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    Mindfulness Through Dance
    Mindfulness Through Dance
    Mindfulness Through Dance
    Ebook188 pages2 hours

    Mindfulness Through Dance

    By Dr. Kim Chandler Vaccaro

    ()

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    About this ebook

    • This video illustrated book begins with contemplative movement practice to take your focus inward. Concentration is directed to open the gates of energy in the body, release the soft tissue and connect to the core. Once the body is fully prepared through strengthening the major muscle groups, different rhythms of the body are explored through choreography and improvisation. Selected combinations build coordination, balance, flexibility, strength, musicality, and confidence.This "CoMBo" method helps to integrate the central nervous system, create important neural pathways between action and thought, and leaves a feeling of lightness, capability and joy. The effects are immediate and long lasting, and it can be adapted to any age group or level of ability.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTotal Health Publications
    Release dateSep 4, 2016
    ISBN9781536507652
    Mindfulness Through Dance
    Author

    Dr. Kim Chandler Vaccaro

    Dr. Kim Chandler Vaccaro is the director of  the Rider University/Princeton Ballet School Dance program and is on the faculties of both institutions. She teaches ballet, creative movement, Pilates, dance history and a number of other subjects. She is also a choreographer and had written and edited several books on the various forms and functions of dance.

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      Book preview

      Mindfulness Through Dance - Dr. Kim Chandler Vaccaro

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:logo 2.jpg

      ––––––––

      Full disclosure: I want to change the world, or at least I want to act in a way that I am proud of towards my students. My goal is to instill them with the confidence to explore, play, honor, co-exist peacefully and actualize their potential. I used to be happy just to know that since I was a dance teacher I helped students develop their imagination, and where there was an imagination there was possibility. But the new science of neuroplasticity is revealing that we can do far more. We can change the structure of our brains. Imagination is magical and necessary but we can also develop mindbody-conditioning programs that produce integrated, balanced, confident, compassionate, flexible yet stable students. So I have to. As an educator and human being I must act in a way that is responsible and ethical, which means that I have to change the methodologies I have used for 35 years and move forward. Combining the wisdom of many of my teachers produced such a practice. CoMBo Conditions the Mindbody, promoting integration, health and happiness.

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:logo 6.11.jpg

      Health and Integration through Contemplative Movement

      GRATEFUL

      Part One – Myelination

      Integration

      Repetition

      Investigation

      Annotated Bibliography

      FEMA

      Part Two – Practice

      Contemplative Movement Practice

      Contrology Core work

      Pilates and Taiqiquan

      Ahh ...Vinyasa

      Riding the Waves

      The Rhythms

      ZIJI

      Part Three – Transformation

      Methodolog

      CoMBo: Modern Dance

      Let them Play! CoMBo for Kids

      Age 5

      Age 7

      Teens/First Time Learners 

      CoMBo in Education

      Changing the World Through Contemplative

      Education

      Resources and References

      Index 

      Editor’s Note: To view the videos you must be connected to the Internet. If you are reading and e-book version (epub, pdf, etc) merely clink the link. Allow 7 to 10 seconds. If you are reading a printed book, copy the link address into the address bar on your browser.

      ––––––––

      Grateful ...

      Every morning before I get out of bed I do a morning mantra. It helps me to be in the right frame of mind to approach each day with humor, joy, excitement, and peace.

      I am grateful for the time to sit, and to Rider University for allowing me to take this journey; for the A team – my husband and kids- for putting up with me and to my teachers who helped me cherish the environment, my extended family and friends, the undergraduates who challenge me everyday like little Buddhas, and the renewed love I have for my work.

      Namaste

      kcv

      Part One

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:light on Deer pt.jpg

      ––––––––

      Myelination

      Integration

      CoMBo is a holistic movement system that integrates ideas from neuroscience, Pilates, yoga, T’ai Chi Ch’uan (herein referred to as Taiqiquan, which is pronounced the same,) Dance Movement Therapy, Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, Ideokinesis, various dance forms and many of the somatic modalities that were introduced in the 20th century.

