I have to admit.. I don’t really watch Dancing With The Stars, I’ve seen the show maybe 2 or 3 times ever. But I am aware of the comings and goings of various celebrities, some of whom arrive overweight, Kirstie Alley comes to mind, and leave considerably lighter. This always makes big news, fascinated as our culture is by any kind of weight loss, particularly something that looks glamorous or dramatic.
I have to say up front, I know absolutely nothing about their exercise or diet regimes, but I am using DWTS to make a point.. I’m getting to it I promise.
My point..my belief..is that anytime women reconnect with their bodies, in sensual really-feel-good-ways.. when they come back to their true instinctual natures.. for example through dance…it fills them up, satisfies them in ways that food never ever can (nor was meant to).
We aren’t hungry for food..the deep hungers most women feel are for something so much more primal. When was the last time you danced? Really moved..let it go? This could also be about another fully physical experience that brings you great joy.. it’s about the reconnection with the physical non-intellect you.
There is nothing like that feeling when we get out of our heads and fully INTO our bodies. Nothing.
The last time I really really danced like “that” was at a yoga retreat center, Kripalu in Lenox, Massachusetts. There is a noontime dance class that really does it for me..There are always a lot of people, in a big gorgeous cathedral-like room, often with live drumming.. it feels truly primal. And every part of me responds and is called back into that wild-hearted instinctual space.
And when it’s over, the letdown is huge. I’ve felt that letdown many times over the years. The transition from the joy of dance classes in college, to go back to the academic ones afterwards. The years I kept reinjuring my knees because of the high of the old high-impact aerobics classes I was (definitely) addicted to at a particularly great studio in Harvard square.. more thumping music.. more getting lost in the music and the communal primal energy. Any time I have been around really great music with a primitive drumline I want to dance until I drop. It lights me up, turns me on, fills up every cell in my being with joy and aliveness.
The dance was amazing, yes.. but the essential piece is about rejoining our true nature, and the powerful desire to sustain it.
From that state, how would one even consider needing to overeat? Already so filled up, having broken through the mental/mind chatter through to the instinctual, intuitive, sensual embodied place that I believe we deeply LONG for.
My long-winded point being that the women who are training for Dancing With the Stars may be spending hours training, may be eating less.. but I believe that it’s the joyful energy of being back in their bodies, of reconnecting with their true wild hearts, that brings them out of disconnected eating and living in bodies that resulted from the feeling of disconnection. It was the dancing itself.. the energy and joy of it that brought them home to knowing parts of themselves that had been lost.. that were now reclaimed, known and reintegrated.
Want some support embodying your true nature? Let’s talk. Email me at Lisa at IntuitiveBody dot com. My complimentary consults come with a pre-call questionnaire so I can get to know you even before we begin.
With much love and every blessing to you and your wild heart..
xox
Denise says
Lisa, reading this post was a perfect way to begin my morning. You are brilliant. For someone who has been out of her body much of her life, it is something I’ve been working on getting back into for several years now. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Lisa says
Denise.. As you probably know, I write from the place of having been out of MY body for much of my own life..I ended up with such severe knee injuries that I had 2 major surgeries from being so addicted to those aerobics classes.. I felt the pain but didn’t care b/c of the “high”.. But I know that you know the difference and are living in the connection.. and I appreciate the wisdom you share from your own place of expertise with money and finances and being in integrity with that..because you are living it.
Anyways.. thanks for the lovely comment.. nice to get it right after publishing the post. Much love to you…
Melanie McGhee says
Yes. I think you are on to something here. I love the wild dancing of FREE women — or maybe it’s women freely expressing their wild nature with FREE dance. This doesn’t mean the wild flinging about of arms and legs – it’s the freedom of joyful confidence in our WOMAN-ness that lights me up.
I recently saw a video about women embracing and kindling their feminine joy in a way I’ve not been exposed to before here in my humble east Tennessee town. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrdn4lazVBc
Again and again, I’m with Denise. You are brilliant!
Nona Jordan | the Business Yogini says
Lisa, happy new year!! I love this post – just what I needed to read this morning…. as a part of setting the tone of being connected to my body in 2013, I’m practicing yoga every day this month very intentionally – letting it be a collaboration and a dance with my body. Embracing that joyful energy is, indeed, the intention. Thank you for this!! XO
Lisa says
Happy new year to you, Nona! Love your intention for 2013..Although i am not the yogini that you are I have been adding daily yoga (on my new pink mat) with some morning sun salutations.. a way of shifting the energy and reminding us of our true nature. These are practices for the new year that make sense.. and that “add’ something vs take something away.. Beautiful..
