Sacred Dance Meditations: 365 Globally Inspired Movement Practices Enhancing Awakening, Clarity, and Connection

(Paperback)

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Description

Achieve balance, connect to Spirit, and tap into the sacred power of dance with 365 daily movement meditations. Throughout human history, people all over the world have recognized dance as an age-old yet timeless connection to Spirit. In celebration, to mark moments of change, and in times of despair, dance has been used to seek the Divine, connect with the Earth, and call into being the sacred energy we each possess within ourselves. In Sacred Dance Meditations, Carla Walter, PhD, offers readers 365 dances--one for every day--rooted in traditions from around the globe. From Polynesia to Peru, each dance is different in origin and technique but connected in common purpose- as sacred conduits for hope, love, connection, community, and spirituality. Walter provides a theme each new day, drawn from mystical and spiritual principles that originate from pre-colonial religious traditions. Descriptions, video links, accessibility modifications, and invitations for deeper reflection allow the reader to engage their Spirit fully with the sacred power of dance, carrying it in their heart as they move throughout each day. Readers who want a more active style of meditative practice will discover powerful regenerative healing and a new way to awaken. Broken up day by day and month by month, Sacred Dance Meditations makes it simple and gratifying to practice each day's dance and fulfill its intended theme. Readers can begin at any "point of entry" section, and work their way throughout the year with a time commitment of just ten to twenty minutes a day. Importantly, each dance is designed to supplement any existing (or non-existent) religious or spiritual practice, allowing all to tap into the Divine through the spirit of dance.

Reviews

"This is a tour de force of insight and celebration of the sacred, a companion you will want by your side throughout the year. Not only does Dr. Walter guide us through the movements of the body, from the sacred dance posture to breathing, but she feeds our minds with the origins and root meanings of the dance we practice day by day, spanning the world and time, from Jewish mystics to ancestral Egyptians to Indigenous Iberians and more. She guides our meditation and, importantly, shares with us the ways we can carry on the ecstasy, knowledge, or spirituality we feel in movement to embrace our own humanity and the wider world. This book is transporting."
Mary Jo McConahay,author of The Tango War andMaya Roads

"More than a set of instructions for body movement, dance has been transformed by masterful Carla into an ecstatic embodiment of rhythm, mysticism, myth, and meaning. Daily reflections involve the whole body, mind, and spirit."
Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett, Unity Minister and author of Divine Audacity

"As a seeker and as a long-time practitioner of movement meditation, I found myself captivated by this meticulously crafted book. If you wish to live, as Dr. Carla describes it, in the 'temple of unlimited joy,' she and the opus before you will be your guiding star to making 'elation a way of life.'"
Lisa Napoli, author ofRadio Shangra-La

Author Bio

CARLA STALLING WALTER has a PhD in Dance History and Theory and has written 7 books, including Dance, Consumerism and Spirituality. She is a board member at the San Francisco Zen Center, a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto, a member of the Sacred Dance Guild, and founder and CEO of Dance in the Spirit, LLC, a company that provides retreats and workshops on sacred dance meditation at locations across the globe. Walter has spent more than 30 years working with others to help them with spiritual development using sacred dance.