Jump Around

As a means to shake things up and decompress from the intensity of our program, the teacher trainees participate in “Jump Around,” a special movement class held by Dorien. The basic premises of this class is to dance, uninhibited, wild and free. There are no steps to follow, no choreography to learn. It is impossible to do it wrong. The only requirements are to breathe, let go, and enjoy.




At first, although I hate to admit it, I hold doubts about my classmates. I am unsure they will be willing to seek out gestures and shapes that may look and feel silly. We are a very focused bunch, disciplined and rule abiding. But I am pleasantly surprised when the music begins and the entire group lets loose. At first, we warm up by following Dorien, as a means to make the environment safe and accepting. She reminds us of how being stifled throughout life has forced us to suppress emotions, becoming buried deep in our bodies. By participating in the “Jump Around,” we are able to break our misconceptions of being small, not good enough, fearful. We fully embrace this universal form of self healing as the music takes over and unleashes movement in our bodies.



I observe myself delving deeper into the experience. Visceral and highly personal, the dancing tunes me into my instincts and intuitions. It reveals ways to creatively express anger and vulnerability, edges and esctasties. I tap into the spirit of all living things, showing me that all life is energy in motion. I am momentarily freed from any fixed patterns or ideas and break out of the rigid box I so often enclose myself in. There are moments when I miss beats, feel awkward, and start thinking but quickly pull myself back into unexpected, unplanned and fresh ways of moving.





Sweat pours off of everyone in the room. Purifying the soul, it takes us back to the wisdom of our bodies. My stomach aches from the relentless laughter. My face burns from the wideness of my smile. What an extraordinary experience to see and be seen, to step away from the mind’s control and release all insecurities. How liberating to not care how one looks, which is usually something so foreign to us. It is by far the most fun I experience while being at Yoga Thailand, shifting my perceptions of myself as well as my classmates. Together, the dance becomes an offering of our innermost selves, as our bodies become vehicles on this spiritual path.