Movement and rhythm can be a way to achieve harmony between body and mind. They make it easier to get to know yourself and communicate with other people. Dance therapy, or choreotherapy, does not teach figures, but allows you to find your own rhythm and free yourself from everyday tensions.
Choreotherapy(treatment with dance) helps to relax, it also works well in the treatment of neurosis and other stress-related ailments. In each of us there is a bit of atavism from the tribal times, when the day had its rhythm determined by sunrise and sunset. The world today is chaos with disturbed circadian rhythms and the rhythm of the seasons. The beats of drums in ethnic music, which I use during classes, organize my breath, muscles and the whole body. This music changes the frequencies of our brain waves to the relaxing alpha state we are in just before falling asleep. I noticed that patients love this "shamanic" music, intuitively feeling how much it helps them - says Danuta Rogowska, a psychotherapist using dance treatment.
Choreotherapy - return to the sources
Dancingwas for the primitive tribes not only fun and a form of expressing emotions, but also a magical ritual. It was used in healing practices. The shaman was a psychotherapist, or rather a choreotherapist. Therefore, let us not think thatchoreotherapy(Greek choreo - dance) is a discovery of the 20th century.
In the West it began to be used around the beginning of the 1950s. It has become one of the elements of art therapy (therapy through art) as well as kinesitherapy (healing through movement). In Poland, it has been used with great success for 20 years, mainly in psychiatry, as well as in physical rehabilitation, social rehabilitation and revalidation, i.e. work with the mentally handicapped.
Every day we use the muscles of our body only in 20 percent. When we dance, all of them start working, including the unused ones. Dance relaxes them wonderfully. And the more relaxed we are, the less we tense our muscles.
People who experience mental problems also have problems with their bodies: their orientation in time and space deteriorates. The motor memory is disturbed, especially the coordination of movements. People suffering from neurosis avoid physical exertion because they believe that they are in danger of doing sohave heart disease or have an attack of breathlessness. Dancing restores their overall fitness. However, for choreotherapy to be effective, you should use classes conducted by a specialist, preferably a psychotherapist. It happens that the dance triggers emotions in the participants, for which the unprepared person will be helpless.
Of course, everyone taking part in the classes tries to dance to the best of their strength and abilities, but even paralyzed people can do it successfully. After all, wheelchair dancing competitions began with choreotherapy classes.
The therapist should have good contact with each patient, therefore the group cannot exceed 12 people. For the therapy to be effective, at least six people must participate in it. Treatment usually takes five months.
Choreotherapy opens up to another person
There is no question of having a good time listening to music when our body is tense or we cannot make contact with our partner. However, we will never open ourselves to others if we do not accept ourselves, whether we are fat or thin, more or less fit.
When we improvise, move as our body dictates, we express ourselves, we overcome shame, we discover unknown emotional resources within ourselves. And everything we do will be good because it is our own. The therapist may also ask you to perform a task to the beat of the music. For example, participants must imagine that they are flowers locked in a seed first and then bloom. This task teaches discipline of the body, synchronization of movements and develops the imagination. It is recommended for people who think logically, in order, who do not use half measures in their lives.
In dance therapy there are many exercises, the aim of which is to open up to another person in order to be able to touch his hand without hesitation, embrace him. And dance. Whether we can or not.
Choreotherapy - a program for everyone
Choreotherapy serves, inter alia, achieving relaxation with the help of symphonic, contemplative and relaxing music (Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Kitaro are the composers proven in music therapy). But more than listening to music, it cleans up the stress of movement. It relieves tension in the muscles. Dancing exercises improve blood circulation and breathing, and at the same time force you to concentrate while performing certain figures. They also teach divided attention: controlling the body and maintaining a rhythm. People suffering from depression feel faster blood circulation, more energy thanks to rhythmic music (eg disco). And integration dance exercises allow them to open up to others and discover pleasureinteraction. Not only in the therapeutic group, but also in everyday life.
The program is effective for both those with inhibitions and those who are hyperactive. In their movements, you can clearly see which parts of the body are blocked. Already in the first class, the therapist will notice how they hold their head and hands, arrange their feet, say hello and look at each other. And he knows what disorders they suffer from. An overactive person cannot stand still, the one with a bowed head and rounded back clearly signals a lack of energy. The former must be helped to recover. The second - to believe in yourself and in others.
Sick soul - sick body
Classes last one and a half hours. The participants must first get to know each other, like each other and touch each other. Then begins a warm-up to the rhythm of calm, pulsating music. The exercises can be modeled on yoga according to the principle: "the more flexible your body is, the more flexible your thinking, feeling and, consequently, your life will be". The point is, after all, to deal with problems better. Sometimes a broken leg causes depression. Then our soul begins to fall ill. It is also the opposite - when we are mentally broken, our body reacts with ailments.
Dancing teaches you how to deal with your anger. Many people have trouble expressing it. They suppress it within themselves, they cannot "shout" it, and thus are unable to defend themselves. Aggressive, irritating music (eg "Krzesany" by Wojciech Kilar) provokes the body to rebel. Then he reacts with anger, sometimes aggression, and thanks to that he reacts. People who are very aggressive by nature do not have a problem with this. They always find a safe outlet for anger and get rid of the excess of it. Releasing aggression is one of the most difficult techniques in psychotherapy, therefore it appears only at an advanced stage of the class.
Everyone can apply dance therapy alone, for example by going to a disco, dancing at home or taking lessons. It is hard to call it a professional choreotherapy, but certainly dance has a great effect on our well-being, and thus our he alth.