I attended my first CHAKRADANCE™ class not knowing what to expect but ready to participate in what I’d been told was an energising and enlightening form of dancing.

By Monica Rosenfeld,
For NOVA Magazine

The brochure said, ‘By surrendering to the music and dancing from the inside out, we are able to free our natural energy flows and feel more fully alive.’

This was enough to get me excited. Entering a dark room lit only by candles, it didn’t take me long to get into a relaxed frame of mind and let go. Natalie Southgate led the two hour dance class, playing music which resonated to the chakra which had been selected for that evening’s class. It happened to be the base chakra which relates to grounding oneself with the earth so the music was filled with tribal, percussive rhythms. I closed my eyes and sank into the energising music, allowing my body to move spontaneously and freely – it really was an a wonderful experience and I felt completely recharged and relaxed at the end of the session.

The chakra system has been at the heart of most eastern philosophies, belief systems and healthcare practices for thousands of years, and in recent decades has become more widely understood and accepted in the west.

Natalie Southgate founded CHAKRADANCE™ in London in 1998 and has recently returned to live and practice in Australia. She says, "CHAKRADANCE™ is a totally new form of dance workshop where the focus is on personal experience rather than performance."

"Because of the stresses of modern life, it is not often that our chakras are fully balanced. Through dance, we can free up our natural energy flows and harmonise our chakras. A person with a balanced chakra system feels healthy with a strong sense of wellbeing."

Each chakra is completely different both energetically and in terms of the different aspects of our lives which it influences, and so the dance movements relating to each chakra tend to differ as well. Southgate explains, " when dancing through the base chakra the movements are very grounding and there is a lot of ‘stomping’ action in the room. Dancing through the third eye chakra, which is located at the centre of the forehead, produces a much more trance-like movement. It is not uncommon to see the dancers waving their arms in the air as we move up through the body."

Music plays a major role in stimulating the chakra energies as the vibrations of the musical scale are tuned to the human energy system. "During the classes I play music which specifically resonate to the different frequencies. Each class is a completely different journey as a different chakra is explored."

Participants may also find that as they energise each chakra, the following week might bring specific issues to surface. "I always explain what each night’s chakra relates to so participants can bring their awareness to issues they should be looking out for on the night and maybe even the following week."

"What I love about CHAKRADANCE™ is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. Everyone has their own rhythm and movement and unlike an aerobics class, participants never feel uncoordinated or as if they can’t keep up." says Southgate.

No matter what age, sex or level of fitness you are, if you want to de-stress, explore your energy centres and get fit at the same time, CHAKRADANCE™ is for you.

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