Connecting with our Vitality
A Biodanza encounter
What is Vitality?
Vitality is about having a good level of health and the potential of organic balance, homeostasis, biological harmony, and vital impetus. Or quite simply, the desire to be healthy. From an existential viewpoint, vitality means having a strong motivation to live and having the energy available for action. Feelings of inner joy, enthusiasm, and motivation are characteristics of a vital human. Quality of life comes from the profound connection to life.
Life isn’t always easy, we have ups and downs, highs and trials. This is part of being human. We can often get caught up in the doing, and lose sight of what’s important to us. As we meet deadline after deadline, or run from one thing to the next, it is easy to lose connection with our vitality - our bodies start to get run down, we get sick, our motivation to connect with pleasurable activities declines, we sleep poorly, our concentration suffers, we get stressed easily. Do you notice when you see someone who is full of life, has a sparkle in their eye, or just has that “je ne sais quoi” about them?- it’s probably because they have a strong connection with their vitality!
Why does it matter?
Vitality is one of the key essences to live more fully and healthfully. When we have strong vitality in our systems, we eat, sleep, work, and play better. When we are connected with vitality, we have higher resilience to stress and illnesses. When we have more vitality, life feels more effortless. Our blood pressure improves, our bodies move with more fluidity and ease, our nervous system self-regulates better as our band of resistance widens, and we are less likely to default to fight/flight/freeze/fawn states. We connect with our vital instincts more strongly - hearing our inner knowing or gut feel more strongly. And we have a greater connection with our identity and ourselves.
How can we cultivate it?
There are a variety of ways that we can cultivate our vitality. Some basic practices that you may be aware of, such as eating healthily, sleeping at regular hours (and early!), exercising, connecting with friends and community, and finding pleasurable activities. Being aware of your inner world - your feelings, thoughts and what you allow into your life - such as social media, news, interactions. These are some basic practices that help to regulate your system and connect with vitality. Other modalities, such as Biodanza helps to take this further:
Biodanza and Vitality
Vitality is one of the 5 lines of human potential in Biodanza. Biodanza, or ‘Dance of Life’ supports us to connect with ourselves, each other, and our community. These lines of human potential can be seen as 5 ways to feel alive. And if you’re wondering what they are - it’s Vitality, Sexuality, Creativity, Affectivity, and Transcendence.
Vitality encompasses both action and rest - having the capacity to access both is important for a healthy body, heart and soul. In our modern society, our system is met with a lot of artificial stimulus such as technology, lights and the speed of which things happen is exponentially increasing. FOMO is real and the pressure to be ‘on’ is overwhelming. Our bodies are in a constant state of alert and our Autonomic Nervous Systems are often in a Sympathetic (action/alert) state. For a healthy and vital system, we need to access both Sympathetic (action, alertness) and Parasympathetic (rest, digest) states. Too much into the Sympathetic, and we run the risk of illnesses, ailments, malaise. We can feel we are under constant attack and on high alert. When we are able to access our parasympathetic states more easily, our nervous systems don’t perceive everything as a threat, and our capacity to be open to what’s good for us, is greater.
In each Biodanza session, we intentionally connect with both the Sympathetic state (characterised by high energy and action) and Parasympathetic state (slowing down, fluidity, rest). In doing so, we begin the process of attuning to the subtle messages that our bodies so desire to tell us. We allow expressions that have been suppressed a pathway to move, and we start to invite new possibilities into our lives. Over time - week after week, our capacity for life increases - a bit like going to the gym regularly - we exercise our vitality muscle!
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Our upcoming Biodanza 5 week series in Melbourne will focus on connecting with our vitality. If you would like to deepen your connection with vitality, I invite you to join us - starting Thursday 12 October, Brunswick East.
I’d love to see you there.
With love, Jean
