The Medicine of Flow Sacred Scholarship

As part of the inaugural, 2020 NeuroSomatic Flow™ Teacher Training, students were required to submit a scholarly paper & video presentations based on their learnings from the course.

One of those submittals is featured below . . . .

Medicine in Movement: An Exploration of Yoga, Tai Chi/Qi Gong, and Dance

Laurelle Day Holley 

September 12, 2020 

Sacred Scholarship Paper submission for the 2020 NeuroSomatic Flow™ Teacher Training Program

This paper has been a journey.

One that reflects my experience in this NeuroSomatic Flow™ Teacher Training program and my life as a whole.

Full of enthusiasm and inquiry as well as fear and anxiety over what I set out to achieve. In the journey of writing this paper movement was the medicine which allowed me to make progress when the entire world felt like it was closing in on me as unresolved trauma around so many ideas and concepts reemerged. Time and time again I felt paralyzed and overwhelmed, yet when I allowed myself to step away from it and connect with my body by moving, hope returned that I would be able to do it. I signed up for this program in order to learn and understand what I felt that I inherently knew throughout my life, dance and various movement practices are not only fun and healthy activities, but are able to shift our overall well-being. 

In many ways it feels that this paper is my truth being remembered, my understanding fully forming to be, with tangible knowledge to explain how we benefit from movement. One of the things learned in this program is how trauma can affect the body. Through movement, energy or trauma has the ability to move through the body and be released, or it can become stuck creating tension stored in the fascia and the psoas muscles, which relates to fight, flight or freeze. As I said this paper has been a reflection of my understanding and experiences which began with feeling that I would feel and become better the more I was active and connecting with my body. For this paper, I wanted to look beyond the correlation with trauma at the variety of benefits which occur from movement, in addition to various movement practices that I have some type of relationship or interest with. Specifically in this paper I explore yoga, tai chi/qi gong, and dance. 

My relationship with yoga began over 10 years ago in a high school gym class. One of my classmates' parents taught at a studio and gave us a private class. For several years I would occasionally take classes, mostly for exercise and stretching purposes, but it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I began to connect with my practice on a deeper level. In western culture, hatha is one of the most common yoga practices combining body postures, movements and breathing, which is where my experience began. What I’ve come to learn is that it is much more than just a physical practice as only 3 of the 196 sutras (rule or scripture of yoga) refer to the physical movement practice. Other main components of yoga are conscious breathing, meditation, visualization, sound, diet and lifestyle changes. 

According to the paper, “Exploring The Therapeutic Effects Of Yoga And Its Ability To Increase Quality Of Life”  by Catherine Woodyard, yoga has been defined as “a form of mind-body fitness that involves a combination of muscular activity and an internally directed mindful focus on awareness of the self, the breath, and energy” which is where my practice began. Over time, especially since I’ve been in New York I have recognized I have sustained and increased my practice due to the therapeutic nature of yoga which is described as “the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions and involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional and spiritual pain, suffering or limitations” though I was not aware of this at first. The further I got in my practice, exploring various forms, the less it became about getting a good workout or new challenging positions, but really listening to my body and slowing down, not just physically but mentally as well. 

Yoga is the first movement practice where I fully began to understand the correlation between physical movement practices and the psychological and emotional benefits, as one benefits the other. In this paper aggregated by Woodyard various studies on yoga are examined and it reflects on the relationship of reducing bodily ailments such as loosening muscles with tensions, blockages in joints and organs, aches and pains, and an increase in well being, strength, and balance of mind, body and spirit by moving energy which is in the body. Specifically it states “it is through the unification of the physical body, breath, and concentration,

while performing the postures and movements that blockages in the energy channels of the body are cleared and the body energy system becomes more balanced.” Through the movement, focus on the present moment and slow breath, the body balances itself shifting from the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), assisting with a decrease in anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure while increasing blood flow. 

Coming from traditional Chinese practices, Tai Chi and Qigong are martial arts forms which are often done for their health and psychological benefits. While I do not have a lot of personal experience in these practices, they have sparked my interest as I see groups in the park practicing in the morning and concepts have been incorporated into yoga practices by teachers over the past few years. With some similarities to yoga, “both Tai Chi and Qigong involve sequences of flowing movements coupled with changes in mental focus, breathing, coordination, and relaxation” according to Ryan Abbott and Helen Lavretsky’s paper, Tai Chi and Qigong for the Treatment and Prevention of Mental Disorders. These practices are sometimes known as meditative movements, and are considered to be “low-impact, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises that are suitable for a diverse patient population with regards to gender, age, and health status.” In this paper a variety of research studies are explored to further understand the benefits of participating in these forms of movement. 

