Earthquake - What Earthquake?
Is there one happening right now where you are reading this, right this second? Answer: probably not.
There was a small tremor during the creation of this webpage but that is now in the past, and gone forever.
Being fully present in the moment is a key way to living in the present without the hurts of the past and
the uncertainty of the future. Living in the present or being in Flow is available to anyone at anytime and
not the preserve of Yogis sitting in caves!
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi not only has a long name but is also one of the world's leading authorities
on the psychology of flow. Decades of research has finally brought sensible, academic explanations of the what happens
when people experience ultimate joy either in meditation, sports, games or others areas of human activity.
Since the dawn of humankind, dance has been a pathway to flow also known as optimal experience.
At our classes we aim to connect People, Movement and Music. Many people have experienced a wonderful feeling of unity
and joy when everything just clicks - this is flow.
We cannot force flow, but we can increase the likelihood that it can occur.
For more information, read material by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Obstacles to flow: research has shown that one pastime blocks access to flow more than any other: watching TV.
While it can be relaxing to some extent, it does not present any challenge to the viewer. Humans tend to take the path
of least resistance and often that leads to sitting on the couch in front of the latest offering from the media.
Humans can easily get trapped into harmful addictive behaviour, including smoking, alcoholism, overeating and depression.
We could add to this list, an unhealthy obsession with following (often tragic) events on TV and on the internet.
Over time, such behaviour is unlikely to be beneficial to our mental, physical and social health and the sooner we break the
pattern the sooner we can get back to living in the present and having more frequent optimal experiences by being in flow.
Instant living in the now: winter is a great time of year for taking a cold shower. During this refreshing experience, the
subject is unlikely to be able to worry about anything else!