Charlottesville Bellydance Class Schedule

• Beginner bellydance classes are held every Monday from 6:00 - 7:00 pm
  
• Spiritual bellydance classes are held every Monday from 7:10 - 8:10 pm
  
• Performance-oriented bellydance classes are held every Monday from 8:15 - 9:15 pm
  

Chakras are major energy centers in the body and they are considered to be of vital importance in many forms of oriental medicine. The theory holds that if energy is flowing through the body correctly, then the body will tend to heal and repair itself. Interestingly, advanced mathematical fields such as fractals and chaos theory strongly support this hypothesis. They establish the existence of self-stabilizing systems that can be infinitely complex and yet consistently return to predictable, stable patterns (or "energy levels") when acted upon by a disruptive outside force. The other interesting things about these systems is that they arise from very simple rules acted upon recursively, just as Western medicine tells us that our entire physical growth and development is determined by recursive application of our genetic code. 

In Eastern Medicine, when the energy pathways within the body are clear, properly organized, and flowing cleanly, maximum vitality is achieved, which leads to health and healing.

The 7 major energy centers that run up the center of the body are called the 7 chakras. Chakra is an ancient Sanskrit term meaning "wheel". Sanskrit is a language dated back to 1500BC from the area of the middle east that we now think of as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. This is the same geographic region and time frame from which much of the middle-eastern dance ("belly dance") that we now practice arises. There are 7 chakras traveling from the top of the head to the base of the spine. 

	The 7th chakra is at the crown of the head and corresponds to our connection to god, the universe, or the divine.
	The 6th chakra is located at the point often referred to as "the third eye". It relates to our ability to see clearly, not just physically, but also to understand situations clearly and "see the big picture". In Western medicine, it lies directly over the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls much of our "higher brain" functions.
	The 5th chakra is located over the voice box and is related to the ability to express oneself and communicate.
	The 4th Chakra is located over the heart and is related to love and compassion
	The 3rd chakra is located over the solar plexus. It relates to our willpower and metabolic health.
	The 2nd chakra is located in our lower abdomen over the womb and other female sexual organs. It relates to our sexual health, as well as the health of our kidneys.
	The 1st chakra is located at the base of the spine. It relates to our base animal instincts, fear, and self-preservation.

By performing balanced isolations at each of the 7 chakras we can stimulate, clean up, and begin regulating our energy flow. A mature person's body has typically found certain patterns of movement that it is comfortable with. Rediscovering unfamiliar, long-unused directions and locations of movement can require great focus and concentration, but once a student has mastered moving each of the 7 chakras in every planar direction, enormously powerful health effects can be accomplished from the internal massage that she can then perform upon herself. 

When working with new students, I typically begin by introducing them to "easy" movements. An easy movement is simply one that is similar to a movement performed frequently in every day life. We just refine it and draw our attention to it. As the student progresses, we begin introducing locations of movement &/or directions of movement that are unfamiliar. The confidence and visualization skills gained by mastering the "easy" movement typically allow the student to learn the more difficult movement. By the time a student reaches the advanced level, she can perform certain isolations at every chakra and has developed an advanced ability to get specific areas of her body to move in any pattern she visualizes. This is the crucial building block that allows the student to begin performing all planes of motion at every chakra.

I believe that this practice of isolations at the chakras is a core wisdom of bellydance. The potency of its physical and energetic effects is enormous, allowing the advanced practitioner to perform a good deal of energetic and internal regulations. For example, there exists a specific, very advanced move which I call the "fountain of youth" which induces a potent kundalini rising effect. 

As a teacher, I must respect the fact that bellydance has been brought to this country through the medium of entertainment and that what is entertaining has typically been the hip and chest isolations. These are mostly what we think of when we think of bellydance, yet I believe that for balanced development all chakras must be exercised, even the boring ones (such as the crown), which have great internal effects, but little external visibility. This creates a challenging balance between giving students what they expect (to look like a bellydancer) and what will make them feel the best (balanced development).

Other Bellydance Class Topics:

• Music used in Bellydance Classes
• Health Benefits of Bellydance
• Class Goals & Basic Posture
• Directions of Movement in Belldance
• Bellydance and the Chakras: Introduction
• Bellydance and the Chakras: Manifesto
• Tribal or Cabaret?
• Shakti's Quick-Start Guide to Henna
• Balancing Things on Your Head