The Opportunities that Come Up from Healing and Letting Go

After writing about my childhood and teenage years attending ballet classes, I had no idea what would unfold next. Over the years, much healing took place but I never thought I’d attend another ballet class in my life.

While visiting my hometown in Brazil, and since I was going to stay there awhile, I managed to sign up for the gym where I took dance classes as an adult, before moving to NY. They informed me that they had a dance class similar to the one I used to take, being offered twice a week in the evenings, and twice a week at 10:30am. I attended the Monday evening rhythms dance class and although it wasn’t great, it felt good to be dancing again.

The next day I showed up for the morning class as it was going to be with a different teacher. When I realized that the classroom was occupied with a different class passed the starting time, I went back to the front desk. I then learned that the morning dance class had been cancelled. Needless to say that I got disappointed, I had after all signed up the previous Friday to attend that specific class. The lady at the front desk said that the class had been replaced with an 11am class called Ballet Fit.

The class involves ballet exercises without the dance moves, mainly to help with muscle toning. I took the class, even though many movements and positions were almost impossible for me to complete.  The teacher was encouraging, and told us to go as far as we could, and that if we kept at it, each class we would go a little further. The next day it took a lot of effort to get up or sit down, as everything hurt. I showed up again on Thursday, and attended 3 more classes after that. It didn’t hurt as much by the last class I took, and I was able to complete certain exercises that seemed impossible a few weeks earlier. It felt wonderful to be in a class again, doing plié, relevé, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd … positions, and other ballet moves, just a few weeks after I had written about my “failed” journey as a ballerina.

I couldn’t help but giggle every time the teacher mentioned a position or move that it was long forgotten, yet sounded familiar. I figured this opportunity showed up due to my willingness to fully let go, and to speak up about my experience. During my last class I told the students that had shown up for the first time to stick with it. I demonstrated how little I was able to stretch my legs during the first class, and what I had been able to do in my 5^th and last class. The teacher told me that her heart was hurting that I was leaving. For a minute I asked myself what could my dancing life have been like, if I had such a teacher growing up.

I’d like to invite you to go back to your own childhood, and ask yourself a few questions. You never know what kind of healing and new experiences it may come from it.

• What are things that you are holding off on doing, because of some childhood trauma?
• How would it feel to let go of it? To seek help? To speak up about it?
• What would it mean to you to have a new experience with it?
• What could you do differently now that you have matured and know better?
• What steps can you take today to experience it in a different way?

💡💡 The deeper meaning for me includes:

• I can achieve anything I dedicate the time, energy and effort to achieving. It’s not going to happen instantly for the most part, but steady changes and commitment will get me there.
• Until this happened, I couldn’t foresee that healing would bring up some new and delicious possibilities. I ask myself a question I learned from an Access Consciousness course I took - What else is possible?
• Post healing, I’m still me. Or perhaps I’m a stronger, lighter version of myself.
• Being a ballerina turned out not to be my thing, but I can still enjoy the movements and the muscle toning that it can bring. Ah, and I always have a deep appreciation when watching dancers perform.

How about you? What have you been holding on to for years, even decades, that you are now ready to let go? If you would like to consider working with a coach to help you with your own transformation, let’s chat.

Namaste,

Elisa

PS. During the same period, a friend invited me to see a performance by the dance company that had started the ballet school I attended in my childhood. They were celebrating their 40^th anniversary with two new choreographies. I enjoyed it, and I appreciated the dancers’ efforts, and the success of the dance company, choreographers and whole team. I knew that the healing had come full circle.