My Body, My Wisdom: A Handbook of Creative Dance Therapy Book Review

We are born with instinct for movement. Dance prompts people to have a dialogue with their bodies. Dance is born when body, space and time, combine and dance communicates across linguistic, racial and social boundaries. The book My Body, My Wisdom: A Handbook of Creative Dance Therapy by Tripura Kashyap dwells on the use of dance as a medium for therapy. As the author demonstrates, not only does dance relax, it also serves as an outlet for suppressed feelings and thoughts. The book is an easy to use guide on this form of therapy. Dance therapy is said to be developmental as well as adaptive. Creative dance encourages collaborative relationships between therapists and participants. Dance therapists work with the premise that certain movements in dance could affect the entire being and function of an individual. For example, slow paced directional movements of the hand along with certain breathing patterns are known to bring down stress levels. Dance therapists study and interpret their patients movements and suggest dance steps that are most effective for ones state of mind. The building of rapport between therapist and patient is central to the success of this therapy. Therapists use dance sessions to incorporate real-life situations and to find plausible solutions. Once therapy starts to work, changes are bound to influence a persons behaviour and actions externally as well as internally. A dance form is defined by signature movements. It is a myth that only dancers can dance, given that all human movement eventually leads to the creation of a dance. The foremost, universal objective in creative dance therapy is heightening the bodys awareness becoming conscious of ones movements. People very often carry a negative image of their bodies, illusions that need to be

explored and resolved. Therapists might use exercises and visualizations to increase the range of the bodys movements and allow people to move in ways they have not moved before. Spatial awareness is another concept that therapists integrate into these sessions. Activities are chosen to maximize spatial awareness in every possible manner. By getting people to move freely, emotional expressions become more fluent and their body language becomes more open. The sessions help increase body awareness thereby reducing stress levels while clearing the mind and improving reflexes. Kashyap has also included a complete section to teach dance therapy to a layman. There is a sample structure of a session containing details about props and resources. The props provoke members to respond in unusual ways. They have recreational, symbolic and therapeutic values. The author mentions impressive improvements where special children received dance therapy. She has also included a section on groups with special needs and how to assess individuals within a group. Finally there is a detailed questionnaire for evaluating physical, spatial, intellectual, emotional and social-economic factors. The handbook is for all those who wish to break out of restrictions imposed by society on our bodies.