This week I was challenged to dance the Throat Chakra, Blue! With great anticipation, I am dancing my way up the chakras! The upper chakras are Blue Throat Chakra, Indigo Third Eye Chakra and Violet Crown Chakra. I feel like I live my life in the lower chakras and for some reason, I think I need some extra help. So having some free time, I went to the gem store and found some stones here, Lapis Lazuli (blue beads) and Labradorite (iridescent blue egg).
As I am learning more, I realize that the ancient study of stones is a rich and intriguing art form as well. Stones at have always been known to embody metaphysical properties and vibrations. These blue crystals are helpful for expression and intuition.
Moving up from the green heart chakra, the next energy cluster located at the throat is the Blue Throat Chakra aka “Vissudha”. This chakra is responsible for our ability to express ourselves in an authentic way. It allows us to express our true selves and emotions with clarity. This is a deep dive into “Ether”, the element of the throat chakra, which is all about the voice, expression, vibration and creation. I would say it “feels” very ethereal, mystical and dream-like. It definitely feels like a higher state than the lower chakras. It also has to do with listening, hearing and clairaudience.
“The Throat Chakra is connected to the way you express your life with utmost authenticity. It is about communicating your thoughts, feelings, and intentions clearly and accurately. The throat chakra, also known as the Vishuddha, is the place where we work on expanding our voice and the power of will…your thoughts become things, and this potential of creation stems from the power of the Throat Chakra.” yogiapproved.com
Generally, I feel very grounded as a person and resonate strongly with the lower chakras. Growing up with Chinese parents that grew up during World War II, I remember being a child with a great fantasy life and imagination. My mother always thought I needed to be more grounded since my head was “always in the clouds”. Now that I am able to contemplate my parents’ point of view, I understand why I was raised in a disciplined household, as both families on my mom’s and dad’s side have “riches to rags stories” which explains why I had so much emphasis on practicality, stability and grounding as a child. My mother’s grandfather was a wealthy landowner in Malaysia with gold mines, rubber plantations and a gambling horse track with many horses in stables. When the Japanese invaded and confiscated their property, my grandmother had to move all the kids to a small kampong (fishing village) with few belongings, but certainly batik (printed fabric) and jewels to trade for food.
On the other side, my father’s grandfather was also a wealthy landowner in Southern China with rice paddies, plantations and a big house. Similarly, when the communists took over China, my grandmother fled with the kids to Hongkong, caught a long voyage boat to Vancouver to escape communism. The communists took all their property and assets. Needless to say, it was reinforced in my upbringing to study hard, work hard, have discipline, do well and get a stable job. So, I guess it is due to “nurture” that I have a disciplined work ethic but clearly, my natural state is to dance, play music, do art and sing. Perhaps my greater gift to flamenco is the ability to communicate and create a community.
My mom enrolled me in violin when I was 4 years old, religiously taking me to the Vancouver Academy of Music for weekly private lessons, group lessons, Kodaly, music theory, ensemble class, chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra, technique classes, etc. By 10 I was practising 2 hours a day and if I wasn’t doing that, I was going backwards. When I was 18 and decided I wanted to go to UBC to study music, she said “no, musicians don’t make good money”. So, I went to business school instead. I worked 10 years in market research, marketing, sales before finding Flamenco. I remember being so miserable at an inside sales job that it was hard to wake up in the mornings to log in the hours and get the paycheque. It was big, but totally not worth it to me. It took 10 extra years to find my passion and speak my truth in Flamenco. Now I have been doing it for over 20 years and we are in pandemic times.
Back to my Throat Chakra Dance! I honestly thought I would have trouble with the Throat Chakra but the experience for me was truly delightful! I enjoyed dancing throat chakra so much! I turned off all the lights, the only light being the dusk streaming in from the window. I started on my yoga mat in a seated position and just listened to the music. It was very resonant starting with the seed sound “ham” which sounds more like “hum”. It was like a true meditation as inspired by Tibetan monks. The idea is to chant the word “hum” to stimulate the throat chakra and also to allow this to resonate through, as this chakra is all about vibration.
