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International Community Building

by Yoga Meets Dance™ Instructor Rebecca Wolf

I have been teaching Yoga Meets Dance™ for the past 5 months and I must say that it has been one of the most fulfilling things that I have ever done. Ulpan Etzion is an absorption and ulpan (intensive Hebrew classes) for new immigrants to Israel from all over the world. 

After teaching here for several months, a permanent and consistent group of students has formed. I have students from Chile, South Africa, Russia, India, The Netherlands, and the United States. As new immigrants, they struggle to make their way and find their new lives in this new country – Israel. 

As we come together each week to dance and stretch, we do so much more that that. We open our heats to one another by our movements and dance – together and apart. I notice that as the months pass, movements change from restricted and shy dances to open and crazy celebrations of life! 

There is a real camaraderie that has formed among my students.

“Naomi,” an older woman in her late 40’s, comes faithfully each week. Often she arrives to class tired, frazzled, and stressed. However, as the music begins and as she moves along with it, it appears as though bands of stress fall from her shoulders. Almost every week she ends the class in tears and thanks me profusely for the gifts that I have given her. 

However, these gifts of free movement and stress release are not given to her by me; they are elements of her own being that are awakened by the music and movement.

Another student, “Rimona,” from India, tells me about how lonely she feels being so far away from her friends and family back home. However, one day after class she shares with me that participating in Yoga Meets Dance has made her the happiest that she has been since she arrived in Israel!  This class, Yoga Meets Dance™, has become such an important part of my routine and identity. Not only do I love to dance freely to the music, but I feel so fulfilled in my ability to share this amazing experience with others!”

From Sedona to Israel, I have carried with me the ability to help people find themselves, community, to dance freely, and open their hearts.

I also taught classes at NStreetVillage in Washington, DC at a homeless shelter for women with wonderful responses. My email is: beckywolf@gmail.com and I currently teach in Phoenix, AZ.

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Daily Camera Newspaper, Boulder, Colorado, November 2007

YOGA MEETS DANCE™ – Innovative class marries ancient practice with modern dance

by Lisa Marshall

At first, it looked and felt a lot like a typical yoga class. On a Tuesday evening after work, 8 women of various ages, shapes and sizes quietly filed into a north Boulder studio, took a seat on the floor, and fixed their eyes on a lean and limber instructor named Viki Psihoyos.

Soon we were quietly making our way through a predictable series of hurts-so-good stretches and yogic poses with names like Downward Facing Dog, Table Pose, and Child’s Pose. But just about the time I began to get that familiar, intimidated feeling that my rigid runner’s body was just not built for this yoga thing, the mood began to shift.

From the speaker in the corner, a deep Middle Eastern beat began to crescendo as Psihoyos directed us to bend our knees, put our hands on them, and swivel them in a belly-dance-esque circular motion. Soon, we were gliding through the room to the ethereal sounds of Celtic artist Loreena Mckennet, moving our arms as if we were swimming deep underwater, and waving our hands in the air as if our fingers were paintbrushes splashing vivid colors on the walls. Before we knew it, we were engulfed in a full-on free-form dance groove, sweating and laughing as Tina Turner belted out “Be good to me” in the background.

“This is fun,” I thought to myself, wondering if I’d ever said that in the middle of a yoga class before.

That, Psihoyos explains, is what can happen when dance meets yoga. “Most people walk into a class and fear that they aren’t going to do it ‘right,'” says Psihoyos, a former professional dancer who brought Yoga Meets Dance to Boulder this summer. “I make it clear that they are here to have fun.” A blend of easy Hatha yoga moves, guided imagery, meditation and various forms of dance, the trademarked Yoga Meets Dance class was founded in 1999 as an outgrowth of DansKinetics — a rigorous yoga-dance blend created at the famous Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts.

Beth Rigby, a Kripalu-trained yogi wanted to create an easier, more accessible combo with more free-form dance and Yoga Meets Dance was born. Since then, Rigby has trained more than 100 instructors around the country — including Psihoyos — and offered the class in just about every venue imaginable. “I’ve done it with wheel chair patients, trauma patients, for stress reduction in a corporate environment, on cruise ships, and in fitness centers,” says Rigby, who lives in Sedona, Ariz. “It can be adapted to almost any population. It’s just super simple stuff to de-stress, have fun, and let your hair down.”

