Dance Your Stress Away: Part 2

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

Yesterday, I introduced the EECM Community Stress Center whose services include tax preparation, blood pressure screenings, employment counseling, and...African dance.

Here's a video of Sheba Gittens, our instructor for the day, showing us the moves. Out of respect for the privacy of the participants (including me -- no one needs to see my three left feet on video!), we videoed her doing a demonstration dance.

So, why dance? Above all, because dance is a form of release. Participants are invited to let go of their anxieties and worries and lose themselves in the rhythms and movements. Sheba refers to "connecting your heart with the drum" and then letting it move you. While there is structure to African dance -- certain movements are repeated frequently -- there is also freedom. Participants can find their own movements that express their emotions and worries about mounting bills, looming unemployment, or family struggles.

African dance is also communal. Participants join together in the dance and draw strength and comfort from that solidarity. At the workshop, everyone was supportive and accepting. Sheba was all smiles, praising my clumsy efforts and liberally distributing high fives as we slowly mastered the steps and gained confidence in our movements.

Tuesday was our first African dance workshop at the EECM Community Stress Center, but I for one hope that there will be many more to come!

Dance Your Stress Away: Part 1

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

Yesterday, on my second day back from maternity leave, I found myself sashaying around a gymnasium floor, working muscles I didn't know I had, accompanied by the pounding rhythms of an African drummer. And I was on the job. I swear.

I was checking out EECM's new Community Stress Center. The Stress Center is a collaborative effort between EECM, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and a variety of East End service providers. Launched in November, the Stress Center was created to improve the well-being of people who live in and around the community by offering services to reduce stress and maintain physical and mental health.

The Center is intended to provide these supportive services to our clients (naturally), but the goal is also to reach beyond our client base and welcome any and all members of the community to benefit from those services.

Activities at the Stress Center (click here for a calendar of events!) include formal presentations/workshops on topics like Stress and Depression, Healthy Shopping on a Budget, and Grief Counseling interspersed with more interactive workshops...

...which brings us back to African dance. Stay tuned tomorrow for discussion of how dance can help with stress relief, along with a video of dance instructor Sheba Gittens showing us how it's done.