I just sat and let the music envelop me, dreaming of hues of blue. I imagined rich turquoise and dark blue silk drapery and my hands and arms started to gently move the imagined silk aside. This continued a long time because the silk was never ending! Then I started to “paint” blue swirls with my hands to create a dome over myself until I was encased in a dome. I envisioned the light of the moon and the inside of abalone sea shells, painting this iridescence on the inside of my dome and the floor. Most of the dance was seated or rolling on the floor and I did not get onto my feet once. Once again, the swirls and 8s and spirals and helix and double helix shapes came to my movement, creating an even flow with one move bleeding into the next, into the next.
I felt that this was the domain of Moon Cat (my character from sacral chakra dance, see sacral chakra blog). It felt luxurious, mystical, feminine, dreamy, ethereal and lovely. I danced through iridescent hues of blue from midnight to turquoise while seeing in my imagination specks of gold and bronze in a grand and majestic peacock, shimmering blue green. Still painting swirls with my hands and feet, iridescent blue butterflies made a final cameo in my dance. That was delightful.
I think I am allowing the “feeling” and “instinctual-self” guide me in the Chakradance now. I was approaching the system more like a dance in the beginning but now I am on week 5. Time has flown by and I have taken steps into the world of energy and emotional healing. I am trying to think of it as yoga or meditation now. The purpose of the dance is to heal, open or balance each Chakra. There is no right or wrong, there is no technique, as each practitioner will get what they need out of the dance and music. If a person has a blockage in any chakra, this will come out in the dance or in released emotions afterwards. I think it is very natural in our culture to shut down and keep things bottled up inside. Not everyone can meditate and not everyone likes yoga, so this is a moving meditation. We just need to keep in mind that we are dealing with our inner selves. What we dance is “ourselves”, overt and hidden aspects of ourselves. I must say that my movements dancing the blue chakra are much softer, more gentle, airy, more languid than what I consider to be flamenco.
“Alegrias with Manton in Havana, Cuba”
As far as Flamenco goes, I feel that Flamenco relates strongly to the base chakras up to the heart. It comes from a place of strength, defiance, resilience and is very grounded. Some flamenco artists make their way into the ethereal realm, one of my mentors Belen Maya lives there and I have seen this magic on stage. But for me, no, this would be a new quality and essence and honestly, seems very personal and liquid and sensuous. I don’t usually dance my flamenco with this blue chakra energy. I live on the warrior side. Yet all the chakras are interrelated and this luxurious Moon Cat. She is still me. I guess only reserved for a tiny few on this earth. After this course is over, I will have to have an honest look into whether I can express all sides of me in the theatre.
I honestly thought I would have some trouble in the throat chakra, but as it turned out, it has been very enjoyable to dance this for a week and very meditative for me. I suppose that in flamenco, we are highly attuned artists and must use our extra-sensory skills when performing in live Cuadro. Perhaps we are already attuned to energetic vibes, have super-hearing to respond to music instinctually and have some ability to use superpowers in the moment?
I have concluded that dancing professionally is of no consequence for this healing modality called Chakradance. If anything, it is a hinderance to “off the analytical dancer brain” and move into a meditative state. Anyone regardless of age, physical condition, ability can (and should) Chakradance for their health and emotional well-being. Eventually this will lead to a spiritual revelation. Special thanks to Natalie Southgate, founder of Chakradance for the journey.
Stay tuned for Third Eye Chakra Dance Blog.
“Dancing The Throat Chakra, Vissudha”
North Vancouver, BC, Canada.
June 24, 2020
About The Author
Kasandra “La China”
Flamenco Dancer and Instructor, Director, Producer, Choreographer
Kasandra is one of Canada’s leading flamenco artists well-known for her unrelenting drive to push the artistic envelope. A tirelessly ambitious artistic director, soloist and prima bailaora, Kasandra is always hungry for new sources of inspiration and knowledge, constantly pushing her musical and choreographic mastery to its limits. She has been identified as “Vancouver’s flamenco star who has embodied flamenco with her dynamic, precise style” by Flamenco-World magazine. Read More
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