How Bellydance Works as a Therapy
P.M. Staunton
Belly dance is a form of artistic expression, which has benefits in its self. It is also a therapy, which deals specifically with the experience of being a woman. The dance is a therapy not just for the physical self but also for the personal dimensions of the female mind and soul.
Developed as a birth dance to facilitate easy childbirth and recovery. The dance tones up the pelvic floor. I know personally of four of my students who's gynaecologists have decided NOT to operate on a prolapsed uterus because belly dance had toned the area up, to the point were there was no longer prolapsed. The birth of my eight-pound daughter was easy, as was my recovery thanks to the dance.
I have personally witnessed back problems disappear, skin conditions clear up and many other maladies eradicate or diminish. It could be the movements are physically curative, the stimulation of energy or perhaps it is the feeling good that is the great panacea. It is probably a synergetic mixture of the three.
Self-esteem is essentially a holistic concept. Mind body and soul are interrelated and affect how the individual regards herself the environment and other people.
My theoretical perspectives involve feminism, holistic health and psychology as well as dance and creative expression generally.
I believe that Arab dance has many holistic benefits to women. These are often not generally recognised (although this is changing.) because information about the dance generally comes via a patriarchal media. Arab dance involves women interacting as a group, sharing and intermingling the roles of audience and entertainer.
The body is frequently the vehicle that stores emotional pain. When a woman has bad body language which give victim signals she is more likely to suffer abuse. If Arab dance is taught with this in mind and combined with psychological and feminist concepts, Powerful positive Postural changes can be the result. The effect of this is that it promotes positive feed back from others. People respond to confident assertive body language by none verbally communicating the affirmation that that person is powerful and worthy of respect. This feed back can only enhance self esteem. Much research suggests that the way we view our selves is affected by others perception s of us. It is my belief that a male dominated culture can make women ashamed of their sex. Women, who feel that they do not conform to the patriarchal definition of beauty, often feel unhappy about their personal identity. Even women who are conventionally beautiful often think that they are not, or feel that their attractiveness is what makes people like them.
Belly dance is about women dancing their power the movements collude to make the dancer formidable moving in this way makes one feel this way. It gives the individual a sense of joy and sends very positive messages to the body.
Arab dance in the past was used as a form of Goddess worship. Anyone can reconnect with this archetypal experience to be put in touch with her own power. One does not even have to mention the Goddess to promote the ideas of female divinity as a metaphysical reality. Women are not just bodies they are souls and minds. All dances are a combination of mind body and soul. Arab dance is form developed by women for women. Over thousands of years. If you connect with this energy you are this energy. Women who open themselves up to this will all be a manifestation of the Goddess.
Stress can cause a variety of problems, Belly dance is a brilliant stress reliever it is a potent stimulator of the bodies feel good hormones, - endorphins. Belly dance is a low impact high aerobic exercise. Because it involves stretches and moves virtually every part of the body it is a physically holistic exercise. The dance is meditative and requires the mind to engage with the body, this gives the dancer a break from the nagging mind in the same way as yoga or tai chi does. In this state the spirit can flow through the body. Belly dances often look younger than their years and can do athletic dancing when most women's bodies are stiffening with age. Belly dance not only makes women stay healthy and beautiful, it also helps women to stay younger for longer.
The dance uses universal divine shapes of the spiral the circle and figure eights. Through the movements we are connected with life and death. Through the physical body we can transcend its limits.