World-famous dance instructor explains how we can integrate masculine and feminine energies with conscious movement.
Though I’ve been dancing regularly for years, Gabrielle Roth inspired me to bring even more attention to this ongoing spiritual practice. I’ve become fascinated by layers of complexities and emotions stored in each body part.
I recently wrote about the five rhythms – flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness – in more detail. Working with the archetypes feels like a playful way to deepen this dance process.
“Each rhythm awakened energies that helped me separate myself from my conditioning, discover my original passions and desires, and connect me to my humanity. The archetypes are just metaphors and should not be interpreted too rigidly. In the alchemical wedding of them all, I discovered that my soul was truly androgynous,” says Roth.
Within flowing (feminine) and staccato (masculine) rhythms, she shares six archetypes: mother, mistress, madonna, father, son, and holy spirit. While we all have access to each archetypal energy, we often need integration work for different parts of ourselves.
I highly recommend Roth’s bestselling book: “Sweat Your Prayers: The Five Rhythms of the Soul.” I love how she writes and all the colorful ideas for homework assignments.
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Defining the Archetypes
Roth writes in-depth on flowing and staccato energies with sections describing each feminine and masculine archetype. She encourages us to explore how each part resonates for us, especially through music, movement, and connections.
Flowing:
- Mother: Feels like flowing in slow motion. “Mother is the cornerstone for all the other archetypes. Without her presence, they have no support.”
- Mistress: It means being deeply connected with your heart. “All relationships are about seeing the Beloved in others and coaxing it out. They are about maintaining your awareness of yourself while giving your attention to another.”
- Madonna: “In every one of us there is a mysterious Mona Lisa who completes the sacred trinity that defines the sacred feminine soul. Madonna is the part of the soul that receives data, spins it into patterns, weaves them into the web of our higher intelligence, and inspires the necessary actions.”
Staccato:
- Father: “Some of us are afraid of our staccato energy and resist boundaries, thinking they will curtail our freedom and restrict our power. But boundaries are not necessarily to hem us in but to keep us on the path.”
- Son: “This is the masculine-without-mercy part of your soul, an untamed part that yearns for freedom, the freedom to be the most outrageous person you can imagine.”
- Holy Spirit: “In each of us there is a holy spirit, the part of us that actively seeks an answer, a meaning, a purpose to life.”
“We all have the potential to be a full-bodied Bordeaux, but sadly most of us are satisfied being Welch’s grape juice. Sometimes we put all our eggs in one archetype and live on-dimensionally. We also tend to attract people who fill our holes,” writes Roth.
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Exploring the Archetypes
Considering who you grow attracted to and why feels fascinating.
“Make a list of all your lovers from the beginning to now. Study this list and label each person on it by their most prominent archetypes. What have you learned from this? Do you tend to attract fathers or madonnas? Use this same list to imagine how each one of them would categorize you,” writes Roth.
Roth inspired me to create a playlist for each archetype. I discovered an angsty teenage boy within me, craving a place for expression. I also realized I’m healing my relationship with inner father energy. What a fascinating way to approach wholeness.
As I dance, I ask: What am I feeling and where? Which lyrics or rhythms are moving me and why? How can I let this part of my body express itself?
As I understand how each energy feels in my body, I can tap into them more easily when needed in my daily life. Exploring emotional intensity in the safe container of artistic expression feels necessary, brave, and rewarding.
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“Like the I Ching, the soul is fluid and ever changing. The archetypal realms within the soul are not defined by rigid characters, conventions or boundaries. The feminine energies are rooted in awareness; the masculine energies are about action. We need a catalyst to establish a dynamic equilibrium between them and in this case that catalyst is attention,” says Roth.
Throughout the day, I remember to: start with awareness (feminine), pay attention, and allow intuitive action (masculine) to follow.
“The rhythms gave me a way to map the movements of my own psyche as well as the ever-changing state of the universe. In their context, I was able to grasp my feminine roots, spread my masculine wings, and traverse the world with winged feet,” writes Roth.
I cover more topics on conscious movement in recent posts:
- How One Devoted Ecstatic Dancer Builds Self-Trust
- How Ecstatic Dance Supports My Healing Journey
- How One Dance Guide Inspires My Ecstatic Journey
Photo Credit: Unsplash, George Bohunicky
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