To begin with anything we are put up against all of the things that take our time and that want to get in our way. Integrating something new into your life takes a solid block of time that had been set aside for something else even if it was hanging on the couch and marathon watching tv shows. And yes, do that!
But to begin, we also need to safe guard our ability to continue. All too often in the New Year people start something with high expectations of themselves all the while thinking of their failure to achieve it the year before. Perhaps for the last New Years resolution. The high expectations and the remembrance of past failures does not set the stage for a solid foundation for our practice. Dancing is as much in the mind as it is in the body, In fact they are not separate at all.
My advice is to not think of beginning a new practice as being a resolution. Instead a practice needs to be seen as a long term practice that is given chunks of time for however often you have chosen that you can handle physically, mentally and emotionally. It's hard to forget about falling off the horse in the past if you are coming back to belly dance practice after a time off. Just remember that this is supposed to be fun and to make you feel happy, energized and good in your body!
Another issue with our practice is that we are faced with the excuses we make to do something else. A lot of the time it is easier to do what we have normally done and to avoid our reasons for doing so. We could be avoiding yoga or belly dance practice out of fear. Everyone's fear or doubt is very personal and we all need to take time to reflect on what our practice is facing us with about ourselves. We may even feel guilty about carving committed time into our schedule that is just for us. Dance may seem frivolous. Our idea of dance or yoga may not be in line with the face we are used to showing to the world. We may be trying to prove that we are a " hard worker " and perhaps dance we are afraid that people will see us as being frivolous and lazy if we take time to dance rather than work over time.
All of these things are challenging and in order for our practice to be successful it takes time. Time to practice and time to reflect. What you have to deal with a year from now may be different but practice usually brings it up for us and right on front of our face! Do we judge ourselves for not being perfect dancers able to do and know everything? Are we still anxious about how we will be seen by others? Are we afraid of losing our job if we don't say yes to everything? Are any of our fears or doubts based on reality? Is it really true or are we believing in an old story that was handed down to us in some way?
Protect your practice by being your own detective to discover what is operating in the background affecting your life and your practice. Protect your practice by realizing that you would be unhappy giving up on something that you wanted to do, on a dream no matter how small just because of what other people think.
The most solid attitude that any of us could use more of to develop a strong and stable practice is by believing in ourselves no matter if others do or not because the quality of our lives is what is important. When someone questions us or expects something that is not in line with our goals or vision we need to depend on ourselves to not get caught up in another persons agenda for our dance or life.
I am talking about clear, strong and healthy boundaries. Metaphorically committed dancers and happy people in general draw a line the sand and they under no uncertain terms ever allow people to cross that line. People tend to rattle all of us off of our center but it is up to us to get back to center as soon as possible so that we can get back on the horse. Getting back to practice is part of the process of coming back to our center after we have been shaken off course.
No matter the day you've had do your best to step onto your yoga mat, put on your hip scarf and begin your practice with music, an instructional video or get yourself to a class. You know that you will regret it later if you let anyone shake you from the choices that feed into you rather than take away. Disengaging from the people who take away from us and instill fear and doubt are to be avoided as much as possible. Try as much as you can to find your supporters even if they are a country away and the only way you connect is on-line. We need supporters too also help us protect our practice. We really do!
We may be used to being off center and used to not doing what we dream, used to listening to the naysayers. We need to learn to get used to another kind of experience. We need to allow ourselves to not feel used to being off center and thrown off balance by well meaning people who actually are not well meaning at all. A healthy person isn't used to having other people dictate their lives and as dancers we commonly build stronger boundaries as we progress which changes the dynamics of the relationships we are in. People won't be used to our change and we might not be used to it yet. It may still feel foreign and selfish to simply walk away from the crap that someone is slinging your way. You may find yourself surprised to not have the tolerance to have a discussion with another person about how good or badly you should feel about yourself. Over time that discussion with yourself will change. Over time it will be like " There should be no discussion on this. I deserve to be happy no matter what. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. This is for me."
In our dance, through this transformation we are melted and hammered into a new shape just like with metal-smithing and we become something completely new and different. Through that process we have something that translates through our dance to the world. The hours and hours of practice and the hours of all that we do to protect it translates into a power and strength, a great inner beauty that is expressed through the dance to the culture that receives it. The audience doesn't quite understand at a logical level but they pick up on more than just movements and technique. The pick up on the dancer as a person and on the person as a whole. The dancer tells the story of triumph, freedom, liberation, endurance. The dancer tells a story of surpassing all difficulty and shining bright no matter what.
To protect our practice we all make the choice to surpass all difficulty and shine bright no matter what. It is our choice and we can do it! It is there for the taking! All that we must go through to endure strengthens us. It isn't the mastering of a movement alone. It is the choice to persist which is a strong choice which motivates us to be stronger. Facing adversity also gives us a power, strength and belief in ourselves. Sometimes we may have to face other dancers who do not believe in us or our dance form for whatever reason and we must be ready to face them too and to remain centered with the vision of our dance and what we love.
You'll get more out of a long term committed dance practice than being awesome or a name to drop. You'll get a new life and more and more ability to step forward with persistence and strength in any area of your life.
Anything you need to create solid reminders to practice do it now! Create a dance diary and fill in your goals and thing to practice on for each date, search for apps to bing you so that you'll be reminded of when to get ready for dance practice and register for a 6-8 week Belly Dance class in whatever style calls you!
Do it now!
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