Managing life can be challenging and chaotic.  Discover what really needs to be changed and transformed to empower you into your higher self! In this conversation, we discuss perceptions and actions surrounding empowerment. 

What is Empowerment

Empowerment is a process of becoming more powerful and confident. Notice the word process. You feel empowered as you work through through process of connecting to your true self.

Empowerment is something that is completely internal. We build our own strength and confidence through our actions and this helps us to gain our sense of self.

But how do we become empowered?

Dance and Music Empowers Us

When we express ourselves creatively, whether through music, dance, or any other type of expression, this empowers us with creative energy. Creating is one of the most powerful actions we can take. As a result, creative energy strengthens our resolve and is truly empowering.

Dancing is a great way to do that because it includes motion which continues to stimulate our energy. On top of that, dancing connects us to our ancestors and origins. Dances all come with a story.

For Example:

During the Super Bowl Halftime show, we saw Shakira and Jennifer Lopez perform. Not only was this the first time two women headlined a Super Bowl Halftime Show, but they also used belly dancing.

Origins of Belly Dancing

Shakira is half Colombian and Lebanese. While much of her music is heavily influenced by her latin roots, we saw some of the Lebanese side cone out during her belly dance.

One story shares that the Lebanese created the dance for women to strengthen the muscles in their abdomen and help them during the birthing process. The better a woman was at belly dancing showed the higher chances of a successful birth and this made her more desirable.

Empowering Movements

This has also influenced a lot of the dances in the latin culture where they move their hips. This was seen a ton in the Halftime Show and is a staple of dance in the latin culture.

But Why?

Moving your hips is once again tied to childbirth. Women with powerful hip movements communicated good child birthing chances. Historically, this is why we see a lot of hip movements in dancing, especially in Latin cultures.

Even today, popular culture includes a lot of dances with hip control including twerking and other forms of dancing that are still closely tied to our reproductive selection process. This is because the hip control it takes to perform these dances is still communicating the ability to birth children at a high success rate.

However, in today’s society, it is often taboo or seen as vulgar to express this empowering dance too blatantly. Many have argued that the Halftime Show was vulgar. We know that the movement of the hips does more than just communicate our reproductive processes though.

Flow Of Energy

The hips are an important gateway for the energy of the body. Flexibility and muscle control in the hips allows energy to flow freely through the top and bottom half of your body. This can open up our energy flow and help truly empower our movements.

It is within us divinely to move.

This movement is creating an empowering flow of energy. This is why we love dancing so much. Even babies will dance to music and nobody has even taught them. It is natural because dancing is a form of expression and creativity that empowers us.

Apply What We Learned

We have explored how dancing and other forms of expression can empower us through the flow of energy. Now, we want have an activity for you to do to apply this empowerment to your lives.

First, play some music.

Then, move your hips to the beat. Forget what you look like, and focus on your hip flexibility and control. Move them side to side, up and down, or rotate your hips in a circular motion.

Do this for a song or two and you will begin to feel the empowering movements that the hips create and the energy will flow freely through your body as you continual improve your hip flexibility.