Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Feminine American Pelvis

As I was busy painting my bedroom doors, I was playing Latin music on the radio. Before I knew it I was dancing. Here I was, attempting to shake my pelvis from side to side in the Latin way, doing the Macarena. Paint a little, shake a little, was the momentary theme. This side to side motion has always been a little difficult for me. Suddenly, I had a memory from about fifteen years ago. There were several of us at my house. I sometimes rented a room to students coming to Boulder to do the Rolf training. This is a form of deep tissue body work focusing on the fascia and realignment. One of the women was Brazilian. She was giving us dancing lessons, or to be more specific, how to move the pelvis. Let me tell you, this person was moving her pelvis so fast it was unbelievable. They all wanted to help me get the movement going faster. This was one time I felt truly Southern, no way my pelvis would move that fast.

Years ago, before my oldest daughter left home, I suggested we take African dance classes together. I loved the sound of the drumming. It was a challenge for both of us, but we had fun, got a good workout and so we continued. It became apparent to me that no young woman should leave home for good without knowing how to move her pelvis. It’s the main part of our body, so much depends on how flexible and how well it moves for our general good health and well-being. I have been a body worker and yoga instructor for many years. It seems for a lot of us American women there is a disconnect with the pelvis.

But now, the American fad is on movement and dance. So there’s hope the pelvis is gaining momentum here. It can only bring us more into integration, creating less attitude, filling us with joy in motion.

Dance anyone? I’ll paint later.

Patricia

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