Feeling connected to others…
Feeling connected to others is a feeling that seems increasingly rare in our Western society …
I often hear people complaining of loneliness or suffering without understanding that their difficulties stem from a problem of disconnection to others. In wanting to reach comfort and ultimate safety, our society has involuntarily led us to privilege the values of private property gradually leading us to isolate and disconnect ourselves from each other …
Last week, a participant from a DanceFlow class revealed that she was really happy to have felt connected to others when she usually feels lonely, feeling like no one understands her. It was magical to see her express herself like that and to see how much she had been able to get out from that hour of body expression.
For some time now, I have been encouraging participants to meet each other’s eyes. It’s not an easy thing and it leads to have to go a little bit beyond one’s comfort zone. However, when the group dynamics allows it and the danceflowers are playing the game, magical things can happen as could be expressed by this young woman during this last class. The eyes meet, shy at first, then come a smile. If the music is sufficiently catchy, it can lead to real euphoria and the feeling of connection that one can experience with perfect strangers can be downright exhilarating!
Of course, no one is forced to meet the eyes of others if he or she feels uncomfortable or just not in the mood. It happens and you have to listen to yourself. I have taken several body expression classed and felt like staying in my bubble, to take what suited me personally without having to feel obliged to open myself to others. But daring to cross the gaze around you just to see what that can do could lead to some interesting and even surprising discoveries!
In short, DanceFlow can be a way to find this often forgotten connection with others and allows us to remember that we are eminently social beings who need to feel connected in order to live happily in our head and spirit!