Free Your Body, Free Your Mind.
After a hard day at work you go home feeling tense, tired and sluggish. You started the day with a spring in your step, yet somehow the stresses of the day have left you with a slump in your shoulders. You collapse onto the sofa, cramp in your neck as you scroll through your Facebook feed and envy everyone else’s ‘perfect’ looking life.
Rewind. You finish work, and although tired, you step out into the fresh air with a spring in your step as you put in your headphones and blast your favourite upbeat, feel good playlist. You can feel the weight of the day on your shoulders, but know that you are soon to set yourself free. You bounce in the door, plug in your speakers and let the bass burst through your heart and soul.
And then you dance.
‘You dance like no one is watching.
You dance like you just don’t care.
You dance like rain has fallen,
And feel the wind flowing through your hair.
You dance as a free spirit,
You dance as a one man band,
You dance with energy flowing through your veins,
You dance as only you can.
You dance with a mind wide open,
You dance with a heart that glows,
You let go of all limitations,
And feel a stirring in your soul.
You free you body, you free your mind,
You ignite passion from inside,
And all that stress and all that worry,
Has nowhere left to hide.’
And you are free. Free from all expectations, limitations, stress, worry and strain. And most importantly, you are alive again.
Believe, it or not. This wild, playful, crazy outburst is a form of meditation. Most people think meditation is something about controlling the ‘monkey mind.’ In fact, it is the complete opposite. Meditation is about letting go of all control. Meditation is something beyond the mind.
Osho’s Nataraj meditation is exactly this. ‘Nataraj’ is the ‘energy of dance’ and this practise is based on letting go of the ego, and instead simply becoming the dance. To give this one a go, you can download the meditation music from here and try the three stages for yourself…
1. With your eyes closed, dance around for 40 minutes as if no one is watching. Do, be, feel whatever you need to, let the dance take over you.
2. Keeping your eyes closed, lie down and be silent and still for 20 minutes.
3. After the 20 minutes, get up and dance around again for 5 more minutes in celebration, liberation and joy!
A study in 2015 looked at the effect of Osho’s Nataraj meditation on stress and cortisol levels. It was found that after 21 days of Nataraj meditation, participant’s serum cortisol levels had reduced significantly. This suggests that dancing meditation produces anti-stress affects within the body. So, dancing around like a lunatic is actually good for you!
When we learn to relax, let go and get playful, we learn that life isn’t what it seems. Life isn’t about bills, paperwork, deadlines or achievements. Life is about having fun. The magic happens when you let it happen; when you stop seeing everything as a chore and you consciously choose to change your perception. And then suddenly, life becomes a breeze. You realise that you cannot change anything outside of you, but you can change you. You can change how you view the world, and in doing so, the world becomes a much brighter place.
In doing so, you start to laugh at life’s twists and turns as you realise you are simply on one big crazy, rollercoaster ride. Do you sit tense, rigid and tight lipped, constantly fighting the flow? Or do you throw your hands up in the air and say ‘hell, what a ride!?’
By Jadine Hocking for ‘go meditate!’
To find out more about how to let your hair down, why not come along to Falmouth TM & Meditation Group?
You can contact Kellie Gilmour via falmouthTMmeditation@live.com or visit:
Facebook: Falmouth TM & Meditation Group