Waves in Belly Dance
I started belly dancing when my body naturally gravitated toward it. It was unexpected, yet when I allowed it, the language my body spoke came from my belly. Later in my research, I discovered that belly dancing was one of the best practices I could do for my body’s health. The pelvis and belly movements found in all ancient dances are, in fact, essential for human beings. The movement of the belly can completely transform your quality of life.
In the body, what we call the “center” is our belly. We can view this center through the lens of the chakras, or from an anatomical reality, as the body’s center of gravity. When we watch dance videos, our eyes may assume that a leg lift, for example, comes from the leg itself, but that movement undoubtedly originates from the center. Whether we raise our arm, take a step, move toward something we desire, or are affected by someone, it is the belly making the decision.
Connecting deeply with the belly is not only beneficial for health, but also poetic. The moment we start moving from the belly, the body finds its harmony. No longer do we need to think about what to do with our arms or legs, because the entire body moves from one single center. We feel the body’s wholeness most profoundly when we are connected to our center. The belly is the hidden source that distributes movement everywhere.
When we think of movement, we generally only think of muscles, but the body is much more than that. Traditional Chinese Medicine and many other forms of “alternative” medicine emphasize the importance of organ health. Yet, when we exercise or train our body with any technique, we often focus only on muscles, because we are trapped by the “images” imposed on us.
When we break free from this trap, we can see that every movement touches the organs, the veins, the glands, the fascia—every part of our inner being. In belly dancing, it’s as if we are massaging our inner organs, as if we are giving birth, developing an incredible inner perception. It’s almost impossible to understand this by thinking about it; we learn it through real experience—the unimaginable power that emerges from the belly.
In belly dance, where the spine accompanies the movement and the flexibility of the spine is discovered, how we appear is of little importance. Popular culture presents belly dancing as performance-based, but this is a misconception. Belly dance is where we dance within ourselves, where we meet with the soul.
During belly dance, we encounter life itself.
There are moments when the music and the body become one, when the body becomes rhythm, and the rhythm becomes the body, allowing us to experience a sense of wholeness in our existence. Of course, this does not happen by thinking about how the movement looks.
In belly dance, the first place we go is how we see ourselves from within. When we deeply feel what is happening inside the body—not from the outside, but by truly diving into our own depths—we access the simplicity of being. In that place, there is no need for anything else; the body, mind, and spirit become one, transforming into the grace of movement.
Ultimately, we are made of waves. When the body finds the essence of existence—the “waves”—we begin to align with the universe. Life is a wave, forever flowing...