Dance and Meditation: Similar but Different, Why?
While meditation previously seemed only as a teaching of the east, somewhere far away, a "tool for relaxation" or a meaningless "om"ing that seemed "sophisticated, orientalist" to western culture; It is a practice that is now widely talked about and practiced, as neuroscientific research and some fields of psychology have opened up space for meditation.
I say practice, because you may have already come across the information that meditation, just like building muscles, requires regular practice and "deepens" as you practice. Meditation is a huge topic in itself, currently people in the third wave of humanist psychology or what is called transpersonal psychology; Mental health professionals, cognitive behavioral therapists and many other experts who have incorporated spirituality into psychology are now adding meditation to “treatment”. Of course, there are other thoughts and ideas about how meditation should be. In the classical definition of meditation, the first thing that comes to our mind is closing the eyes and directing the perception to the middle of the forehead, thoughts or a certain mantra, and this process takes around 15-20 minutes and is applied regularly.
In summary: meditation requires your mind, dance requires both your mind and body.
Moving meditations -such as Osho's meditation suggestions- or meditations with eyes open -such as carefully watching a fire- or meditations done by walking silently, meditations that place sexuality/relationship at the center -such as tantra- Taoist meditations -such as qi gong forms- specific meditations We know that there are countless forms of meditation, such as meditations that work with an energy system -such as reiki- or movement systems that are actually created for the purpose of meditation -such as yoga and its types. Of course, a you will decide for yourself what is most suitable for you.
What is the purpose of meditation?
The purpose of meditation is perceived as being done to achieve certain abilities that "works in a positive sense" such as relaxation, peace, calming down or being able to focus, stopping unnecessary thoughts, etc. Happiness, joy, well-being, being very good... And of course, staying in touch with our 'soul and consciousness' in a spiritual sense. Sometimes finding the answer to a question.
You have often heard from teachers who devote themselves to meditation: Ideas such as "transcendent yourself, connect with your essence, accept yourself in all your states" have begun to be shared more widely. The reasons why scientists, especially neuroscientists, recommend meditation are more functional in the physical sense: more specific anatomical reasons such as lengthening telomeres, improving the connection speed of synapses, facilitating focus, and regulating the nervous system. When we look at all approaches, we see that meditation has a benefit in one way or another.
In my personal perception, meditation is a practice of confrontation in which a person can get out of his daily shallowness, move a bit away, sit in every state of self and learn not to get bored with self. Right and wrong are lost, time bends, past and future melt in the darkness/emptiness of that moment...
What are the similarities between meditation and dance?
Let's start by understanding that dance is as a broad subject as meditation is. So, when comparing dance and meditation, it is useful to know exactly which types we are comparing.
In this article; I will compare the type of meditation in which we sit, close our eyes, and repeat a mantra in our minds, and an improvised dance which we dance as we feel, standing or lying on the floor, with our eyes closed, accompanied by music.
Both of them take us from our daily persona to a different self. We stop performing and start connecting with our senses.
Both are likely to create an emotion, and it is also common for them to create a feeling of emptiness and loss of time. It is as if a person loses the world and moves to another 'dimension'.
Both of them aim to get closer to themselves. To transcend oneself, to calm the exhausted mind tired of overthinking, and to establish a relationship with other layers of our being.
Both, when done regularly, can truly transform a person and bring any repressed parts to the surface.
In both cases, after finishing the practice your nervous system state, mood and alertness are different to when you start.
Both have challenging aspects, such as being able to continue and learning to endure uncomfortable emotions and feelings sometimes.
What about their differences?
The obvious difference is, one is practiced by sitting, the other by dancing.
There is a desire to go beyond the body in meditation, and practitioners often report the experience of feeling like they are transcending their body and becoming a larger being. During a dance improvisation, one goes beyond the body, but while doing this, the body is not left behind. In other words, it is important to remember the existence of the body during the experience and to pay attention to the body's needs, perception and desire.
While meditation generally has a pulse-lowering and calming effect, dance by it’s nature accelerates circulation, makes us sweat and calms us down, as well as increasing our energy. It's a cliché to feel tired after dancing, but what usually happens is the opposite: feeling very energised.
Dance is often accompanied by music, while classical meditation is done in silence.
Although meditation suggests going through all emotions and thoughts in the “mind”, dance expects you to do this with the “body”. In other words, it is necessary to 'express' emotions and express them “through “movement”. It expects the whole organism to participate in what is happening
Since meditation can be done where you sit, you can do it anywhere, could even be a bus or a narrow space; however you need to make some more space for dancing. In fact, you can easily dance anywhere, but since the resistance of the human mind to move the body increases day by day, we can assume that meditation is a more 'easier to start' practice.
In meditation, you practice the same task for a long time, but in dance, it is possible to try different exercises and work according to the needs of that day.
It is possible to have fun in dance; you can also have a lot of fun in meditation, but this is probably wouldn't be visible from the outside :)
While dancing, one sometimes moves little by little and stops in a place close to meditation. At this moment, the difference between meditation and dance begins to become clear. In dance, the person is asked to move while maintaining this meditative state.
It is impossible to deny the benefits of neither meditation nor dance. As long as it is not overdone, both are companions that improve the quality of human life.
Many people say that dancing, writing, doing sports, and sometimes even fishing are meditation for them, which is not a true statement; but it can be meditative for them. In other words, the moments when we are fully present in life are meditative moments, but this does not mean that we are meditating in those moments, at least according to the classical understanding.
As long as a person finds his own meditative tool, one experiences the world in a different way. This could be dancing, meditation, looking at a tree, swimming, the unknown... To the days when we will only follow our own resources, without listening to those who say "This is the best". Remembering that these are all tools, without taking ourselves too seriously, I hope you find your own way.