5 Rhythms

‘5 Rhythms’ & Open Floor dance are forms of mindful moving meditation.

Quote from Gabriel Roth Founder of 5 Rhythms When your body surrenders to movement, your soul remembers it's dance– Would you like to be more at peace with yourself?
– Do you want to exercise but can’t follow a class or have 2 left feet?
– Fancy being able to navigate the chaos of life more easily?
– You like to dance, have fun and not be judged!
If so, this is for you…join us

  • No partner or previous experience of dance needed,
  • all are welcome young, old, fit or unfit.
  • No steps to learn and nothing to get right or wrong and no judgement from the teacher. You dance at your level.

“Movement is my medicine, my meditation, my metaphor and my method, a living language we can rely upon to tell us the truth about who we are, who we are with, and where we are going. There is no dogma in the dance”. – G.Roth.”

A theme

An Invitation to Explore the 5Rhythms’ Conscious Movement Practice in three Sessions. An opportunity to dance through the rhythms in good company, beginning with the basics, diving deeper into the beat and on the way, finding your own dance; expressive and unique.

1 Dec 19:  All about you; your body, your dance.
We will cover the basics of the 5Rhythms: the wave that provides the foundation and grounds a dance, the different beats and how if we let go of goals, expectations and self judgement we can begin a conscious expressive dance of relationship with our physical self.

9 Feb 20:  You and Me
Diving Deeper into the practice.
Working with the space between us; how do we move from self to connection with another.

26 April:  All of Us ( Well as COVID19 is affecting all of us, this is postponed )
A Celebration of “me, you and us”
Exploring how a group affects our dance and how connections are made in in company; Working with the space we find for ourselves in this situation

COVID-19 Special event Sunday 7th June 2.30 to 4.30

An opportunity to dance online book directly through this link.

Book event here

What are the the 5 Rhythms?

We go through the 5 rhythms so that you can begin to feel them in your own way.

You are then be encouraged to “FLOW”  for yourself, followed by allowing the beat to take you into “STACCATO”,  then to move into “CHAOS” with curiosity; next, to drop into “LYRICAL” and find that part of yourself that wishes to sing and embrace everything and finally to find peace and quiet in “STILLNESS”.

Mindfulness

DISCOVER HOW CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT CAN HELP YOU TO BE MORE AT PEACE AND COMFORTABLE WITH THE RHYTHMS THAT RULE YOUR LIFE…

We focus on being conscious of what is present for us in the moment and how our movement is affected by our thoughts and our feelings.  At the same time, we will explore, how each rhythm has its’ own flavour and also each session is an exploration into being mindful and in the present.

We  look for the “sweet spot”, the place where we feel wholly together in body, feelings and mind; together with another, the group and the setting.  Searching for this combination of the whole self, and repeating the dance as we feel it, can lead into that energetic space where there is only the beat, your breath, your heartbeat and the space to be you.

 It is not about how well you or anyone else performs.

The 5 Rhythms’ movement work, is a clear and beautiful way to begin the practice of conscious dance.

It’s fun, interesting and students can become accustomed to the idea of dancing from your feet. They can discover how they are able to let go of the need to do anything, other than listen to their body and dance from that instinctive point.

In this world of ours, we tend to be taught from very early age about right and wrong. Once students truly and deeply take on board letting their body express what it needs to, it is joyful and liberating. When they know instinctively that the body knows what is right for it, in any moment, the practice becomes deeper and the movements reflect the reality of the person moving.

It would be wrong not to say at this point that once a student dances their true reality, then change and transformation will begin.

Open Floor takes conscious dance a step further

A rapid description is pretty impossible, but one can say that this practice starts off with being inclusive of the whole person. I have a physical body, I have a thinking mind. I am an emotional creature, which are all part of me.  We are also a people who seek another dimension in my life, some would call it spiritual, others a yearning for “something more”.  All this the teacher brings every time she goes to a class or a workshop.

