Hello, this is Blythe Stephens of A Blythe Coach: dance education and coaching to move through life with balance, grace, and power. This podcast includes bite-sized insights on ballet, dance, yoga, well-being, creativity, and joy! This is the fourth part of a series about being present in the body and living mindfully. Today’s topic is exciting, because we get to take that inner awareness out into the world!

If you haven’t yet heard the sections on Grounding, Centering, and Orienting, you may wish to go back and check out those episodes as well. Here I’ll discuss how to get into a creative state of being, so you can shine your light and share your gifts with the world. As dancers and yogis, we practice these principles in an embodied way, but no matter your skills or art, you do create. Of course my discussion here is just the tip of the iceberg- truly this introduction is just a tiny taste of the philosophy behind my work, and it draws on many sources.

In the podcast I talk about a couple valuable tools to blast through creative blocks:

What creative action have you been avoiding due to fear and excuses? Take one small step towards it today!

I invite you to clear away the blocks that stand in the way of your creativity. To sign up to work the Clearing Exercise with me personally, to join a yoga or dance class, and for many more free tools, visit my website at www.ablythecoach.com

This is the third part of a series about being present in the body, which is beneficial to our physical training, dancing, and quality of life. If you haven’t yet heard the sections on Grounding and Centering you may wish to go back and check out those episodes as well. I’ll briefly discuss how to find a Oriented state of being, becoming present in the space in which we find ourselves and aware of the opportunities in the present moment.

Having found a grounded state supported by the floor below us, and a centered state connected to our core strength, the next stage is to get oriented, aware, and curious about our surroundings. Here we seek perspective, exploring different ways of seeing and learning about reality. We use the five senses to investigate, expanding our experience to include the world around us.

In The Living Gita, Sri Swami Satchidananda states that from a yogic perspective, “The body also in a way is outside you. The real you is just simply you--an isolated ‘I.’ All that you have or possess is part of the outside world, part of nature.” Therefore, we are capable of impartially observing the workings of the body and our surroundings, and then responding powerfully.

In yoga and dance, we look around the space, experimenting with positions of the body, levels, viewpoints, pathways, and means of moving and traveling. From the stability of the earth and a strong center, we are able to become mobile, reaching out into a larger experience of existence. Here we experiment with how things work, including the body and the objects around us. We experience trial and error, test hypotheses, and seek knowledge and wisdom through our experience. Here lie our raw materials, the stuff we will later use to convey grace, strength, and emotion.

“Orienting is about knowing where you are in space, which helps you to create a connection with what is real in the present moment. To orient, look around the space that you are in. Use all of your senses to take in what you see, smell and hear the way a dog would when it first enters into a new space.” Jay Fields, Teaching People, Not Poses Fields suggests that “As you hold the pose, look around the room and orient yourself to the present moment.”

Thanks for joining me in this brief discussion of the power of an oriented state of being! Coming up soon I’ll share about using these tools to unleash your creativity! For more free tools and community, come visit me at www.ablythecoach.com

Hello, this is Blythe Stephens: A Blythe Coach dance education and life coaching to move you through life with balance, grace, and power. Today I want to share a foundational awareness that can transform our dancing and our lives. I’m talking about how to get into a grounded state of being.

All of our dance technique, conditioning, and yoga work does develop both body and mind, but no matter how physically fit we become, we won’t truly have a strong foundation (and therefore strong performance), without attending to our underlying state of being in real time. This is the ultimate foundation for our work, so let’s look at HOW we’re showing up and the impact on our dancing and quality of life.

Have you noticed on days when you’re preoccupied with your thoughts and distracted from feeling your body’s connection to the floor, that your equilibrium feels off and you struggle to balance? For me, balancing goes best when I am relaxed yet engaged and fully aware of my connection to the floor, sensing the support I receive.

Feeling gravity, noticing where my weight falls as well as where I lift up against it’s pull, helps me come into the present moment and just play with my movement. Equipoise becomes almost effortless.

In the book Teaching People, Not Poses Jay Fields states, “Grounding is about feeling supported in your body, as opposed to the floaty, diffused feeling you get when you’re not grounded. To feel grounded, put your attention into what supports you--your feet on the ground, your butt on your chair. Try to give your weight to what supports you, or imagine sending roots down into the ground.”

I like this image of rootedness like a tree or a plant reaching down into the earth and spreading out. An alternative image that I also enjoy, is to imagine pouring your weight like pancake batter onto the griddle. The batter slowly spreads across the surface in all directions, solidifying as it cooks. A delicious visual, and I encourage you to come up with whatever mental picture serves you!

I invite you to be present in your body, aware of your base of support, and grounded as you practice foot and ankle exercises as well as when you come to standing for dance class or to move into your daily life. Care for any discomfort, be mindful of your needs, get support from others as needed. Notice what is supporting you, right now. Mindfulness is an ongoing practice, so don’t beat yourself up when you fail to do this perfectly.

Bonus grounding practices: set a daily reminder on your phone to check in with that which supports you by feeling your feet or the seat beneath you in that moment. You may also wish to consider all of your resources, reflect on and write about who and what supports you, and go ahead and ask for the support you need.

I hope this helps you to find your foundation and a grounded state of being. Stay tuned for further ideas to take into your dancing practice and the world!

DISCLAIMER: Although the exercises I recommend are suitable for dancers at a beginning through advanced level, and I do my best to keep things moderate and safe, please consult your healthcare practitioner before beginning any health or fitness regimen! Always be responsible for your body's well-being while exercising- if you get injured, that will take time out of your dancing and moving, and we don't want that if it can be avoided.

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Hello, this is Blythe Stephens of A Blythe Coach: dance education & coaching to move through life with balance, grace, & power. My podcast includes bite-sized insights on ballet, dance, yoga, well-being, creativity, and joy. Today I’ll briefly discuss how to find a centered state of being, recruiting our inner resources to act powerfully.

When we are centered, we sense our internal strength and the support of our respiration. We can become aware of our own thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. We are clear of mind, able to be in our personal power, courageous, at cause, and responsible.

Centering is finding the connection to and strength of the core of who we are, including our physical core strength and all of our internal resources, courage, and power. In the yogic system, the center is associated with the third chakra, a place of action, creativity, gut feeling, and self-definition. In ballet and other dance forms, core engagement is crucial to our poise, balance, and power, and yoga also involves pranayama or breath control practices.

In the book Teaching People, Not Poses, Jay Fields states that  “Centering is having a sense of personal power and control over your life. To center, consciously put your attention on connecting to the center of your body, to your core strength. I like to imagine being able to gather all the parts of myself and all of my energy back to my center and take a moment to feel my strength.”

I invite you to feel centered in your body as you practice core and conditioning work, as you practice yoga or dance, as you perform onstage, and in your daily life.

“Draw your attention to your center and see if you can feel strength there.”

For my favorite exercises to tap into your core strength, subscribe to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel and sample videos including “Planking Pleasures,” “Oh Wow, Cat/Cow!” and “Plush Paralleleves.”

I also find Dandapani’s energy-gathering meditation to be a supportive practice in the pursuit of a centered state, and I will continue to share tools that help connect to core strength and courage. To find many more free resources, visit my website, www.ablythecoach.com