how I ecstatic dance in public
Channel: Laura-Marie Strawberry Nopales
Date: 2021-12-02

A good friend asked how I ecstatic dance in public.  She wondered how I could not be embarrassed.  I explain in this video how dancing in public is part of my values.  Growing up is a long process of shedding unhelpful values that I was given as a kid in school, church, and my family, and keeping the values that serve me as I do what I'm on earth to do.  I was afraid to be perceived dancing, singing, or even talking, when I was young.  But now I shed shame about my body, and I want to be perceived and speak my truth.

Dancing in public is a ministry, and I model what I want in the world.  I'm valid, worthy of respect, and belong at the table of humanity.  My fat body is a valid variation of how humans can be, not problematic.  When I was dancing in my driveway a few days ago, I could risk being laughed at, but I could try to hear the joy inside the judgment.  My validity is the same as the validity of disabled people, and all ages of people including kids and elders.

My friend who asked the question is a mom, and I admire how she respects her kids and helps them be who they are.  I trust my friend to respect me also and support me in being who I am.  Likewise, I can be a good mom to myself and support myself in being who I am, and doing what I need to do, including dance.

Dancing is good medicine--I love dancing and singing as ways to heal or protect myself from suffering and harm.  Dancing can release a lot of energy, to create or destroy.  

My life is a journey of learning to love myself unconditionally.  There are boundaries of what I can do socially, but dancing is well within those boundaries.  Thank you to my friend who asked this great question, and to you for being curious about ecstatic dance, what we allow ourselves to do, and self-love liberation.