Love to you…
Karen Ribeiro says
You write (and dance) divinely Lisa! New Years Eve my husband and I had a GREAT time dancing and the endorphin rush was delicious. We also sat out a few and I observed people dancing and that too warmed my soul! Here’s to seeing the dancer in all of us!!
Lisa says
Hi Karen, and happy new year.. there IS something about dancing.. so glad for you that you got the chemical “hit”! I wish there were more places where we could all go and dance that were geared towards more generations, with music that we love, and environmentally/energetically nourishing and happy… hmmm.. Cheers to the dancer in us all.. love to you- lisa
Helen says
There’s nothing like dancing to really enjoy yourself and let your hair down – who cares who’s watching?! I loved this! I had an amazing time dancing on New Years Eve and I promise myself to do it more often! I also practice Bikram Yoga which gives me a similar high. You are so right!
Lisa says
Happy New Year, Helen! I think we are all agreeing that being in our bodies, perfect or otherwise (because perfect is ridiculous and even thinking in those terms ruins everything) is what lights us up.. what gets us away from all of the judgment and rigid standards in our head that create the misery.. I’ve heard lots of things about Bikram yoga.. how long have you been practicing? I’ve been tempted and may give it a try in the next month or so while it’s freezing out!! love to you.. Lisa
Marsha @ Green Mountain at Fox Run says
So agree with you, Lisa. I think it’s about connecting with joy, purpose, Self, that part of us that knows the pleasure in life but gets so buried under worries about body size and food choices. And as far as dancing goes, I’ll have to echo others’ comments — my wild New Year’s Eve gyrations did me such a world of good!
Lisa says
Marsha.. yes to everything you said..we know how much purpose and joy get “buried”..sacrificed, put on hold..indefinitely while women chase standards that sustain misery.. when seeking more life and connecting to their inner wise woman, true self will lead them there. Happy to know you danced the night away..Love and happy new year to you.. Lisa
eyenie says
Aaaaahh….I’ve never looked at DWTS that way, but you just made it mean so much more!!! YES! Raw, fluid, unabashed dancing really is primal and amazing…I LOVE how well you express the vital importance of getting “out of our heads and fully INTO our bodies”. I am seriously giddy just thinking about dancing right now!! Dancing is the only thing that has every put me in a positive “trance” where I feel transformed and truly deeply invigorated. THANK YOU for this post…it got me REEELING!!! So yummy!!! YAY!
Lisa says
Eyenie.. love the fullness of expression on the page..if this little post can make you giddy, well, my job is done and I am happy! I think we all get it.. know that place.. remember it at least and are called towards it. Whether we allow it to actually happen or not is where things shift or not… Let’s dance. love to you.. Lisa
Rachel Du Croz says
Great post as always. We have Strictly Come Dancing in the UK, same format with Len and Bruno… anyway the same happens here the female stars and some of the men tone and loose weight and we are equally obsessed. This season a large actress called Lisa Riley took part and she showed everyone you don’t have to be a stick insect to enjoy and be really good at dancing. She got to the semi’ s on sheer talent and joy. She was fun to watch and just lit up the floor. I was reminded by your previous blog https://www.intuitivebody.com/understanding-overeating-and-addiction-with-archetypes/ and wanted to let you know I started salsa classes the other day, I did 11 years of ballet as a kid, but thought I was too big to dance now, well nothing is keeping me from mambo- ing now! yes it will help with fitness and weight loss but my goal is enjoyment first! everything less is added benefit.
Lisa says
Hi Rachel…I love that you are putting fun and enjoyment first.. because waiting/weighting until one is a certain size is also saying we only deserve the fun of things if we “earn” them.. and it’s backwards.. Our bodies thrive on things that we love and are passionate about.. and if we can move beyond fear of judgement (mostly our own.. but unfortunately it’s out in the culture also).. the good feelings can permeate into the way we care for ourselves. Which is not to say that weight loss is the goal or the hidden agenda.. But feeling good and allowing ourselves to trust ourselves to do what we love and what we’ve always loved will absolutely trickle down into every area and build back our confidence and love for ourselves.
