Elyssa Yeh, MA, R-DMT
Happy New Year!
I don’t know about you, but all of the sweet treats and festive foods are starting to catch up with me. And, as the confetti begins to settle, I’m becoming more aware of the annual transition of returning to the post-holiday daily grind. So, this year, I have chosen to set intentions for myself in 2019. Intentions that will empower and inspire me to be my best and healthiest self, yet!
One of those intentions is to get movin’ more, and whole-heartedly commit to practicing what I preach! Which is why, I would love for you all to join me and The Groove in our weekly movement challenges.
As a dance/movement therapist, I have witnessed, experienced, learned, taught, and facilitated movement that implements social and emotional learning. I have seen how nonverbal expression and communication can extend beyond verbal expression and communication.
Join us on Instagram @_thegroove_ for our weekly movement challenges that utilize dance and movement to support improved body-awareness & self-awareness, emotional awareness & empathy, and much more!
Our first weekly movement challenge in 2019: Try all the different movements that pop and explode like a firework!
By practicing this kind of abrupt and explosive movement, kiddos are improving their body-awareness and learning to understand these sensations in a fun and playful manner. The bodily sensations of abruptly popping and exploding movements may parallel bodily sensations of an explosive outburst of excitement and energy or a tantrum out of frustration or anger. By first, bringing awareness to the body, children can begin to learn how to mindfully recognize these sensations and feelings before an explosive outburst happens.
So, practice this one throughout the week, as a family, and also begin to facilitate conversations with your kiddos about how this may connect to some of the emotions and feelings they experience in a day.
It may be helpful to begin the conversation with the following questions:
How do you feel when you are doing this movement, right now? Perhaps happy and excited?
Can you think of another feeling or emotion that we can imagine when we do the next explosive movement?
I wonder if you remember a time when your body felt like it was going to explode because the emotion may have felt really big in your body.
Tune in next week for Weekly Movement Challenge #2! And please leave us a comment at the end of this blog or on Instagram @_thegroove_ to let us know how this week’s movement challenge went for you and your family. We would love to hear from you all!