Dance it Out: A Ritual for Resilience

I am sharing a dance practice for embodiment and everyday resilience. I invite you to give it a try on your own or join me on Sunday mornings—this is how we end every Pilates and Play class. Here's the story:

Most of us know how it feels to do a little dance for whatever reason—a moment of freedom, release, or celebration. Last year, I experienced a profoundly moving performance in Aarhus, Denmark, choreographed by Icelandic dancer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir. Her piece, When the Bleeding Stops, explores the ageing female body and the silent emotional journey of menopause.

The dance practice at the heart of Lovísa’s piece began while she was recovering from an injury: take a 20-minute walk without headphones or distractions, notice what song naturally pops into your head, then return home and dance freely to that song. Lovísa started inviting others into this daily solo dance practice, asking if they would film their experience. Initially daunting for many, and uncomfortable for some, it became an empowering daily ritual—a space for processing, expression, and growth. You get the idea from the short video below:

Inspired by this performance and practice, we close each Pilates & Play class similarly (no video recordings and all genders and nonbinary individuals are welcome). Each Sunday morning, we dance it out to a song offered by someone in class. Cheesey, soulful, or joyful—yes please, all of it—we just move in all the wonderful ways our bodies can and our daily lives rarely allow.

If you're in Los Angeles, I warmly invite you to join me this spring. Find more information about the class here: www.stephanieellison.com/classes

For more, here are insights from Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir and my colleague, filmmaker and dancer Marie Hallager Andersen: More on the Project.

I hope you'll join me on Sundays or explore this practice in your own way, because we all need more resilience through joy and bodily experience.

Research on the rhythm of dissociation

"Out-of-body experiences are all about rhythm, a team reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.

In mice and one person, scientists were able to reproduce the altered state often associated with ketamine by inducing certain brain cells to fire together in a slow-rhythmic fashion.

"There was a rhythm that appeared and it was an oscillation that appeared only when the patient was dissociating," says Dr. Karl Deisseroth, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Stanford University….

Meet Me at Quarantime!

HOW NOT TO GO STIR CRAZY, OR if we must, let’s do it together

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic all fitness studios have been closed in the City of Los Angeles. To help ease a bit of stress during these uncertain times, I will offer a free Pilates and movement class at 12pm on Thursday, March 19th. Subsequently, I’m offering twice-a-day, 30-minute exercise classes at 8:30am and 5:30pm, Monday through Friday. These are donation-based classes, to promote regular movement, community, and sanity. Email me to sign up for the weekly class links and feel free to pass the word along. Maybe we’ll theme classes, but maybe you should do whatever you want, wear your pjs, a dress, request a theme, drink a brandy, let’s just get together and say hi and keep moving forward. Take care of your friends, neighbors and loved ones out there. Hope to see you soon, no matter where on earth you are!