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Midlife Soul Part 2 AUTHOR: Sandra Schrift CONTACT: sandra@schrift.com COPYRIGHT: ©2004 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved Format: 60 Characters per line Article URL: http://www.schrift.com/article_39_belly_dancing.html Article Autoresponder: article-039@schrift.com ___________________________________________________________
Belly Dancing for Midlife Soul
Isadora Duncan, mother of modern dance, says, “The dancer of future will be one whose body and soul have grown so harmoniously together that natural language of that soul will have become movement of body. The dancer will not belong to a nation, but to all humanity.”
In October 1989, while taking a brisk walk with my friend, Judy Cullins, I was given an idea that would allow me to merge my body and soul so harmoniously that my life literally changed. Judy had casually mentioned that she was taking a belly dance class through an adult education program in San Diego. Her exact words were, “It’s a hoot,” and that was just enough to spark a long held adult fantasy. So at age of 52, this mother of five registered for Tuesday night belly dance class and never looked back.
During my first night of class, our teacher greeted us at door with these instructions, “Grab a veil out of box,” she said. “There’s a dancer inside of you and she just needs to be let out.” It was right there that I caught belly dance bug and it changed course of my life forever. Although my friends and peers couldn’t quite grasp concept and repeatedly asked why a mature woman decided to belly dance, I could only say that I found whole idea of this type of expression both provoking and rewarding.
I have found that belly dancing is a metaphor for life, for in dance we move through time and space, just as we do while we live out passages of our lives. As I studied art of movement, I was also learning art of living, since belly dancing teaches one how to be in moment, to be in body and most of a to feel with entire being. I’ve not only learned how to stay in shape, but I’ve learned to lead, to follow and best of all, to let go.
Ten years after taking my first lesson, I started teaching classes to a group of mature women, age 50 and over (My oldest student was 91) Students come with loads of self-doubt and self-consciousness, fearfully displaying their belly, yet eager to exercise and have some fun. They all stay because they love chance to play and be in present moment just like we did as children. “Love your belly” is what I say, for it’s only one you have. “Belly dancing can be equated to removing a curtain as you start to express yourself,” states Valentina Kouznetsov, a computer engineer from Russia. “It’s an exercise for my soul and puts me in touch with my inner feminity.
According to a recent Psychology Today survey, fifty-six percent of women are not happy with their bodies, most of whom are troubled by their abdomens, hips, muscle tone and weight. But things are changing and believe it or not change is coming about through unusual art of belly dancing. During my classes we work our abdominals and hips in a way that our culture doesn’t teach. Sheila Disper, a retired social worker says, “We may be seniors but we’re not in rocking chairs.” I’ve noticed a lot of young people who can’t even keep up with us,” says Audrey de la Houssaye a retired chemist. Twenty years to tighten my abdominal muscles that were weakened by surgery, I am finally achieving results by belly dancing.
