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Title: | Dance as movement : meditation root and flow : optimal experiences in floor-work |
Authors: | Heller-Dani, Karin (2022) |
Keywords: | Dance -- Psychological aspects Mindfulness (Psychology) Introspection Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 1934-2021 -- Criticism and interpretation |
Issue Date: | 2022 |
Citation: | Heller-Dani, K. (2022). Dance as movement: meditation root and flow: optimal experiences in floor-work (Bachelor's dissertation). |
Abstract: | According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990), happiness is a choice that depends on the number of optimal experiences we create for ourselves every day that brings us into a state of flow. Flow states share many similarities with meditation in that both require undivided attention, concentration, clear goals, or intention. Once in Flow, or in a state of meditation, practitioners may experience a deep sense of joy, the loss of self, timelessness, a sense of union, and mindful presence. However, being too much in the head could prevent people from entering meditative states, thus movement meditation could serve as a tool to bring awareness down into the body, connect the mover with their inner senses, and quiet the mind. To understand the potential of movement meditation in relation to flow states, this research explores various forms of movement meditation practices, including the more traditional forms of prostrations, Sufi whirling, trance dance, and contemporary conscious dance practices. While there are several ways of exploring meditation through movement, this dissertation proposes a movement meditation practice that uses floor-work as a tool to experience flow. Floor-work as an embodied, somatic dance practice offers several benefits: It is grounding, it encourages self-observation and exploration to discover new ways of being, and it brings the focus to inner sensations (Hackney 1998). As such, the purpose is to establish a framework for a floor-based movement meditation practice that could be used as a tool to experience flow. |
Description: | B. Dance St.(Hons)(Melit.) |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/100893 |
Appears in Collections: | Dissertations - SchPA - 2022 Dissertations - SchPADDS - 2022 |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Final Dissertation - Heler-dani Karin.pdf Restricted Access | 853.7 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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