Howling From My Chakras
Finding Peace and Belonging in the Unknown
The dance studio was a hidden mystery, making me thankful I followed my overprepared nature and set out on a quest 45 minutes before the start of class. The idea of the class had me intimidated enough as it was, knowing nothing about Vocal Toning or Sonic Anatomy.
After half-circling a large Z-shaped building and not seeing any visible signage for the studio, I parked the car with a sigh and headed out on foot.
I walked the front of several businesses before deciding to go inside and finally ask someone for help. I pushed through the door of a business that seemed to be a gym, if the people exiting in their stretch pants and duffle bags were an indicator. Once inside, it was plain I had entered a cross between coffee shop and tavern.
Pleasing with its gentle ambient lighting, warm tones, rustic design, wood architecture, leather couches, and swivel seats. A nice place to read a book and sip something. People may have been squatting and sweating beyond the tasteful ivy-decorated brick wall.
I saw nothing to prove a gym existed.
A kid behind the ‘bar’ greeted me with a wide smile as he polished the glass in his hand. His smile vanished as soon as my request for directions floated into the air between us - eyes darting to a co-worker taking a break on a swivel bar seat.
“I know where it is!” She piped right up, and I was grateful. There is nothing more exhausting than not only repeating yourself but doing so to lackluster ears. She swooped in with positive energy and renewed my hope.
Turns out the building was not only z-shaped but had a drop on the backside with a small underground parking that opened into an outdoor courtyard and several additional businesses below street level. The dance studio sits in a cozy nook, next door to an Irish brewery.
I swung through a turquois-colored glass door.
Suddenly, I was in a space that hit me like peace had been waiting for my arrival. I stood at the edge of a slightly elevated, blond-toned, wood dance floor, polished smooth as silk, and didn’t feel out of place.
An energetic woman sprinted across the room with the grace of a yoga fairy. Her pleasant smile and warm introduction put me at immediate ease. I felt thoroughly welcome, my worries put to rest, and the wandering worthwhile.
Once the clock struck one o’clock, we had a gathering of five participants plus our instructor. Now came the time to learn how to let go of all the emotional toxins and energy sludge clogged up inside our bodies.
Our nymph-like spiritual instructor explained the exercises and encouraged us to express ourselves fully in voice and body as we went through each set.
Basically, we were to cut loose in full expression of ourselves, moving and vocalizing in whatever ways felt right for our feelings and needs, working through each chakra (front and back) and using associated sonic anatomy tones (specific voiced sounds) and free-form body movements.
It was a unique and liberating experience.
Once the class came to a close, it seemed that the five students and the instructor had formed a gentle friendship. We had not interacted with each other directly, but in the hour together, we were free to express ourselves fully and without judgment. We were as loud and as wild as we cared to be.
No words can express how wonderful the feelings were the longer we were in this zone of true mental, emotional, and physical freedom. I am so grateful for my decision to take a chance on something I knew nothing about, because I was not alone in being a first-timer in the class.
As one woman stated, the class was better than any drug. We got high on ourselves!
The moral of the story is that I needed what I didn’t know even existed. Sometimes we get so used to living among the same things and experiences that something new sounds intimidating, out of this world, and out of our comfort zone.
We can think “That’s not me” and choose not to give it a try. I nearly did that today before I left my apartment. Something inside me pushed me to go, anyway.
Thank you, Universe!
And it is today that sets a precedent for me, to continue on my quest to try new things, taste new flavors of life, breathe air with unfamiliar people, and discover more things I don’t know about - but need.
Thanks for reading,
Anne