According to the 2005 Yoga in America Market Study by Yoga Journal, 7.5 percent of adults in the United States, or 16.5 million people, now practice some form of yoga, and statistics from the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association show that nearly 90 percent of fitness club now offer it. Meanwhile, dance as fitness has also grown in popularity, with nearly a third of health clubs offering dance classes.

Combining the two, Rigby says, can help newcomers to dance loosen up and get comfortable in the group before the music cranks up. And unlike yoga, which can often be a somewhat inward-centered, solitary experience, it can cultivate community.

“You feel connected to people at the end, whereas you might not at the end of a yoga class or an aerobics class,” Rigby says.

The yoga poses aren’t held, so it’s considerably easier than many classes, and aside from some general guidance through four dance forms based on the four elements (earth, water, fire, and air) step-by-step instruction is kept to a minimum.

“It’s less rule-bound,” says Alyce Barry, a Boulder writer who recently joined the class. “There are so many rules in yoga.” Half way through Psihoyos’ Tuesday night class, eight women who had never met before walking in the room found themselves in a circle, red-faced, sweating and giggling as they took turns leading a dance to Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina.” Then came more free-form grooving to “Wild Thing,” and a cool-down dance with colorful scarves to the tunes of Cirque Du Soleil’s Alegria. But perhaps the most emotionally challenging dance of the night came toward the end, when — as instructed —the women gathered in twos: With one hand over their heart and the other palm-to-palm with their partner, they were instructed to dance in a slow circle, maintaining eye-contact all the while — an art that many of us aren’t used to.

“It was very joyful,” says Tracy Holderman, a yoga instructor who took the class that night: “You never make eye contact with the people you do yoga with.” With class over, she and her classmates filed out, with a good stretch and rigorous workout behind them, and perhaps a few new friendships in their future.

www.yogameetsdance.com

Yoga Meets Dance

Love in Toronto, Canada, February 21, 2008

by Kelly Wilk

“The older I get, the more I want to do things that make me happy,” Kathryn Peterson, Registered Massage Therapist and Certified Yoga Meets Dance™ Instructor, told me over breakfast at the By the Way Café on Bloor. Kathryn was brimming with excitement about her new Yoga Meets Dance™ series. Engaging this desire that Kathryn expressed, the desire to “do things that make you happy”, is one of the best ways to indulge your healthy pleasures. It encourages a state of mind that makes you open to possibilities, and dance is one of many ways through which to explore this openness.

Kathryn looks at dance and movement not only as an expression of joy, but also as a healing tool and extension of her practice. Like many people her age, including myself, Kathryn fondly recalls a time in her life when she used to go to clubs and dance all night.

Designed by Beth Rigby (www.yogameetsdance.com), Yoga Meets Dance™ is a fantastic, healthy way to reconnect with that kind of energizing experience. Kathryn completed her program training in Sedona, Arizona, where she learned to facilitate this combined yoga, movement, and meditation course that can be readily modified for anyone.

Having had an opportunity to attend one of her classes, I was very appreciative of the gentle yoga postures that bring out bodies slowly into movement. At first, everyone seemed wary of dancing in front of strangers, but as we became more comfortable and started to have fun, caution melted away, and we were left to thoroughly enjoy the freedom of movement. I am always blown away by what a powerful effect dance has. Such a focused activity lets me leave behind all the worries of my day and just enjoy my body.

Kathryn’s objective is first to create a safe space for everyone to be grounded. When people are more centred and focused, she explained, they feel more comfortable about their bodies and about themselves. A deep understanding of meditation was a huge part of her training, and bringing people together to discover a pure sense of enjoyment is not only personally healthy but inspires a sense of community between participants.

In every class, Kathryn also strives to create an environment of playfulness that allows participants to be in the moment and experiment. Their adoption of this attitude becomes apparent, she said, by changes in posture and expression. Without the constraints of hierarchy and adult ‘baggage’, they are no longer self-conscious and stop worrying about what others think. website: www.yogameetsdance.com 

Yoga Fit Magazine, August 2007

by Matthew Solan with Beth Rigby
Feet First- Get Grounded By Focussing on Your Feet

Your feet are the only body part that remains in constant contact with the Earth. They are on the go from your first step out of bed through the 10,000-plus steps the average persona takes daily, more if you add time spent pounding the treadmill, cutting on the court, hiking the trail, or just dancing the night away.