This paper reviewed 33 research studies where tai chi and qigong were tested against various control groups including other forms of exercise, meditation, and wellness education. In over half of these studies results “found that in community-dwelling participants between 1 hour up to 1 year of regular Tai Chi significantly increased psychological well-being, reduced stress.” In addition to a reduction of stress; a decrease in anxiety, depression, sleep issues as well as an increase in mood behavior and self esteem have been found through these practices. Results also showed cognitive benefits such as improved “motor speed and visual attention in elderly individuals.” This may have to do with the fact that these movement practices “promote relaxation and decrease sympathetic output” which allows participants to reach the state of rest and digest and shows an “increased frontal EEG α, β, and θ wave activity, suggesting increased relaxation and attentiveness.” In regards to physical benefits it was found that tai chi helps “improve pain, physical function, and other arthritis symptoms” which may be why it is a common practice for the elderly. 

The modality I’ve had the longest relationship with, which is where this inquiry began to take form, has been through dance. As a young kid I danced complimentary to my figure skating training and once I stopped competitively skating, I allowed it to fill the void though I never danced competitively. Similar to yoga, for most of my life I would categorize it as a passion activity and mode of exercise, yet it always resonated with me in deeper ways though I never could fully put my finger on it. Dance is often known as an art form or one of the many ways to workout and stay in shape. A formal definition given in the study, Enhancement of Pleasure during Spontaneous Dance, is “the movement of one or more bodies in a choreographed or improvised manner with or without accompanying sound.” Cognitive, memory and healing benefits have also been found in forms such as Dance Movement Therapy in the U.S. which is used to “to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body” as mentioned in Roshni Chakrabarty’s article, Dance healing is real! Artistic director of renowned movement arts school explains the science of dance.

All of these descriptions resonate with me and my experience with dance, the opportunity to connect with self and others, which is why I’m such a believer in it. 

While there is a wide array of benefits and reasons for everyone to dance, throughout my life I’ve had so many experiences where people refuse to or believe they are unable to dance because of their beliefs of what dance is and whether or not they are not good at it. This has always frustrated me because being “good” is not the purpose of dance, and is something that could benefit anyone who is open to it. What I believe people have resisted and are afraid to understand is that,

Dance is also inherently an environmentally positive activity where you do not consume too many resources or commodities, but fine-tunes one's body and align with fellow human beings and environment. In a way this could be a model for cultivating inclusivity, sharing and supportive attitude in the society. 

And because of this, I believe it is so important, if not crucial, for us as humans to dance whether alone or with others. 

Whether free movement or choreographed there is an array of benefits that occur from dancing which helps develop kinesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal and natural intelligences areas often not developed in standard forms of education. There are physical benefits such as increased muscle strength and coordination, and psychological ones such as boosts in self-esteem and confidence. Benefits which have most strongly impacted my relationship with dance is the ability to connect with my body and express myself in order to process feelings and emotions. As mentioned earlier trauma is stored in the body and by “relearning the feel in the body and rewiring our brains so that old, traumatic memories are replaced by more positive ones” literally by moving the body, specifically dancing. 

While this may only be an introduction to the benefits of several movement modalities, it does give a fascinating glimpse at the power and knowledge the body possesses and the medicine we humans receive from nourishing our bodies through movement. Health and wellness professionals commonly mention that it’s important to be active for overall well being, yet it does not seem most individuals know the depth of benefits. Movement is not only about physical health but psychologically as these two areas are interconnected in many ways. Across the board yoga, tai chi/qi gong and dance help with psychological ailments such as anxiety and depression, in addition to a range of physical benefits from reducing muscles and joint pain to lower heart rate and blood pressure.

With the knowledge of these benefits and understanding how the body holds onto energy and trauma, I can confirm that I’ve been onto something for about 25 years now. In my own inquiry and as I continue to enlighten others on the reason everyone can and should dance, I now have to wonder whether any and all types of movement are forms of dance as the improvised or choreographed movements do not necessarily require sound.

References 

Abbott, R., & Lavretsky, H. (2013, March). Tai Chi and Qigong for the Treatment and Prevention of Mental Disorders. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3917559/#:~:text=Tai%20Chi%20and%20 Qigong%20have%20been%20shown,relaxation%20and%20decrease%20sympathetic%2 0output.&text=Relaxation%20interventions%20are%20known%20to,recovery%20from%2 0immune%2Dmediated%20diseases. 

Bernardi, N., Bellemare-Pepin, A., & Peretz, I. (2017, November 13). Enhancement of Pleasure during Spontaneous Dance. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00572 

Chakrabarty, R. (2018, August 07). Dance healing is real! Artistic director of renowned movement arts school explains the science of dance. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/science-of-dance-healin g-jayachandran-palazhy-interview-1290055-2018-07-19 

Woodyard, C. (2011, July). Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/