The whole of us is always with us, whether we are conscious of it or not.

Another way of putting this ‘inclusivness’ is that every human has a hunger – a physical hunger, a hunger to connect with another, hunger for belonging and this hunger for something else. We work with these hungers and invite and encourage all or any of them to walk in the door. The name OPEN FLOOR is also about “all are welcome whoever you are and whoever you feel yourself to be” when you walk on to the floor.

If you want to do that, then dare to be brave and join us

As Dr. William W. Purkey  said:
“sing …as if no one is listening
dance …as if no one is watching
love …as you’ve never loved before
live …as if heaven is here on earth”

Music

The music is different each time and is a mix of: electronica, jazz, classical, pop, rock and roll, alternative, some fast some slow.

Practicalities:

Date: 9th February & 26th April 2020 Time: 2pm to 5pm

Investment:
£20 early bird by 20th Jan and 6th April: £18
Book 2 places (either 2 workshops or 2 people): £2 off
On the day £22 cash per person
Limited places, book now: fill this form to avoid disappointment.

Venue: Just 5 min from J15 of the M4. Liddington Village hall, Swindon SN4 0HB with plenty of free parking.

Book event here
On the day:
  • Wear loose comfortable clothes; layers to remove as you warm up and put back on as you cool down.
  • Dance in comfortable shoes or bare foot as socks are too slippery on the wood floor.
  • Bring some water.

Can’t make the date and want to be kept informed of the next event subscribe here

Booking: places are limited to 16 so book now to avoid disappointment. Fill this form to reserve your place. Payment details will then be sent to you.  For more details contact Julie on 01793 495551

Teacher Gay Murhy
Gay Murhy – LIVING IN LYRICAL

Teacher: Gay Murphy says:

I am a 76 year old grandmother who first found 5Rhythms® twenty five years ago. I immediately fell in love with this practice; it was as if my three year old self was reborn and with her ability to move and dance from within without restraint or self consciousness.  Long years of being physically tied up in knots, awkward and shy fell away as I gradually let go of the inhibitions and literally ‘loosened up’ in all manner of ways. I am passionate about teaching conscious dance practice; to encourage others to find the ground under their feet and let their wings fly!

When I stand in a hall, I aim to look for simplicity as in;

  •  Not too much teaching,
  • Respect for each student who shows up and allows themselves be moved,
  • Courage for myself to let go and adapt my planned teaching at any time to what is going on in the room;
  • The confidence to listen to my instincts and to act on them.
  • Encouragement and inspiration to the people who have turned out on a cold night!

Surrounding and supporting my teaching is my enthusiasm for these practices and how it touches my heart every time I teach and witness what happens on the dance floor. www.joyfuldance.co.uk

What 5 Rhythms did for me and what it might do for you:

The fun:

Even though I knew it could be transformational, having seen first hand how it helped a school friend, at first I just did it for fun and the exercise.  It is easy because there are no steps to learn ( I had enough going on in my head, without having to learn something else) and no partners needed (ideal as my husband hates dancing).

It took a while for me to feel the benefits, other than getting out and having my own space, which anyone who has or can remember having a 2 year old around will understand is of great value in itself.  I was getting space by going to my pilates and yoga classes but 5 Rhythms was different, it was about being me, not following someone else.

The benefits:

Alter and candles on the floor

The beauty of it is that you dance your own dance, within your own comfort zone so there is no need to do anything that strains your body. There are no steps to learn and you can never get it wrong. This brings so much freedom to the body that it frees the mind and the mind is so free to explore that it frees the body.

The classes and workshops have helped me be more in tune with what is going on in my life. I am more aware and respect the different rhythms that go on all around and inside me. Now they bring back the freedom and fun in my body that gets lost with the every day demands of bringing up a child and running my own business from home. It allows me to receive in the way I give to my clients.

Read more:

Join: Mindful Movement Space Facebook group to keep up with other dates and similar events.

Watch:

Book event here

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