Today, March 5th, is my mother’s birthday. (Happy Birthday Mom!) When thinking of what to gift her on this day, I started to reflect on what she has gifted me. As I look back on my childhood, two things stand out. The first is the millions of times she said to me, “You can do anything you want. You can be the President of the United States, a pilot, a dancer...anything!”
Humanity evolves generation by generation and what a privilege it is to be born during a time in history and a place in the world where a young girl can be encouraged to pursue her deepest passions. I am so grateful for the freedom I personally feel to break out beyond any cultural or societal restrictions or expectations. Thank you Mom for planting that seed in me that I now so passionately embody and encourage in others.
Another thing my mom did that was pretty amazing was...she paid for all my dance classes. This wasn’t a once a week, one hour deal. I wanted to take every class my dance school offered. Like 20, 30, sometimes 40, hours a week of classes. Thousands and thousands of dollars she paid. Hundreds and hundreds of hours she worked as a single mother. Ridiculous amounts of miles she drove to get me to and from dance class and her investment was not lost.
Dance was my refuge, my church, my temple. No matter what state of mind or heart I went in, I came out feeling the zing, the pulse of life coursing through my body. This transformation that movement provided for me everyday as a child is something I believe so strongly in as an adult, I have created a whole business around sharing this simple and profound message with as many women as possible.
Through movement, we remember. We remember, as women, that we are Wise, Wild and Free. Calling on the wisdom of yoga, the creative expression of dance and the liberation to enjoy one’s body through sensual movement we evolve the way we have been been taught to be in our feminine bodies. We remember that movement is one of the easiest and most direct ways to be aware of the divine. The divine within us and around us.
Mama, You've Been on My Mind from Rochelle Schieck on Vimeo.
I had a vision to gift my mom a video of me dancing for her birthday. I wanted her to physically see the result of her kindness, of her wise words, “you can do anything,” and to see how my body expresses my gratitude to her and the gifts she gave to me.
It is a powerful thing to move for someone else, whether it is a sensual dance for a lover, a song and dance skit for a friend at a birthday party or simply devoting a dance break or a yoga pose to someone else.
See, the thing is- our body speaks a language beyond what words can express. The life force that animates our bodies, when infused with intention on another person, is a gift that goes deep into the core of our being- as the giver and as the receiver.
Who can you dance for today? How raw and exposed and vulnerable can you be with expressing your love through your physical body?
In Qoya classes this week, we devote one of our songs to dancing for someone else. As I invite a woman to do this, I instantaneously watch as her body lights up. The movement brightens. The soul deepens. Her love and light becomes embodied and expressed. It is always amazing to me to see how wired we really are to share our lives in community. I believe our society has mislead us with a false allure of individualization. Isolation and loneliness is out. Community and giving and receiving more love to and from others is in. How can you reach out to a friend, family member or lover? How can you create community and bring the people you love closer to you? How do you feel the most connected to yourself and then to others?
For me, my secret potion, the way in which I plug in, is through movement. So, from that spot, I invite you to join me for the last couple weeks of the Spring Series of Qoya classes in Manhattan, on-going Qoya classes at the new studio called Sacred in Brooklyn (www.sacredbrooklyn.com) and there are also a few spots left for our upcoming Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica April 16-23, 2011.
There is always a golden thread in our stories. Once you find it, let it unravel you in your dance...and shine.
I look forward to dancing with you!
With love, Rochelle