Seasons greetings from Tango Touch
Guest blog by Tracy Stafford.
I love meditation and my solo physical practices – yoga, running, hiking. Nothing will replace them. But the importance of sharing the meditation with others cannot be overstated. Being totally blissed out in meditation on your own is so important, but we are here together on this planet. Let’s embrace each other. Let’s share that calm within the storm together. Let’s breathe together and live together as though we are in an embrace.
I know we all know this in our minds, we get it. But practicing is another thing. I can tell you that I have had many dances where it was hard for me to shut off my brain. In my mind I could see myself reacting in knee-jerk, fight or flight patterns, or acting out inner temper tantrums, or judging – both myself and the other person. Of course, I do all of these things all the time – not just when I am dancing. But in the shared meditation of the dance, where the rest of the world is in another galaxy, there is nothing between me and my awareness of my habits. I keep practicing. Let’s all keep practicing. It’s not easy to shut off the mind and just open the heart, but it is worth it. We all know what those moments of connection feel like. They are worth the effort of all the practice.
I am acutely aware of how divided the world is right now. It is so easy to fall into the habit of seeing ‘me vs you’, ‘us’ vs them’. When we don’t feel our shared connection, it is easy to allow others to suffer. When we feel isolated and disconnected, it is easy to feel like we deserve to suffer alone. There are many things that we can do to have a positive effect in the world. I think allowing oneself to give and receive a beautiful embrace is one of those things.
(Join Tracy at her studio www.integrationpilates.com Boxing Day for an evening of tango. See Special Events at www.edmontontango.ca)