Most people don’t notice their feet. That is until they hurt even a little, or worse, suffer from an ankle sprain or twist. It sends out a ripple effect. Your active lifestyle comes to a screeching halt and even the slightest movement can make your entire body ache. Even Socrates understood this —”when our feet hurt, we hurt all over,” he once said. Smart man that Socrates.

If you could look inside your feet, you’d wonder why they ever trip you up. Your feet were made for walking. They hold 25 percent of your body’s bones; 26 in each foot along with 33 muscles, 31 joints, and more than 100 ligaments. That’s a strong supporting cast. They help flex your feet up towards the knee; point the toes away from you; and rotate them in and out. It supports your entire body whenever you walk, run, jump, or just stand around. But all that supports means little if you are not fully grounded, says Kripalu Yoga teacher Beth Rigby. Being grounded is what separates from being a light foot and having two left ones.

“When you are fully grounded and have greater body awareness, you are more mindful, you are less likely to injury yourself because you are in-tuned to how your body moves,” says Rigby. “You might be jumping around playing tennis, but if you know how your feet move and where they should be, you’re less likely to take a tumble. It’s when your mind gets outside the body that you can get into trouble.”

You could say that Rigby is grounded most of the time. A former gymnast and cheerleader, Rigby now teaches Yoga Meets Dance, an offshoot of Kripalu DansKinetics, which blends yoga, meditation, and guided movement. She’s never had a foot or ankle injury during her life except during those moments when she’s “goofing around” and not fully grounded. Ironically, these moments have never occurred on a balance beam, school gym, or yoga mat.

Her latest stumble took place last year when she sprained her ankle while running to her car. “I just wasn’t mindful of my movement and what I was doing,” she says. For three weeks she hobbled around on crutches with a bad sprain. When the swelling went down, she began the process of getting her foot back in action and restoring her feeling of being grounded. She turned to the best medicine she knew: her yoga practice.

One Small Step

The road to foot recovery: focus first on mobility and then strength.

Mobility: Mobility is simply to get the foot and ankle used to moving and twisting again. “Gentle walking is a great first step as are series of ankle circles, point and flex exercises, and the foot and simple squats, where you keep your heels flat on the floor to help strengthen your feet’s muscles as well as the toes and lower legs,” says Rigby. (See “Step Lively” for more instruction.) Virasana (Hero Pose) and Balasana (Child’s Pose) are also great mobility-building poses. Both work to stretch the top of the foot and ankle while toning the sole of the foot. Overtime, these pose can help better spread the toes to increase more equal contact with the ground. Once you can comfortably place weight on your foot, you can begin strengthening.

Strength: Almost any balancing pose is ideal for building foot and ankle strength, says Rigby, in particular the old reliables Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and Vrkasana (Tree Pose). Rigby likes Tadasana because “it teaches you to equally distribute your weight across both feet, so you understand the sensation of being firmly grounded with your feet reaching into the Earth,” she says. And when you are recuperating from a sprain or other injury, Mountain Pose can help you gauge your recovery. “You’re often scared about putting pressure on your hurt foot. But in Mountain Pose you know immediately if you’re favoring it or not. You can feel how your foot is healing on a daily basis. When you feel fully engaged in the pose, you can begin to trust the healing process.”

Once you feel safe balancing on two feet you can move to one foot. Tree Pose is a popular balancing pose because it has so many modifications almost anyone can do it, says Rigby. You can bring your foot to the ankle, inner thigh, or for more of a challenge stand, on a block. Your hands can stay in namaste position or reach your arms overhead to show your branches. You can even use a wall for support. But most of all, one-legged balance poses teach you how to remain mindful about your body. “It’s almost impossible to stay balance on one leg if you’re thinking about grocery shopping,” says Rigby. As you progress, and your feet become stronger and suppler, you can deepen your body awareness with more challenging one-leggers, such as Garudasana (Eagle Pose) and Virabadrasana III (Warrior III Pose). Want to really test how grounded you are? Try to hold them with your eyes closed.

These standing poses also teach proper feet alignment where you equally ground though the four corners of the feet — the big toe mound, the baby toe mound, the inner heel and the outer heel — distributing weight evenly between each foot. When you do this your create and a solid foundation for movement. “Your body reflects everything your feet do,” says Rigby. “When your feet are in proper alignment, so is your body.” You won’t be caught off-balance and you’ll be more prepared for sudden stops, twists, and turns. You’ll be so in-tune with your body that you won’t even notice your feet anymore.

