensed’ out of us. As in, the voices that said, “Be more sensible, more practical, if you want to survive in this world.”

As children, we were encouraged to dream and discover and imagine and create. That was intuition at its best. No conditioning of what was right or wrong, no fear or prejudice against others, no questioning our natural ability to play and suss out what felt good for us. We intuitively knew we had intuition on our side and we didn’t have to second guess ourselves!

But as we grew up, other people’s opinions made their way into our heads, often well meaning people telling us what we should do, how we should be, and to BE CAREFUL. They themselves had been conditioned by caring individuals who were caught in this fear and trepidation trap as well. They were pushed to not rely on their gut feelings, because years of experiences that hurt or harmed them taught them that could be dangerous They thought that putting up a shield would stop others from getting in. But what we don’t realize is that it is actually also stopping us from getting messages from within us as well. And if we could tap back into that, it would be our greatest guidance and protector.

I am so grateful that Dance reconnected me to my intuition!

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Dance Can Teach Us the Power of Presence

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When I first came to dance, even as a little girl taking some ballet classes, I didn’t know that I was so in my head.

I was thinking a lot- about where this foot went, and what angle to bend that arm, and where to place my body in relation to another fellow dancer beside me.

No wonder I gave up ballet somewhere around 10 years old.

As an adult, I was so excited to find partner dance. Salsa was the place I started first. I thought, this is it! I will finally be able to learn to move as elegantly and fluidly, and with the charisma of the dancers I was admiring for most of my life. Those beautiful dancers on stages and even on social dance floors. I couldn’t wait to learn how to ‘be like’ them.

So I took classes, and more classes. Really working out the steps in my head, and figuring out the timing and even the styling like it was mathematics. Though I was ‘learning to dance’, so to speak, my dancing felt and looked so robotic compared to the dancers next to me. I couldn’t understand how we all started in beginner classes at the same time, and I felt like I was putting more time into extra lessons. But my fellow students next to me very quickly became more flowing and free and fun on the dance floor, while I felt clumsy and stiff and like I had turned dancing into a science.

Well, I had. Because I had put it all in my head, as if I could work it all out with my mind. And one day, a partner I was dancing with said, “What are you thinking about?” right in the middle of our dance.

What? I wasn’t thinking about anything, I tried to convince both of us. But right then, I realized he was right. How did he know?

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The Story Teller and Other Pieces -Interview with Writer Pramod Kumar

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The Story Teller by Pramod Kumar

Some untold stories

To die is one thing, to fall in love is another…

To live is one thing, to be alive is another…

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The café was full as usual. Though located in downtown, it was particularly mannered compared to its other counterparts.

It was not the aroma of the freshly baked coffee beans that pulled women to this part of the town, but the young lad who used to tell stories- stories with strange endings, which sometimes would leave the audience spellbound, sometimes in rage of anger, sometimes in tears. They would promise themselves not to come to him again, not to listen to his stories again. But the promise was too hard to keep for they had become addicted to the drug he secretly served in his stories. Continue reading →

Interview with Anya Grace- on Diving Deep, Surrender, and Freedom

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When I first heard Anya Grace speak on YouTube, I felt her authenticity and passion come through right away. She was sharing her insights on the dynamics between men and women in a way that really impacted my view of relationships- not just the romantic kind, but also relationships with friends and family, with our surroundings, but especially with ourselves.

I then listened to a series of ten interviews she conducted with coaches and speakers who shared their expertise on various subjects around love, healing, abundance, the power of our beliefs, and manifestation. I was blown away by the profound knowledge and vulnerability imparted in those interviews. I thought “Others need to hear this!”

I couldn’t help but to reach out to ask Anya to share more of her wisdom with the Dance Me Free community. It is an honor to feature Anya Grace, spiritual mentor and feminine energy coach, in this interview below. 

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I was really impressed by the interviews from your Elevated Woman series.  What values do you think all the speakers you chose shared? They seemed have a connection in their messages.

I think what you’re feeling is my intention of diving deeper in the interviews. Part of our power and beauty as women is really in our depth – the deeper feelings, the deeper insights, the deeper wisdom we hold.

We’re living in a culture and society where things are very superficial. The superficial exterior has been what’s valued. But that’s only about ten percent of our power as women. I want women to understand, and tap into, the other ninety percent. Once we start going into that ninety percent, we really unplug from the masculine paradigm that’s draining our power.

Why is this important?

When you have that intention, as an individual, to open to that depth within yourself, and you unapologetically bring that depth into your relationships and conversations, other people will go there. I always say that the Elevated Woman is an activator and initiator for higher potential on the planet. Part of that higher potential is this depth- going deeper, really connecting at a heart level, not just a superficial mental level. And that’s when we really access feminine power. Continue reading →

Dance Connects Cultures- Interview with Masanori Fujita

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Masa8Where did you learn to dance? And which style of dance did you start with?

I started breakdancing nine years ago in Osaka, Japan.  From the first time that I saw the amazing technique put in the dance, I was totally hooked.  So, the next day, I went to a dance school to learn and I also practised on the street.

After I came to Canada, I just practised breakdancing first.  I didn’t know Hustle at that time. But at some of the events, some of the dancers were doing hustle. I saw it and thought I really wanted to learn to dance it. Everyone looked like they were really enjoying it. So that’s what made me start dancing Hustle. Continue reading →

La Época Interview- Part 2

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Part 2- Josué Joseph- On Family, Freedom and Inspiration

(Click here to read La Época Interview Part 1- Josué Joseph- On Faith, Music and Talent)

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In Part 1 of this interview, you talked about growing up with the influence of your father- the great bassist Alfonso Panamá. You mentioned how he was always practising and surrounding you with music, making it just a part of your everyday life.   But did you ever go through that stage of NOT wanting to be a musician BECAUSE your father was one?  Often, kids try to purposely get away from doing what their parents did.  Did you ever go through that or was it always just something that you wanted to do?

I feel like I’m in that movie Slumdog Millionaire, because every answer that I give you comes from a story (laughs).  So here’s another one:

When I was growing up, my parents did not force any of us to study music.  But when I was four years old, we moved to a new house. And in this new house, there was a piano already there.  So music just came to us.  Taking piano lessons was just normal. My brother did it, my other brother did it, and it passed down to me. It became something that I thought was just something you do.

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New Photo Feature- Marilou and Alessandra Quaglia!

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“When I dance, I forget the bad times and I feel free.“- Marilou

Dance Me Free has been on a bit of a hiatus over the past few months. But we are so happy to be back, not just with some new and exciting interviews, videos and events, but also with an outstanding young dancer as our new photo feature for this season!

All the way from Provence, France, the beautiful Marilou caught my attention with her stunning features, her passionate poses and the way she makes dancing look so effortless and freeing. Continue reading →

Help Send Ryan to Italy!

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DANCING WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS
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Ryan Morissette is truly an inspiration to us all. This young dancer not only
rips it up on stage when he performs, but he spends time sharing his art through teaching other kids. He also helps raise money for various charities, AND, what a powerful role model he is to guys who might want to dance but are not always encouraged to because of old gender stereotypes.
Ryan dances at a very high level, competing, training, performing, all the while battling a disease that he has had since he was a child.  But Dance, for Ryan, is healing. It is his medicine.
“I have tattooed on my arm ‘Music is my cure’ and that’s exactly how I feel when I am dancing,” says Ryan Morrissette.
[When I am dancing], “I feel like I don’t have CF. I can just be myself.”

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