What is the purpose of this class?

• Movement and our emotions are completely interconnected, just as is our breath and our emotions. We cannot feel fear, anger, love or pleasure without the breath being affected and without moving in some way. 

• We don’t realise it, but we use the breath and movement in the body to not feel, to suppress emotions that we either do not, or cannot, express.

• Imagine if you needed to suppress a scream…you would freeze your body and hold your breath. We are doing this unconsciously every day, when faced with the stress of every day life and the trauma of childhood and past big life events.

• Just as freezing the breath and body suppresses emotions the same is true conversely. We can release stress and emotions by releasing the breath and the body.

This is the whole premise of Dance to DeStress.

Free your body and breath through movement to release stress and tension you unconsciously hold.

What can I expect?

• Be InBalance: We begin our journey with a guided, moving body scan and meditation to connect with our bodies and start to warm up.

• Move InBalance: Dive into a fully guided movement sequence that combines slow dance with stress releasing moves. Working through the whole body in a fun and unique way, we will feel more grounded, improve our posture and energise our bodies as we explore new ways of moving, releasing tension and stress as we dance.

• Dance to DeStress: Now it's time to enjoy free-form dancing! Let loose, express yourself and release tension in a supportive environment. Yay!

• Breathe InBalance: As we begin to wind down, we will move to the floor and engage in a guided breathwork routine designed to stimulate your diaphragm, ribs and whole nervous system, allowing your body to breathe fully and deeply. This calming sequence will help your body transition from dance to relaxation.

• Be InBalance: We will conclude our experience with a guided meditation to integrate into body the lessons learned during the class. This final meditation helps you carry the calm and balance you've cultivated into your everyday life.

Join us for a journey that will leave you feeling refreshed, centred, and ready to take on whatever life throws your way.

Who is this class for?

• This class is for everybody with a body! For all genders, shapes and sizes.

• Whether you’re used to moving regularly or not, these moves are adaptable and can be done to a level that suits you. Everyone is different and this class celebrates that.

• This class welcomes people who haven’t danced in years and feel like they ‘can’t’ dance. The value is not in how you look but about identifying and releasing physical tension in your body, recognising physical sensations and connecting them to your feelings so that you can work through them.

• What should I wear/bring?

• Bring your yoga mat for the breathwork/ meditation part of the class.

• Bring some water

• Wear anything that you feel comfy in and can move your body freely. This could be a flowing dress, tracksuit bottoms/ shorts or as you would a yoga class.

• Bring a blanket or jumper to feel cosy for the meditation.

• We dance barefoot so all footwear is removed.

  How often are the classes?

• Once a month in various locations across Essex. Book now to find your next class.