Is dance spiritual?

[khanjar]

I have been wondering about this for a while, what do others think, Is Dance, any dance spiritual ?

Now I am not talking about religion as I understand that is something that can be quite separate from spiritual stuff as one does not have to be religious in order to receive something which may be called spiritual

 

[Mosaic]

It could be considered so, but that tuned into music & movement I call in the zone - you feel "it" in every cell of your body, a bit like what I think moving meditation would be like except a spiritual person would feel a more "out of body" experience. It is very exhilarating when it happens. When you watch the Sufis spinning they are definitely in the zone and for them that is very spiritual. Actually I kind of feel spiritual just watching them (note the watching bit). I do about 5 spins and feel like a drunk trying to stay upright on a spinning backwards world.
~Mosaic

 

[khanjar]

I know about the zone, for I have been there, whilst drilling but I be damned if I can find it again, but part of my attraction to continue this dance, is to find it again, as it is so addictive, hey maybe I am a zone junkie

 

[Mosaic]

I know about the zone, for I have been there, whilst drilling but I be damned if I can find it again, but part of my attraction to continue this dance, is to find it again, as it is so addictive, hey maybe I am a zone junkie

Maybe by trying to hard to find the zone again you are defeating yourself? You are in your head so to speak, I for a long time was an "in your head" type, I was overthinking things and losing out on the spontaneous, it is not easy to shut off the brain and just be, that is probably why I am no meditator - silence is trigger for all those idiotic mundane thoughts to swirl around. The little person in my head starts whispering - are you sure you are doing whatever correctly, hmm any minute now I'll switch off (which is a trigger for more chatter), oh no forgot to by X for dinner, etc, etc.:lol: The zone is very elusive when so much chatter takes place in the head, and if you try to blank the voice out it just becomes louder. Hmmmm I think I'm sounding like a looney tunes now LOL! Anyway that is why I gave up trying to meditate long ago, just too frustrating.

What tends to be a zone trigger for me when it comes to dance, is when I'm working with a piece of music I particularly like, I play it over and over, visualising and feeling dance sequences/movements, and because I really know the music, when I begin to dance the music begins to flow or dance through my mind and body and shuts out those annoying in your head thoughts and you can just lose yourself in your music & dance.

Hope you find your zone again
~Mosaic

 

[shiradotnet]

Typically, the best way to enter "the zone" is to 1) Choose a piece of music that really puts you in the mood to dance just for the joy of dancing, and 2) Do something with that music that permits you to focus on dancing for pleasure rather than on being task-oriented.

You mentioned drilling. That's not necessarily bad, as doing something repetitive can be one way to find the zone. However, be sure you're not being too analytical or task-oriented as you dance. Don't focus on doing the move perfectly, don't think about technique. Just move to the music, enjoy the sensation of doing so, and let yourself feel at one with the music. Don't worry about keeping the beat, just let yourself feel it.

You could allocate PART of your practice time to being task-oriented, with focus on technique, and PART of it to just letting yourself go and let the music move you. That way you can get both the technique benefit AND the spiritual benefit from the practice time.

 

[duskshade]

The drills teach you how to speak to your soul. The dance is when your soul talks back.

its universal - all drills suck. the putting together of the techniques is what makes the heart sing.


I believe its all spiritual. Anything you to that you love will have spiritual value.

 

[khanjar]

I tend to look for in everything I do, the mind body and soul experience, even the mundanes offer much the more interesting doesn't and with that I understand washing dishes is a zen experience.

The ability to just be and do without the mind taking over is something I believe could be spiritual, repetitive mindless behaviour can be the path to better things.