Dance dance.. do it all for the joy of it.. so happy to read this, Rachel! Love to you, Lisa
Jacqueline Fairbrass says
Oh yes Lisa. I so agree! When I am at my happiest and most connected with my body I am at my healthiest weight. And that certainly isn’t the lightest I’ve been…that too was unhealthy.
I like to crank up the stereo and dance like no-one is watching (well, no one is except the dog and he just thinks it’s all good!) Reminds me of Kundalini Yoga training…love the rush!
Lisa says
Hey Jacqueline! Isn’t it amazing how much we all are saying the same things.. how good we all feel “in” our bodies.. and yet sometimes we don’t go there enough. My former teacher, an intuitive healer, used to always yell at our class “get back in your body”.. she meant it as a moment by moment thing.. to get out of our head/intellect and come into the present moment, into our senses, and intuitive knowing.. all of it..
The connection between happiness and body-connection and weight is powerful. And finding ways to personalize and make it habitual is so worth it. Love to you, Lisa
Inga says
The same happens here in the UK, Lisa, Celebrities at “Strictly Comes Dancing” are dramatically losing weight and all of them are saying that participating at the show was their best experience.
I believe, Lisa, that you are absolutely right about the importance of reconnecting with our bodies. I have noticed when I feel good about what I’m doing I don’t feel hungry and food becomes only as the energy source (which is it should be).
I love dancing, the best workout for me is Zumba dance classes.
Lisa says
Hi Inga..I agree.. the hunger balances out and put back in it’s rightful place when we are filled up with fun and connection in ways that really light us up.. I tried zumba a couple of years ago.. fun! Love to you, lisa
Amanda Krill says
You are definitely onto something here. Dance isn’t something I’ve ever really been into, but the theory here is sound. The last 3 months I’ve been sort of exercising (not anymore than before), but I’ve been insanely happy – and I’ve lost almost 20 lbs almost effortlessly.
I definitely think it’s been more about the happy than about anything else.
Lisa says
Amanda.. I agree.. it’s more about the “happy” .. although for some sensitive/empaths the happy can also feel very ungrounding and even energetically overwhelming and also lead to overeating.. But for you I’m glad for the happy and also for the effortless shift in weight. The best kind.. Love to you- Lisa
Leah Shapiro says
MMM..I could have sworn that I commented on this post already. LOL!
I do watch Dancing with the Stars and I think that you are right about why it makes the women lose weight. One of the things I really enjoy about the show is witnessing the opening up and surrendering to the process o sinking into the body…opening up to their sensual sides….and trusting their partner.
I find it to be a wonderful metaphor of life.
Lisa says
Leah.. yes.. love it as the metaphor in all of those ways..beautifully said (of course!) xox
Andrea Dinardo says
Lisa!
I could feel the rhythm in your words. Like the pulse of your heart. Beautiful writer you are. Your words dance on the page..
Your article make so much sense! I agree 100% My favourite part of my work-out is at the end when I DANCE! I feel so alive & free ~ Just as laughing for hours with with you always does. Miss you! You are my Caroline Myss classmate & so much more.
Andrea xo
Lisa says
Doctor Doctor (aka Andrea) ..so good to see you here..Miss you too.. feels like forever since we were learning from C.M. and laughing on our silver couch…I can picture you dancing ..we should meet up at Kripalu sometime. Sending you so much love.. Lisa
Dianne says
I’m reading this just as I’m lamenting the fact that I can no longer find joy in dance. I used to look forward to my dance classes, and now I approach them with apathy. Has anyone else experienced this, and is there a “fix”?
Lisa says
Hi Dianne..I’m curious if you have a sense of what’s changed for you that left you less than happy in dancing. It is true that there are times that changing it up, having a new routine can reignite our sense of satisfaction but I sense you are saying something else here. Is there apathy around other things or just around dance?
Love to you.. Lisa
Dianne says
Lisa, I think I feel directionless right now because dance was the center of my life, and now that just isn’t there. I think part of it is that my image of myself was as a dancer who was making progress, but my teacher has never validated that. That feeling of mediocrity has thrown me off. I started out just wanting the fun of it, but became interested in being good. Now without good, there doesn’t seem to be much fun. Does that make any sense?