What weighs you down? Debt, loneliness, depression, fear for the plight of the world? It’s common to want to get away from feeling weighed down. Many of us were instructed as children to “sit up straight!” Slouching was seen as a sign of laziness and a lack of good character. But, simply sitting up doesn’t rectify the “problem”.
Feeling “weighed down” is a real thing. We are weighed down, more now than ever. Practicing the Weighed Down Dance allows us to work the movement range from being weighed down to sitting or standing tall, thereby providing more room for deep breathing.
Sit and bring to mind everything that weighs you down. Worry, stress, anxiety, self-doubt, fear. Slow down, allow each thing to be real, to add to your compressed state. Get as weighed down as you possibly can. If you begin to panic, reverse the process and sit tall until your breathing calms down. Then try it again, get weighed down. Sink into the feeling of your body deadening, compressing, giving over to hopelessness. Hold the weighed-down position for five long seconds, then incrementally begin the process of sitting tall until you can breathe deeply once again.
This dance is a ceremony of feeling, from compressed and short of breath to tall and open, breathing deeply. Repeat the movement range until it feels more natural, then add music. Be playful, have fun with going between weighed down to sitting tall and tossing the weight to the heavens. Compressed breathing to deep breathing. Ceremonial Dance is a ritual of respect and honor. Respect your weighed-down self, and practice strengthening your ability to sit tall.