Step Lively

Always wake up your feet before your yoga practice or any activity,” says Kripalu Yoga teacher Beth Rigby. Here are some simple warm up exercises to follow. Also you them to refresh tired feet and help increase mobility and if you are recovering from a sprain or other injury.

Point and Flex: From Tadasana, point your toes away from the body and flex the foot several times by drawing the toes towards the body. This creates mobility in the ankle as well as strengthening the muscles of the feet and ankle.

Ankle Circles: Slowly take the ankle in circles in both directions, clockwise and counter-clockwise. This action stretches and strengthens the foot and ankle muscles while maintaining mobility in the ankle and foot joints.

Interlace Fingers Between Toes: From a seated position, interlace your fingers between your toes. This stretches the muscles of the toes and allows them to spread, which increases more balanced contact with the ground.

Tennis Ball Roll: Roll the entire sole of the foot back and forth over a tennis ball. This helps to warm up the feet, release any tension, and regain fluidity.

Marble Pickups: Place several marbles on the floor near a cup. Keeping your heel on the floor, pick up the marbles with your toes and drop them in the cup. This strengthens the foot muscles and promotes using your toes as individual entities as opposed to a group.

Bloomington Newspaper, Indiana, July 2005

by Melissa McReynolds

Sun salutations to C & C Music Factory? Downward-facing dog and Wild Cherry? Welcome to the latest incarnation of American yoga! Yoga Meets Dance™, a new class taught by Matece Duncan in a second-floor studio just off the square, combines the best of both mediums and produces a 60-minute wellness trip for the body, mind, and spirit.

“Outrageously fun and simple,” Matece’s promotional materials declare. “For all ages, shapes, and sizes. For dancers and non-dancers, yogis and non-yogis, for those with two left feet!” Yoga Meets Dance™ is the healing synergy of yoga, free and guided dance, community building, and stillness meditation.

It is also a “sacred, sensual, and silly celebration of life that deeply relaxes the body and mind, and powerfully opens the heart,” Matece explained as she greeted new students on a recent Monday night.

“I need a towel!” exclaimed Angela Floy, dripping sweat and smiling elatedly halfway through the class. A Near Eastern dancer who is in the midst of opening her own hair salon, Angela was taken by the music selection: hits of the 80s swirled with French funk. “Sheer, utter happiness and joy,” is how Floy described the class. “There is safety in the space. And freedom. And trust. During this class, I felt something I’ve been yearning for for many years,” said Floy, who moved to Indiana from Iowa three years ago.

“It was cleansing, incredibly cleansing. I actually was teary at the end of class. I felt a connection, a real heart connection, with everyone.” Red Blustein, a Bloomington pre-school teacher originally from Illinois, attended the Yoga Meets Dance™ open house and has been coming back ever since!” “This class replicates the dancing I used to do in my living room when I was a small kid and a young adult,” she said. “I can now dance here with other people and build community. It’s my dancing dream come true!”

Carrie Schneider writes in her 2003 book, American Yoga, “This country has taken a tradition born on distant shores and changed it subtly with its embrace.” Twenty million people now practice yoga nationwide.

Matece, who graduated for the Healing Arts Institute in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1999 with certifications in massage and body/mind therapies, said she enjoys the discipline of yoga but was looking for something with more “juice”. “I just love to dance so much!” she said before her twice-a-week class held at Blooming Lotus, a wellness studio that offers everything from meditation to bellydance. “And dancing from that place, that grounded, deep connectedness of yoga, is so playful, and safe, and expressive.” Matece has been practicing massage therapy in Bloomington since 2001 and Reiki since 2002.

In March of this year, Matece attended Beth Rigby’s Yoga Meets Dance™ (www.yogameetsdance.com) intensive teacher training in Sedona, Arizona where she became the only certified Yoga Meets Dance™ instructor in this corner of the Midwest.

And it’s so simple!” added Matece. “I just provide the space, and some guidance. Each person is free to have the experience they desire. They forget their concerns. They forget how old they are! There is affirmation, the feeling of being accepted, being seen. It is deeply healing.” “This space is made for play.”

