Other Things to Know about Sacred Groove™:

An invitation and some thoughts from Caroline to you....

The first time I went to a sacred dance event I was filled with anxiety, doubt and skepticism, but also some hopefulness.   I've always loved to dance, ever since I was a kid.  Outside of some formal study, I also did my fair share of going out and dancing at clubs.  It was fun, but I sometimes felt a little bit disconnected there, turned off by the pressure to wear makeup, flirt and dance sexy.  I wanted a place to shake it loose just for the fun of it.  When a dear friend from grad school invited me to "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," a dance jam held in a West LA fencing gym, I had no idea what to expect.  I didn't know if it would be an awkward environment, if the music would be lame, if I'd have to memorize dance steps, I didn't even know what to wear.  I had this fear that I would be the one person who couldn't get it right, the one person that everyone would stare at and say "what is SHE doing here?"

When we got there the music was rockin' and we could hear it from the hallway on our way in.  I think Alicia Keys was playing, it was back when her first album dropped and she blew everybody away.  Inside there were so many people, it seemed like hundreds, moving so freely and with such obvious passion I was stunned.  My friend jumped right in but I stood on the sidelines.  I watched bodies of all shapes, ages, and colors get down and rock out with more physical intensity than I'd seen in one place...ever.  It was impossible not to be moved by the vision, and I remember thinking, why has it taken me so long to find this?  I also remember that I cried, and that I felt so afraid of my own body that I could hardly move a muscle.  I'm not sure I did more that first time than stand a few feet away from the wall and sway a little bit.  I kept wondering what to do with my face.  I was so used to dancing while being watched and evaluated, I just couldn't figure out how to let go and "dance like nobody's watching." 

At the end our guides brought us all into a big circle.  The pulse in the air was palpable and as we went around and shared our names, one by one,  I felt myself included in this vibrant community of brave souls.  In the end it really didn't matter whether I'd stepped away from the wall or not, it didn't matter what I was wearing and it certainly didn't matter what my dance had looked like.  Standing there with all those dancers-- joined together by a common desire to live fully, sacredly and with joy-- was such an incredible and embodied moment of togetherness.  I was compelled to go back...again and again and again, until I was attending two dance jams a week and soon enough, despite myself, despite all my doubts, despite all my seemingly insurmountable insecurities, fears and flaws, I found myself stepping away from the wall and into the center.  The gentle guidance from the facilitators provided just enough structure to make me feel safe, but not so much that I felt pressured or pushed.  Some days my dance was lyrical and flowing.  Some days it was ugly, chaotic and aggressive.  Whatever I was working with in my life-- heartbreak, shame, desire, loneliness-- I put it all into the dance.  It was in those rooms that I grieved deaths, celebrated love, made lifelong friends, connected with Spirit, found my calling and my path.  The practice taught me, and continues to teach me, to be exactly who and what I am at any given moment.  That is the gift of ecstatic dance.  The open-hearted invitation to go inside, feel what's there, and do whatever the heck you want to do with your own truth. Plus, it's just so much damn fun...

So often, as adults, we are held captive by our fears, our doubts and a sense of what's "cool" or appropriate.  We are culturalized to show our most presentable faces to the world, and to keep what is strange, messy or off-center deeply hidden.  We are certainly not given enough opportunities to step out of our boxes, get a little wild and let loose.  And even if we do have those opportunities, so frequently they involve the use of alcohol, as if we need something outside of us to access what is already inherent within. Remember free play time as a kid? Did you ever have dance contests in your basement?  Did you and your brothers ever get so loud and silly and full of joy that your cheeks hurt from smiling and your bellies cramped from all the laughing?  Do you remember that whole-bodied feeling of happiness and possibility? That feeling of being so involved with, and so consumed by, the joy around and within you that it didn't even occur to you to be embarrassed or shy?  What if I told you that it could be like that again?

Find out for yourself.  Come  share the Groove with us.  Wear whatever you want.

What are you waiting for?

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