Introductory Workshop

Chakradance Introductory Workshop

Awakening – 1.5 hours

PREPARATION

Refer back to the “Your Role” e-book and follow the steps in setting up and
running your class …

* Set up your stereo

* Prepare for mandala art creation

* Prepare your Sacred Space

* Prepare yourself by grounding, centring and attuning

* Put on ‘Arrival Music’ and greet participants at the door.

OPENING MEDITATION

Say:

Welcome to CHAKRADANCE.

We will begin with a short meditation. Softly close your eyes. Have the intention
of letting go of the day and arriving into this sacred space.

Do:

Ring the chimes 3 x times and play Opening Meditation music

After meditation say:

Now bring your awareness back into the room.

INTRODUCTIONS

Do:

Introduce yourself first. Then invite participants to introduce themselves and

ask them to share what has drawn them to today’s workshop. Thank them for
sharing.
INTRODUCTORY TALK AND STRUCTURE OF THE WORKSHOP

Say:

We describe CHAKRADANCE as a dance practice for the soul. It is about

reconnecting back to our true essence or true self.

Our intention with Chakradance is to honor the work of the soul. To tap into that
deeper part of us and hear what it has to say.

So many of us suffer from uncomfortable symptoms in our lives – depression,

anxiety, addictions, compulsive behaviors etc. In traditional shamanic cultures,
it is believed that these symptoms arise from loss of connection to the soul.
Basically there is conflict between our inner and outer lives.

Fortunately, the soul has a natural instinct to heal. It is constantly

communicating with us and telling us what it needs through our bodies, our
feelings, our relationships, our dreams, our art and our dance. Once we attune
ourselves to our souls language, deep healing can begin to take place.

Chakradance workshops are a journey inwards. We use spontaneous dance,

specific music, guided imagery and mandala art to journey through the chakra
system. Chakradance will begin to activate inner experiences – it is almost like
entering into a waking dream. Some of you may see images in your minds eye
while you are dancing, or recall memories or gain insights. You may experience
feelings, emotions or physical sensations. It’s an organic unfolding of what’s
inside each chakra.

If a chakra is imbalanced you will get indicators. You may find that the music
doesn’t resonate with you, or your dance is stilted, or you become distracted.
In Chakradance we ask you to be mindful of your experiences, to observe them,
witness them.

It is important to be gentle with yourself, take it at your own pace. It is about

going within and seeing what is, being with what is. It is about listening to our
souls, moving towards healing.

What we’re going to do now …

Say:

We will begin with a warm up and then journey through each of the seven
chakras, starting at the base and travelling up to the crown. I will then guide
you into creating your own mandala artwork. We will then have feedback and a
closing meditation.

So I invite you to find a place in the room where you feel comfortable.
WARM-UP

Do:

Play Warm-up Music

Say:

Gently close your eyes, or lower you gaze – focus inwards …

Bring your focus to your breath … in … and out …

Breathing more deeply than you usually do …

Scan down through your body, starting at the top of your head travelling down
to your toes. Notice any areas of tightness, notice if you are holding any tension
in your body, any aches or pains …

Breathe into these areas – allowing them to soften …

(SAY ALL OF THIS SLOWLY UNTIL YOU HEAR THE VOICE IN THE TRACK SAY
‘ACQUA’)

BODY PARTS (awareness to body parts, take your time)

Say:

Bring your awareness to you head … relax scalp … stretch face by yawning ….

Relax eyes … relax your jaw … gently move your head from left to right … tilt it
up and down … releasing your neck …

Roll your shoulders backwards …. Forwards … releasing any tightness/tension …

Bring movement into your arms – use these movements to expand your chest
… move each of your fingers …

Release your spine and hang like a rag doll … now slowly come up one vertebra
at a time …

Rotate your hips – release any tightness in your pelvis … then change direction

Bring movement into your legs … shaking them out … bring your awareness to
your feet …dance each of your toes …

Now find your own movements … connecting your movement to your breath …
use the movement to release any tension or tightness you may still be holding
in your body …
CHAKRADANCE – All 7 (Extended version)

Do: Play Chakradance music

Our journey begins at the base chakra ... located at the base of your spine ...
Feel this energy center begin to pulse a vibrant red. Feel your feet firmly on the
ground; and connect with Mother Earth. This chakra is your anchor....your
instincts reside here … Feel the energy moving up through your feet into your
base chakra …connect with the primal, animal-like energy. As you move into the
dance, imagine a warm campfire and see yourself dancing around it.......this is a
dance of the legs and feet..........