Matece Skow (Duncan) currently resides in the San Francisco area. Email for her current class schedule: Matece mgskow@gmail.com.

Yoga Meets Dance website:  www.yogameetsdance.com 

Beth Rigby Uses Ancient Methods to Achieve Modern Benefits

by Paul M. Howey

Calling on two of the oldest arts known to human civilization, Beth Rigby creates among her students emotions that run the gamut from exhilaration to serenity, sometimes with a few tears and lots of laughter thrown in. In a program she calls Yoga Meets Dance™, Beth shares her passion for music and movement, inspiring others to cast off their inhibitions and open themselves up to the power of the music.

“Music can do so many things,” says Beth. “It can cause you to feel more alive and free. It can calm your fears, it can make you weep. The exhilaration one feels after seeing a movie is due, in part, to the soundtrack of the film. Music evokes deep emotion that helps people to feel alive and to rise above the boredom and drudgery of everyday life,” she adds passionately.

The Class Begins~

The people in her class talk nervously among themselves as they wait for the music to begin. A few appear to be self-conscious, probably asking themselves what they’re doing there. Then Beth enters the room and her easy demeanor and quick smile soon begin to put the others at ease. She offers little in the way of introductory comments other than to assure everyone to be themselves and to have a good time. She begins with some gentle yoga and breathing exercises to help them relax and detach from their often-frenzied activities. Then the music starts.

A pulsating primal rhythm fills the air making it nearly impossible not to sway with the beat. A funky, rocking tune soon has the class shedding any remnants of embarrassment. A sense of raw freedom fills the room as bodies and minds are passionately set free with ease and laughter.

“We humans have been doing this for a long, long time,” explains Beth during a lull in the music. She points out that archaeologists recently discovered ancient bone flutes that were used by the Neanderthals more than 43,000 years ago to create melodies. “Just think of it,” she says, “these are people who had to fight incredible odds every day just to survive; yet they found the time and the desire to seek solace in music.”

What is it about music that moves us so? There are many theories. For example, it’s believed that the sounds of a drum connect us to the beating of our own heart. Scientific studies have shown that a slow, steady drumbeat creates a sense of calmness, whereas a louder, more frantic cadence can cause us to feel excited and even frenzied.

Move in Your Own Way~

In Beth’s class, she utilizes all forms of music and myriad rhythms to help her students express themselves through movement and find a sense of raw freedom and cathartic release. She emphasizes that there is no judging of style in Yoga Meets Dance. “However you’re inspired to move is the right way to move, though I do provide a structure to the class, to inspire you to experiment,” she tells her class read more.

Healing Qualities of Music~

There’s also the therapeutic side to music. A study was conducted recently in a hospital’s neonatal ward. While babies were crying in the center of the ward’s noisy machines and human voices, a harpist began to play an ancient lullaby. According to Kate Mucci, author of The Healing Sound of Music, nearly all of the babies quieted down and many fell into a deep sleep. Obviously, adults benefit from music as well. “It helps us to open ourselves emotionally and let loose with feelings that may be causing disease,” says Mucci.

Beth agrees. “Music and dance have a magical way of accessing deep levels of emotion, freeing chronic stress, and restoring a sense of lightness and well-being. Gentle yoga relaxes people so they can more deeply feel the music, thus move more freely.” she says.

One of Beth’s Yoga Meets Dance students explains her own reaction. “I felt things moving and opening in me great joy and connectedness,” says Cindy Brown from Massachusetts.

All Ages, Shapes and Sizes~

Slow rhythms gradually build into an explosive, wildly fun, and high-energy experience. Energy-sapping emotions such as grief, worry, and preoccupation with the mundane are easily released. Before they know it, the people in Beth’s class are moving effortlessly, freely experiencing the sensual joy of movement. Some of the people in the class are in their early 20s and 30s. The oldest appear to be in their 60s and 70s. These are folks of a variety of shapes and sizes and levels of fitness all going at their own pace, free of judgment by others and more importantly by themselves. At the same time, Beth says, it is also a richly communal experience.

Connected to the Universe~

In his book ‘Contradictations,’ author Erik Hoffman says, “In past cultures, the people’s dance was far more connected to their experience of the universe.” He cites examples of rain dances, harvest dances, fertility dances, and more. People in these societies relied on each other for their very existence, he points out. “Now we live a different life. The old rites no longer hold the same significance. We need a new reason to perform our rituals.” Among these, he explains, are exercise, camaraderie, contact, and love of music and dance. All of which are a part of Yoga Meets Dance™.

