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Therapeutic Nature

So, in one of my dance classes we had the chance to experience something quite different. In our dance theater class with D.. we are working on the "Butoh" technique of dance. Something I have never heard of before. For our first exercise, our teacher had us go for a little adventure outside to a park here in Tilburg. In this exercise, we were told to choose a partner, blindfold them.. and take them around the park for an experience without using the sense of sight. He told us to have the mindset that we are children again, experiencing the beauty of nature for the first time. I was skeptical of this idea at first.. but came to find that this was a great experience for me personally.. one of which I will definitely remember. My partner was great! She walked me around the park.. let me walk through the leaves.. had me smell different things.. listen to the sounds of a dog running through the water, ducks quaking, birds chirping, wind blowing.. she had me feel many different kinds of leaves.. hug a couple trees to feel their different details... stand in the sun and embrace the feeling it gives. It's actually pretty cool to experience all of these things without knowing what you are doing next and without being able to see it. You'd be amazed at how much your other senses seem to grow when one sense is taken away. I heard so many sounds that I normally don't even pay attention to and gained an honest love for the world around me. Grab a buddy and try it out! Simply enjoying what nature has to give is amazingly therapeutic. I came out of this experience feeling completely relaxed and at peace with my surroundings, as well as with myself.

If there is one thing that I can teach you guys at home in Utah about some "European ways" that I will be bringing home... it is that everyone spends far too much time stressing their self out. I know that hardly anyone takes the time for personal relaxation, yoga,  or meditation.. anything like this. We don't spend enough time taking care of ourselves mentally, I think. It is just our lifestyle... being extremely busy.. and then not taking time to cleans our minds of the stress that we load ourselves with. Here in Tilburg, I am able to have yoga/meditation classes and have exercises in classes like the one I explained above.. It really does make a difference in how my body handles the loads of stress that dance brings and I've noticed it is making me an overall happier person as well. Try taking this idea into your life and don't forget the importance of de-stressing! Take some time out of your day to just relax, listen to your favorite music in a room where no one is near you.. lay on the floor and think about all of the things or people that you are grateful for.. participate in a yoga class.. do personal meditation of any sort.. take a walk outside and allow yourself to truly enjoy the world around you. You've worked so hard.. you deserve this break! :) That's it for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of your day and weekend to come. I love you guys! (I took the two pictures in this post at the park where we had our Butoh experience at)

Posted by Samijo Kougioulis at 2:02:00 PM