Finding parallels in mindfulness practices and ballet.

     This blog draws on the book "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Naht Hanh and is written as a mental note. These points I plan to explore deeper as I compare and contrast mindfulness practices to my own ballet practice. 

1. The lotus/ frog position.

      The lotus position is the most recommended position to meditate in and commonly used in mindfulness practices, including yoga. The Buddha takes this position to meditate as it is said you can find total rest, it cuts off blood circulation to the legs and therefore promotes more blood flow to the abdomen, at the centre of your being, connecting you to your breath. The three points of the knees and sacrum connect to form a firm base, grounding you to earth. Compared to in ballet, the frog position is one of the first stretch positions you learn as a simple hip opener and you can catch most ballerinas sitting in this stretch at different times in their practice as a resting point. The difference is that dancers place the palms of their feet together, whereas in the lotus position your feet are crossed on top of your thighs. The fact that dancers often use this position to rest made me think that perhaps it is subconsciously creating extra benefits within the body that dancers are unaware of but naturally gravitate to this position to feel better. I personally have always connected this position to pain, I have particularly tight hips for ballet but reading in the book The Miracle of Mindfulness it states that everyone is capable of the lotus position and just knowing the integral benefits and spiritual awakening connected to this position made me see this stretch in a whole new light. 

2. Breath work 

    In ballet training most exercises begin with a small breath which extends to a small light movement into the arms. You often hear the port de bras being linked to an extension of the breath where the movement begins and initiates from the back. It has a soft and natural connection to the rise and fall of the lungs and diaphragm. Ballet teachers often need to tell us to breathe as I believe the stiff posture of ballet with the constantly pulled up stomach and regimented perfectionism of the movement can promote dancers to become disconnected to their breath. Breath is crucial to feeding the muscles with oxygen and being able to perform to their best capabilities. Despite all of this emphasis on breath in ballet, the true understanding of the breath is not fully developed. Breath work in mindfulness practices stands at the centre and most integral part of the practice. After researching more about the breath within mindfulness practices I do believe that this knowledge and understanding of the breath can be carried across into ballet. Not only could your body function in a lot healthier way but also when it comes to dancing with others, the breath could be used to unite and bring a connected energy which would make the art form develop in a way that would be more conscious and enhance aesthetically. Just imagine a whole corps de ballet breathing and synchronising their movements together. 

3. Smiling

    I was told to smile in ballet: look as if you're enjoying every movement,  you should be grateful to be here. Always look happy. In reality the career and challenges that ballet present make it not always easy to plaster a smile across your face. In mindfulness Hanh talks about a half smile. This seems to soften the jaw and naturally a kind of self assurance and quiet confidence pervades the body. Every meditative action begins with a half smile and sets you up to begin your practice. The physical action of the half smile directs you towards embracing humbleness, something that could be greatly admired in ballet. 

4. Linking the five Dharmas. 

(This deserves it's own post. Many things to think about and coincide. It's also the first time I'm hearing about this and therefore it needs further research and understanding.) 

5.  Meditative practice. 

    A wise teacher once told me you should enter ballet class as if it were your meditative practice. Look inside yourself, nobody on the outside should matter or influence you. In the book it states that you can carry mindfulness into your job with the tasks that you carry out applying mindfulness. I believe ballet can go a step further than that as you begin to embody emotions and feelings and take the time to deepen the portrayal of them throughout your body. Recently I had an informal conversation with a fellow dancer, someone who is at the top of their game and highly regarded within my ballet company, he stated that he still constantly doubts if he is good enough. This came as such a surprise to me as he has held the top ranking in my ballet company for some years. During meditation the aim is to let go of expectation and judgement towards being. We rarely put focus into our inner world and it has only been recently by which we have had access to a sports psychology course. During this course I felt myself develop more empathic connections with those whom attended, whilst at the same time develop myself. I was able to carry this inside the studio and it resulted in me changing my friendship group as I naturally shifted closer to those who were on a similar path to me: who were ready to open up and share in order to advance their psychological skills. I can understand that those sharing groups are not everyones cup of tea but hearing this surprise comment from a dancer I look up to made me question are we really doing enough to support our psychological wellbeing?  

6. The importance of rest. 

    Recovery is a vital part to any athlete and in ballet it is crucial. But real rest is something to master. On page 33 it opens with the question "Why should you meditate? First of all, because each of us needs to realise total rest. Even a night of sleep doesn't provide total rest. Twisting and turning, the facial muscles tense, all the while dreaming- hardly rest!" If sleeping doesn't constitute to rest then better learn how to meditate! Can we integrate meditation into ballet? 

These are the points which particularly struck me but can you think of anymore? 

Bibliography:

The Miracle of Mindfulness. T.N Hanh. 1991 Rider. Page 33.