Majickal Bellydance

I know yoga isn't really supposed to be performed in bed, but bed yoga is better than no yoga. Not that I don't pull the yoga mat out once a week or so for a good hour long sesh, but as my 40 something year old body begins to experience some aches and pains, I find it necessary to supplement my dance with some daily maintenance movements. Many of these are performed as soon as I wake up and before I have time to talk myself out of it. They are not strenuous, just mobilising. Save the strenuous stuff for the yoga mat. Arm Circles Begin while laying on your side. Move your arm in large circles 3 - 10 times in each direction. Keep the arm long and feel how the shoulder joint is moving and gently warming up. Repeat on the other side. Leg Raises Laying on your back with arms by your side, gently raise a leg as high as is comfortable. Keep the leg straight for the whole exercise. Repeat 3 - 10 times. Swap legs and repeat. Knee Bends These are for those strange knee pains...

We are suffering the coldest depths of a Melbourne winter and other than directly to my car, I've barely stepped outside in weeks. My muscles and joints are slowing, stiffening from the lack of physical activity. I am accustomed to walking several times a week and the occasional run. At this time of year my bellydance practise is more important than ever. But how do I motivate myself from my blanket wrapped position on the couch? The Music Music moves us. The right music will elicit an emotional response in our body. This can be a good starting point as we begin to move. It can be helpful to have a playlist organised containing your favourite dance tracks. I have a playlist that I use for each term of dance classes including warm up tracks with 90 minutes of music for drills, improvisations and a couple of cool down tracks at the end. You don't have to dance for 90 minutes for it to be worthwhile. Even five minutes of spirited dance can be an effective full-body, mini-wo...

Leanne Margaret: Word Magick - The Seventy in Seven Technique : Does anyone remember writing 'lines' at school, you know, like the one's Bart Simpson writes on the blackboard as each episode o...

There's a reason I named my style of bellydance 'Majickal Bellydance.' Aside from the ceremonial and ritual aspects of Majickal Bellydance, it is also designed to be therapeutic, in ways both physical and energetic. Balance: Basic bellydance posture aligns the feet, hip width apart, with the knees soft or slightly bent. Keeping the knees soft allows us to more easily re-balance ourselves as we move in space. Stiff or rigid knees can increase the likelihood of stumbling or even toppling over. Keeping the knees fluid allows fluidity of the lower body, promoting a lower centre of gravity. As dancers begin taking steps into various directions of space, their bodies are more balanced and connected to the ground. Majickal Bellydancers practise dance drills involving stepping first into four directions of space and then expanding into eight directions. Being conscious of the direction and shape of each step we take increases our security in physical space.  Co-ordination:...

This week I met with a long time friend and bellydancer after a long absence. I think we were both amazed at how young the other was looking. Our children have grown to adulthood and neither of us has lived without difficulty. I was reminded of the power of bellydance on so many levels. It's an energy dance and once found, that energy radiates like a sunny mist. There seems to be a certain sense of agelessness among my bellydance and yoga practitioner friends. From experience I know that none of us are immune from the natural wear and tear of being alive, but the practitioner of therapies such as spiritual bellydance and yoga process these changes in a particular way. This article focuses on dance because Majickal Bellydance is my main practice. When a Dancer Hurts When dancers feels an ache, our first response is usually not to lay down on the couch and pop a pill. We know that living life to its fullest can sometimes create a little fatigue or stiffness. We are accustomed t...

Majickal Bellydance is a therapeutic style emphasising mobility, control and an understanding of living energy. I am really pleased to be sharing my Majickal Bellydance style at Seville House again next term. Last term we enjoyed a short 5 week introduction using metaphors from the elements of Earth, Air, Fire & Water. We mobilised our bodies from the ground up, spiralling, circling and rippling toward harmony, health and laughter. Earth energy helps us to anchor our feet into the ground with stability. Our knees provide the leverage for living energy to ascend and descend the spine. Water energy helps us to understand our emotional flow as we respond to the music and to our feelings and thoughts. Fire energy illuminates our confidence and fires up our shimmies. Fire motivates the will to get up and dance in the first place. Air carries our veils, symbolising the doors to spiritual realms. Air energy transmits the music to our inner world via the ears, lungs and heart. It ...