      To that end I am grateful to all of the teachers, dancers, researchers and institutions that I have encountered on this journey to develop this material: Naropa University, Rider University, Tracy Goldenberg, Larry Welsh, Anne Green Gilbert, Carla Hannaford, Dr. Dan Siegel, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Steven Sachs, Stephanie Golski, Alma Hawkins, Wayne Vaccaro, Melissa Michaels,* and especially all of the students who have helped me learn, understand and pursue this path. Their thoughts pepper this work. Quotes with only first names are from my Rider University students in the fall of 2014.

      CoMBo conditions both the mind and body. (From this point forward I am going to refer to both as Mindbody. (By virtue of the fact that we receive all information through the body and have nervous systems throughout entire being, the body and mind have to be integrated. It is time for shift in how we understand the process that we call mind and its embodiment.) It begins with a contemplative movement practice that takes the focus fully inward. Concentration is directed to open the gates of energy in the body (the joints) and release the soft tissue of the muscles, ligaments and tendons. When connected to the center of weight, and aware of energy and tension, the focus goes towards deep core work. Once the body is fully warm and prepared through strengthening the major muscle groups, a movement experience follows that recognizes the different rhythms of the body through choreography and improvisation. Along the way great care is taken to choose steps and movements that can create neural pathways that build links between disparate aspects of the brain and body. Together, this system builds coordination, balance, flexibility, strength, musicality, and confidence. Most importantly it helps to integrate the central nervous system, create important neural pathways between action and thought, and leaves a feeling of lightness, strength, capability and joy. The effects are immediate and long lasting and it can be adapted to any age group or level of ability.

      Dear Dr. Kim, I've really enjoyed taking your CoMBo classes. It is extremely relaxing and releases the tension in my body every time ...

      These classes always make me feel so much better physically, mentally, and emotionally.

      Ashley

      This book is for both potential CoMBo teachers and students to explore the concepts that inspired the system and to gain further knowledge about the classes and the methodology. Within are quotes from students, links to videos and websites, and references to the science and the theories behind the activities, exercises, coaching, and intention of the entire experience.

      Through the developing science of neuroplasticity and the age of digital and molecular imaging it is now clear that some exercises, done with a particular intention and progression, can actually make us feel better, more open to learning, more empathetic, and integrated. How can we not include them in our development?

      Please explore all of the suggested links and resources. There is a wealth of incredible information and excellent work being done in the field of mindfulness. I recommend beginning with Jon Kabat-Zinn, who may be responsible for changing how we look at health and wellness in the 21st century. His research, books, tapes and workshops MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) have been instrumental in changing our understanding about the immune system, and the nature of the mind, emotions and reality. MBSR is currently practiced in over 700 hospitals worldwide (Cooper, 2015.)

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:logo 2.jpg

      CoMBo is my offering to enhance the mindbody connection. Let’s connect what we know and feel good!

      Repetition

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:NCAR!.jpg

      ––––––––

      Welcome to CoMBo! I expect if you are reading this book you are interested in a mindful approach to health. CoMBo has the potential to change how you feel. What if you could do exercises that would make you feel more relaxed, open and coordinated with a balanced nervous system? The work of Dr. Dan Siegel, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, reveals that the mind is fully embodied, embedded and inter-relational with the body (2010). By performing movements in both improvised and prescribed sequences we can change how our bodies are wired, make new neural connections and myelinate neural pathways that will make us feel centered and grounded without getting injured. Through practice, over time we can actually change the structure of our brains and have more control over our minds.

      CoMBo teaches heightened mindbody awareness, thereby over time instills clarity, focus and confidence. It can help with the daily functioning of our lives from schoolwork to housework. If introduced into educational settings it could make all learning easier AND MORE FUN!

      ––––––––

      Macintosh HD:Users:kachandler:Desktop:DSC_9060.jpg

      Combo is a joyful approach to learning about ourselves. Public education has been primarily focused on rational thought, disengaged from the body and devaluing active learning. We are taught little about how our anatomy functions. Our lack of physiological knowledge can be compared to driving around in a body without a license, as my husband puts it, or knowing very little about how the entire machine operates. CoMBo addresses this by using introspection, self-reflection, and mindful thought-to-action. If it were introduced into public education, it could help children become

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