musical cure for chronic fatigue
[We are in a heronry - home of Biodanza, which I'm about to attempt explaining (not easy as best done rather than described)...]
Heron is the somewhat incongruous wader whose form graces the logo of a worldwide dance form called Biodanza.
Why? This Jurassic-looking wonder – like the horse – embodies the four elements which are part of its dance movements. Heron’s feet stand on the earth, its legs in water, it slowly flaps through the air. Its eyes are a fiery yellow prompting a lightening spark to spear its prey in the depths.
Although not accomplished in the latter, I was poised on one leg waiting to rise, slow and heron-like before take off. I would need a heronry’s worth of patience…
But ‘The Rock’ in Bromyard where my static was perched no longer felt like home.
It was all my deer (see Menagerie) of a mother’s fault that Biodanza flew into my life. She wanted to somewhere to dance ‘freely’ to lovely music. I did some research and found Biodanza. It promised just that, and offered a weekly class a bus ride away in Richmond upon Thames. It was also home to The London School of Biodanza, whatever that was.
A former ballet dancer and teacher, mum was as light as a gazelle. I accompanied her on her first visit. In the way of all gazelles she bounded in – enjoyed a few sessions – and then bounded away saying it ‘isn’t quite me’… I suspect the forty-minute bus ride wasn’t quite her either.
Both suited me and my chronically fatigued body found it remarkably restorative and I began scheduling visits to mum and dad’s to coincide with the Wednesday classes. We got to dance ‘horse’, ‘tiger’ and ‘heron’ and ‘snake’. You left your story outside as ‘vivencias’ (exercises) were carried out without talk other than the facilitator’s explanation. Here I felt safe and free of my fails. Expressing myself through movement – unjudged and accepted – was wonderfully liberating.
I had no idea then that Biodanza would change the trajectory of my life. And here the heron’s other attribute flies in for heron is a dabbler. Those with ‘heron’ as a totem symbol are often considered to be master Jack or Jill’s of all trades. Acutely aware that ‘The tea party is over’ I still had no idea what that meant. And found myself being pulled in all kinds of different directions. Anything but tea, please!
The universe paid no regard to my plea and simply put the emphasis of ‘the tea party’s over’ on ‘party’… It was time to leave networking and trying to sell my tea books to bed.
Or was it?
#heron #biodanza #dabbling