Healing Through Oriental Dance: Part 1, Physical Healing - Page 4

Would you like to explore healing through dance yourself? Here are some suggestions on how to get started:

• Talk To Your Health Care Provider. First, ask your health care provider whether there are any medical reasons you should not pursue dance at this time. This is particularly true if you plan to use it as part of recovering from injury, surgery, or other physical condition. Find out whether your doctor believes it is safe for your particular situation.
• Find A Dance Teacher. Some dance teachers are aware of the importance of dance technique in avoiding physical injury, while others are clueless. A good teacher can help you achieve your goals. A poor one might do more harm than good. See below for suggestions on how to choose the right teacher for you.
• Get To Know Your Teacher and Classmates. It will be easier to stay with your classes if you start forming friendships with the teacher and other students. You'll look forward to the time you spend with them. It's also possible that some of them will have insights on how dance has helped them heal, and you may be able to learn from their experiences.

Choosing The Right Teacher For Physical Healing

As noted above, the right teacher can help you reach your goals, while the wrong one can make things even worse for you. Here are some ideas on how to choose.

If you have an acquaintance who dances, ask whether s/he can recommend a teacher who provides a loving, supportive environment.

Otherwise, you'll need to find out who teaches in your community. Most belly dance teachers don't advertise in the Yellow Pages because of the high cost. An article here on Suite101 titled How To Find A Belly Dancing Class In Your Community may help you find a local class.

Before settling in long-term with a particular teacher, try a sample class or two. Note how the teacher behaves in class. A good teacher will:

• Focus on the needs of the students, not on showing off how wonderful she is.
• Discuss and demonstrate correct posture.
• Provide you instruction that agrees with the advice I provided in another Suite101 article, Avoiding Injury From Belly Dance. If she disagrees with what that article says, ask a qualified health care provider whether her instructions are safe for you to follow!