It's been a while since my body has asked me to slow down. And now it makes even more sense as we are in the season when everything is going to sleep and pause for a moment. We are approaching the winter time. Days are short and it is cold outside. In my country, we are in the period of the darkest days of the year. So I listen and follow, I allow myself to rest as my body asks for it.
As we are coming to the end of this year I look back and reflect on what I experienced in the days when the sun was shining the most. And it's been quite a ride this year. In summer I spent a month in New York City gathering as much dance experience as I could. I was brought there by a fact that one of my dance movie was chosen and screened in a small dance festival called One Day Dance (https://www.onedaydance.com).
During the period of my staying there I created new connections, made new friendships, took classes with the pioneers of hip hop, I participated in two dance festivals and absorbed the knowledge of the city and its people as much as possible. I also visited two concerts of my favourite artists, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. Music in the streets and the energetic vibe of the city is something that I consciously downloaded into my system :). I took the most of it as I knew that I am there just for a temporary time. It was a season to be active.
As I came back to the Czech Republic I used the momentum and continued with the dance classes there and I also visited a dance festival in Slovakia. And then, I injured my knee at one of the dance classes in Slovakia as a reminder that even in the active seasons we need to learn to rest in order to be able to show up for us, our thing and the world again.
I learn to appreciate every season and go with the flow of it.
So now I enjoy the days with a slower rhythm. As I slow down it allows me to descend deeper into myself, process emotions and reflect on what serves me well and on what does not. I am preparing the ground for the next active season and getting rid of everything which no longer serves me, in my external and internal world, as well. It is not always comfortable or appealing but I trust the process and wonder what will come of it.
It is convenient to rest on the days when it is offered to us, for example by the season we are just at. I believe, that if we are able to get into the alignment with the biological rhythm, it enables us to use our potential in the most effective way, to have enough energy at times when we need it the most. But I also realize that it is not always easy, especially when we live in times when non stop perfomance is valued. Or when we are chased by our internal dialogue that we are not good enough and that we should do more. Now, it is a great time to shed some light on all of these beliefs and let go of what no longer serves us, because if we are not able to rest when we need it, it can lead to different kind of difficultis such as burn out, loss of joy or injury and then it takes much longer to recover.
By the way have you heard of the quote that music happens between the notes? So, lets invite the rest into our lives so we can make great songs.
With Love,
Jindriska
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