Movement as Medicine ~ The Power of Dance

Dance is a natural human ability. It is our first language. We come into the world dancing as a way to express our needs, to connect with others, and to feel. As we learn how to communicate verbally, and grow up in a culture that places an importance on this form of communication, we tend to lose some connection to our non-verbal language, the movement of our bodies.

In times of trauma, overwhelm, and high distress, our ability to use spoken language is compromised as the brain centres associated with language go offline. The speech centre literally becomes muted. As well, our patterns and habits of movement are affected, disrupted and adapted in certain ways to help us survive.

Trauma and overwhelming events literally changes our brain functioning and movement patterns. In essence, as Dr. Bessel van den Kolk describes in his book, The Body Keeps the Score, the experience of past traumas becomes wired into our brains and affects the movement of our bodies.


As a somatic therapist and movement facilitator, my experience is that dance and movement offer a way to connect back into the innate wisdom of the body. Through dance we can discover and explore new patterns of movement, that are natural and pleasurable, not associated with stress and trauma. Van der Kolk writes, “The single most important issue for traumatized people is to find a sense of safety in their own bodies.” When we allow our bodies to move voluntarily in ways that feel enjoyable, our bodies become a place that we feel safer to inhabit.

Another benefit of dance, when we dance together, is the gift of connection. When we dance with others, playfulness is a quality that often emerges. As we move our bodies, we energize our big muscle groups and the part of our nervous system responsible for the fight/flight response. At the same time, through connecting with others with a sense of playfulness, we activate our social engagement system. The social engagement system supports overall nervous system regulation and the capacity to calm and settle.

When we dance, we practice the ability to move into an energized nervous system state, that for some people may be linked to fear or anger. However, when we dance together, we support one another to stay rooted in social connection at the same time, which gently helps our nervous system to regulate and settle. When viewed in this way, dance becomes a “neural exercise,” in which our nervous system builds resilience, and the capacity to heal and regulate.

Dance offers us the opportunity to tap into the innate wisdom of our bodies, to begin to establish a new felt sense of safety, to rewire old patterns of movement, and to connect with others in a playful way.

If you are curious about dancing in community, you are welcome to join us at Dance Temple! Dance Temple is an inclusive, safe, and sacred community space to explore authentic non-verbal expression through dance and movement for the purpose of healing and transformation. It is an invitation to tune in to your body, explore different rhythms, sounds, patterns of movement and be with whatever might arise in your inner journey.

I’d love to share the dance floor with you!

You can find more info here or, send me your email and I will add you to our Dance Temple mailing list.