As the class continues, Beth creatively incorporates the imagery of our most basic elements: fire, water, earth, air, and spirit, as they relate to our bodies, to the music and to the universe.

Meditative Stillness~

As the class winds down, so does the tempo of the music. An overwhelming sense of liberation fills the room, as the people in the class immerse themselves even more deeply into the music and the movement of their bodies.

Sitting in stillness as fresh memories of the entire experience sweep over them in waves the class dissolves into deep relaxation. Beth then leads them in a meditative cool down as each begins to richly experience sense of the calmness they’re finding inside. Michelle of Virginia describes it as feeling “peaceful and really alive all at the same time.”

“We take the magnificent stillness and love we’re experiencing in the class and project it outward around the globe,” says Beth. “We dance not just for own healing but for the healing of all people. Just as a pebble thrown in a still pond ripples out, so does the positive energy generated from our dance ripple out.”

In addition to teaching dance and yoga nationwide, Beth also directs training programs for those who want to become Yoga Meets Dance™ instructors.

“Teaching has taken me to many places inside myself as well as around the world,” says Beth. “My most special classes, however, are those I teach to trauma survivors and to wheelchair-bound patients.”

Why Beth leads dances~

“My greatest joy,” says Beth, “comes from seeing everyone, dancers and non-dancers alike, regardless of their backgrounds or life journeys, coming together and experiencing freedom, laughter, and unity through dance, through the soul-stirring interaction with music. Then, we remember, we are all the same. This is why I lead the dance. We remember some important things about who are and how we are connected.”

About Beth~

Profound meditative experiences have gifted Beth with a powerful intuition and inner guidance. She is a lifelong student of holistic healing who recognizes that there are many exciting paths to a healthful life brimming with meaning and joy. A gifted healer and intuitive teacher, Beth’s journey has led her to enjoy, embrace, and then share with others the benefits of a variety of ancient arts including yoga, dance, massage, and meditation.

Beth has been a featured faculty member and program director at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, on Inner Voyage Cruises, and has also presented her work at the Esalen Institute in California and fitness centers and yoga studios across the country.  She has created numerous workshops and self-discovery retreats.  She is also a massage therapist, energy healer, artist and long-time student of Soto Zen Buddhism.

Visit Beth at: http://www.yogameetsdance.com

Article by Paul M. Howey, AZ Text Publishing, Inc., www.aztexts.com

Vision Magazine, San Diego, CA, May 2001

Healing Dance Fun for All Levels

Music and movement have a magical way of easily accessing deep levels of emotion to free chronic stress and restore a sense of lightness and well-being. The mind ceases its endless chatter as body and soul are easily swept away by exhilarating world beat rhythms, high-energy rock `n roll and sexy jazz.

Yoga Meets Dance™ is dance for non-dancers, lovers of yoga and everyone else. It involves moving through the yogic chakra energy and elemental systems in the body. No knowledge of yoga is needed. Yoga Meets Dance™Global Dance will excite your soul and open your heart.

Beth Rigby, top-rated program director from the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and student of Soto Zen Meditation, has taught this joy-filled dance throughout the country to mainstream and special populations including wheelchair patients and teenage trauma survivors for the past six years, most recently in San Diego and Orange County.

“There is an increasing trend to dance one’s way back to well-being and health. Yoga Meets Dance™ provides an exhilarating aerobic work out for the body, nurtures the soul and is always different, never feeling like exercise,” shared Beth, who has taught over 2000 classes nationwide.

“Beth’s class was one of the most refreshing and spiritually rewarding things I have done in a long time. It was nice to get out of my head and into my heart. Beth lovingly and gently cajoles our spirits to emerge and dance the dance of oneness.” says Jill Mangino of San Diego.

Yoga Meets Dance includes unique imagery of the elements that comprise our globe- fire, water, earth, air and spirit- as they relate to our bodies and music. Each class begins by relaxing with some gentle yoga. and simple breathing exercises to calm the mind. Musical rhythms slowly build into a wildly fun, high-energy cathartic experience. Old energies like grief and worry are easily released as layers of stress are peeled away. Participants move at their own pace and Follow their own timing and rhythm. You might even call it a Zen state of mindlessness, laughter and sweat.