Your own gentle movements are starting to loosen up your hips and pelvis. Feel
the energy center in your lower belly begin to glow orange. This is your sacral
chakra. A beautiful stream appears before you. You walk into the stream and
the water begins to flow through you. There’s a feeling that you are cleansing
and releasing any stress being held in your body. This is a feminine dance, a
dance of the belly that creates pleasure and sweetness from this chakra.

The solar plexus is between your navel and your sternum. Focus there and
imagine a stream of pure yellow light emanating from it. You have begun the
masculine dance – the dance of the hero warrior. The fire has been ignited from
within. It builds power, and provides energy throughout your whole body.

With your eyes remaining closed, take a slow breath, and move your awareness
to your heart chakra, at the center of your chest. Breathe in the natural, green
light. Expand your chest ... open your arms ... let your hands become
soft. Imagine you have wings. Feel the flow of the air around you. Dance and
feel the lightness, open to the love of the heart.

Move to your throat chakra and enjoy the sky-blue light that brings harmony
throughout your body. Now you are dancing to the eternal rhythm. Create the
movements that best express your unique vibration. You may wish to hum or
chant with the music.

Keeping your eyes closed, begin the dance of the third eye by rubbing your
hands together to create heat. Now cup your eyes and picture your third eye,
between your brows, gently opening. It’s an indigo hue, the color of the night
sky. Relax your arms, let your body sway and allow your imagination to roam
free. This is the dance of inner vision.

We are now at the gateway to the spirit, whose entrance is at the crown
chakra. Look up and see a luminous violet cord that stretches to the ends of the
Universe, emanating from your crown chakra. You are one with the Universe.
Feel the rhythm of your soul.

Pause music and invite participants to take 3 deep breaths

MANDALA ART

Do:

Invite everyone to take some paper and crayons and find a place on the floor
where they feel comfortable ready for the mandala art exercise.

Play mandala music

Say:

We are now going to create a mandala art so that we can reflect on and express
our experiences today.

‘Mandala’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘magic circle’. To create a mandala we

draw our experience within a circle. The circle both contains our experience and
holds a healing power.

It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t draw – it’s what your mandala
represents that is important. The images can be literal or symbolic. You may
have seen actual images in your mind’s eye, or perhaps you might want to give
a color or an image to represent a feeling you had.

Creating a mandala is an intuitive and spontaneous process. Just let it unfold.

Sit quietly with your paper and circle in front of you Place one hand inside the
circle and have your drawing materials in the other hand. Take 3 deep
breaths. Go within and allow whatever needs to come through to express your
experiences of this chakra. Try not to analyze what is happening, but allow the
process to unfold in it’s own spontaneous way.

FEEDBACK

Do: Invite participants back into the circle for feedback.

Say:

Now it is time for feedback, I don’t interpret or analyze your material as the
therapeutic aspect is in the dance and mandala creation. Vocalizing even by
saying one key word or a short sentence to capture the essence of your
mandala or dance helps to integrate your experiences even further.

Do: Listen/reflect to range of experiences.

Say:

Thank you for sharing/ meta statement if appropriate. Advise of suggested ways
of working further with the chakras during the week.
CLOSING:

INTEGRATION MEDITATION

Say:

We will now close the workshop with our integration meditation. I invite you to
softly close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and have the intention of
integrating anything that may have come up for you tonight.

Do:

Play Closing Meditation music.

Ring chimes 3 x times

DEPARTURE

See participants out. Ensure they are grounded. Give out any handouts.

Release energies. Detach after the session

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON CHAKRADANCE (may be used after feedback)

Each of the 7 chakras governs the health of specific body parts and organs and
each influences a different aspect of our lives (instincts, sexuality, intuition
etc.). Together, they encompass the whole of human experience. When we
explore our chakras through CHAKRADANCE we explore every facet of our
being. It is like shining a spotlight on to each part of us. This is amazing, but
also can be very confronting.

In our lives, we can all get stuck in patterns/routines and can begin to operate
predominantly through 2/3/4 chakras. Parts of us become dominant and other
parts are weak, dormant or buried. Over time, this throws our
systems/lives/relationships out of balance.

By bringing energy/light into each of our chakras through CHAKRADANCE we

can slowly become more balanced, more whole, and able to live our lives more
consciously.

The whole of the CHAKRADANCE experience is also embedded in the philosophy

of Jungian Psychology. CHAKRADANCE is held in a sacred space. Primary aim of
Jungian Psychology is to form an ongoing relationship between our unconscious
and consciousness so that we can find wholeness / reach our fullest potential.
This too is the aim of CHAKRADANCE, to be the most that we can be as human
beings.