It’s outrageously fun, non-competitive, and loosely structured. A class then ends with a meditative cool down period, dancing into stillness, sitting with profound clarity, centered in the heart enjoying visualizations for inner-peace and global healing.

As Beth explains it, “We send the magnificent stillness and love experienced at the end of class out of the dance room and around the globe with guided visualizations. We dance not just for our own healing, but for global healing as well.” Adding that “teaching yoga and movement has taken me to many places inside myself as well as around the world.”

Beth has taught on the Inner Voyage Cruise in the Caribbean, and she also directs Healing Retreat Adventures, combining hiking, yoga, and dance in the spectacular natural beauty of Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon, where she lives.

Teacher trainings and Sedona retreats can be found at www.yogameetsdance.com or by calling 928-300-6944.

by Dr. Steve Hoff, Clinical Director of Valleyhead School, Lenox, MA, May 2000

Valleyhead’s multi-dimensional treatment program consists of individual therapy, group therapy, family work, milieu work, adventure based counseling and various experiential groups. The Movement Program is an innovative and important component of our treatment of adolescent girls.

Beth Rigby’s Yoga Meets Dance Movement Program is a form of movement which incorporates aspects of dance, aerobics, meditation and other relaxation techniques. The group (of approximately 10 – 12 students) is facilitated by Beth Rigby who alternates between leading structured stretches and dance movements and encouraging the girls to move freely and creatively to music. Groups are co-facilitated by two Valleyhead clinical staff members. Each session begins with a warm-up and is followed by a variety of energizing dance/aerobic activities. Subsequently, the girls are asked to engage in an activity focused on a particular theme. For example, the girls may be asked to write down something they want to “let go”, or may write a letter to someone from their past expressing what they want to let go. After writing, the girls would dance freely as the entire group would rip up their papers and stomp them into the ground. Addressing the theme of “letting go” of painful memories or thoughts can take on powerful dimensions when addressed in the experiential arena.

The sessions are characterized by a great deal of spontaneity, passion, intensity, and emotion. While a great deal of laughter and joy permeate sessions, tears are not uncommon. The process of movement in conjunction with music fosters emotional expression and the experience of feelings; critical aspects of treatment.

In order to achieve maximum therapeutic value a brief, interpersonal processing piece, facilitated by a Valleyhead clinical staff member, ends each session. During this time the girls share their feelings and experiences. The content of the discussion is guided by the theme introduced earlier in the session. Thus, the activity of “letting go” described above might be followed by an interpersonal group discussion with the focus question of “what was it like for you to let go?” This discussion serves as a forum for group sharing, allows therapeutic working through of issues and acts as a necessary “debriefing” period.

In addition to the obvious benefits of this program (group – connectedness; physical exercise; fun, verbal processing of feelings) are those more subtle but no less important – specifically, issues of body awareness and integration and individual integrity as experienced by adolescent females. T’he importance of these issues is magnified for sexual trauma survivors. Participating in dancing and stretching helps our girls feel more comfortable with their bodies. Moving through this experiential group can, in fact, help them become reacquainted with their bodies, thereby undoing negative self/body-perceptions that formed due to their experiences of abuse. International trauma researcher and authority Bessel van der Kolk’s notion that “the body keeps the score” is relevant here. He suggests that the experience of trauma has psychophysiological ramifications, and that physical types of interventions may be beneficial. The physical release and expression inherent in the Movement Program, combined with verbal processing of experiences, provides a holistic way in which to address the complex and deep reaching effects of sexual trauma.

Format:

The format of this Movement Progam is designed to provide full immersion in a time limited treatment modality. Each student is part of a group (approximately 10 – 12 girls per group) which meets 1 time per week for 6 weeks. Each session is approximately 1 3/4 hours, with the time broken down as follows:

Each session seeks to address a particular theme. All themes are related to overall emotional health. The themes have been developed to be most suitable to the needs of our group of students: 

Body Awareness

Sense of Self – “Who Am I?”

Strengths – “What do I like about myself,” “What are my strengths?”

Anger/Pain – “What are the reasons for my anger and pain?”

Letting Go – “What do I want to let go?”

Hope – “What will my future be? “What are my dreams?”

Yoga Meets Dance website:  www.yogameetsdance.com