MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
pathy, and balance in both body and community. %LRORJLFDOO\VXFKPRYHPHQWUHVKDSHVRXUFKHPLVWU\²VWUHVVKRU - mones fall as endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin rise. The autonomic nervous system shifts from vigilance to calm, interoception deepens, DQGWKHERG\UHPHPEHUVVDIHW\0RYLQJDQGEUHDWKLQJWRJHWKHUFUHDWH coherence in heart and brain rhythms. Science calls it entrainment; WUDGLWLRQFDOOVLWKDUPRQ\7KHERG\VLPSO\NQRZV ,WLVKHDOLQJ 'DQFHEHFRPHVPHGLFLQHQRWEHFDXVHLWFXUHVGLVHDVHEXWEHFDXVH it restores relationships — between breath and body, self and commu- nity, earth and spirit. Ancestral Memory Some dances are centuries old, others newly born, yet all carry the essence of human experience. A melody from Greece, a rhythm from South America, a gesture from modern life — each becomes a thread in our shared tapestry. Epigenetics reminds us that memory lives in biology; the love and resilience of our ancestors shape how we move through life today. In the circle, we awaken this inheritance — old and new steps meeting in dialogue, allowing ancestral knowledge to breathe in the present moment. The circle thus becomes both archive and laboratory, where inher- ited stories are honored, transformed, and danced into balance. Each dance carries whispers of lives lived before us — ancestral or perhaps past-life echoes — reminding us that memory is both genetic and spir- itual. In this sense, circle dances express ancestral epigenetics — cul- tural forms through which inherited wisdom and emotional resilience continue to evolve. A Global Weave Sometimes we like to believe our modern world is more connected WKDQ HYHU ² OLQNHG E\ ¿EHU RSWLFV VDWHOOLWHV DQG FRQVWDQW FRPPX - nication — while our ancestors lived in small, isolated communities, knowing little beyond their villages. We also tend to think birds and DQLPDOVFRPPXQLFDWHSULPLWLYHO\<HWZHDUHDQGDOZD\VKDYHEHHQ part of the same conversation of life. Throughout time, all beings have known pride and despair, pain and love, moved to the shared rhythms of the rising sun, the pull of the moon, the turning seasons, and the eternal cycles of birth and renew- DO'DQFHDURVHIURPWKHVHSDWWHUQVDXQLYHUVDOODQJXDJHFRQQHFWLQJ people across generations and linking us with the living world. 7KHUHQHZHG6DFUHG&LUFOH'DQFHWUDGLWLRQWRRNURRWLQWKH)LQG - KRUQ FRPPXQLW\ RI 6FRWODQG LQVSLUHG E\ %HUQKDUG :RVLHQ¶V YLVLRQ of dance as a form of meditation and connection. Today, it is prac- ticed in communities across the world — throughout the Americas, (XURSH $VLD DQG KHUH LQ WKH '09 UHJLRQ 1XPHURXV ZHEVLWHV UH - ÀHFW WKLV JOREDO QHWZRUN LQFOXGLQJ KWWSV ZRUOGFLUFOHGDQFHFRP ZZZFLUFOHGDQFLQJFRP ZZZLQWKHGDQFHFRP DQGKWWSV QHVND\D FRPDERXWFLUFOHGDQFH/RFDOFLUFOHVRIWHQH[LVWTXLHWO\GLVFRYHUHG through word of mouth that preserves the intimacy and trust within this community. Local gatherings link into a greater web. Festivals bring teachers IURP PDQ\ FXOWXUHV HDFK R̆ HULQJ WKHLU RZQ UK\WKP DQG YLVLRQ D *UHHNVWHSPHHWVD&HOWLFPHORG\ D%XOJDULDQUK\WKPMRLQVD%UD]LO - ian drumbeat. Together we create an embodied network of awareness, an evolving choreography of care that integrates culture and ecology, complements modern science, and nourishes our global well-being. Dancing with Our Genes Epigenetics shows we are shaped by how we live, feel, and connect. 0LQGERG\SUDFWLFHVOLNH<RJD7DL&KL4LJRQJDQGFRQVFLRXVGDQFHV
embody this truth, awakening the body’s intelligence and transform- ing awareness into a healing movement. Research shows these practic- HVORZHUFRUWLVRODQGLQÀDPPDWLRQHQKDQFHQHXURSODVWLFLW\DQGHYHQ DOWHUJHQHH[SUHVVLRQ²MXVWDVPDWHUQDOFDUHUHVKDSHV'1$PHWK\O - ation in rodents or meditation modulates immune and stress-related genes in humans. Through rhythm, breath, and shared presence, the body learns safety, joy, and belonging — signals that switch on the genes of vitality and renewal, creating health and meaning through experience. Each dance becomes a healing microenvironment — rhythm, at- tunement, and gentle synchrony regulating stress, lowering cortisol, DQG IRVWHULQJ QHXUDO FRKHUHQFH 0RYHPHQW WKXV IXO¿OOV HSLJHQHWLFV¶ SURPLVHWKDWLQQHUDQGRXWHUZRUOGVDUHRQH WKURXJKUK\WKPEUHDWK and touch, dance creates epigenetic spaces where cellular renewal mirrors communal harmony. When people move as one, oxytocin rises, heart rhythms align, and the body receives cues of trust and connection — signals that favor JURZWKRYHUGHIHQVH,Q6DFUHG&LUFOH'DQFHWKLVELRORJLFDOKDUPRQ\ becomes a lived experience. The dance invites us to surrender a little individuality in order to discover a deeper power in unity. Its simple forms — linked hands, repeating steps — gently shape self-expression LQWRFRKHUHQFH%UHDWKLQJDQGWXUQLQJLQDVKDUHGUK\WKPWKHFLUFOH becomes a living organism, embodying the pulse of connection and the quiet intelligence of life moving as one. In a world where disconnection has become a global pandemic, the FLUFOH R̆ HUV UHVWRUDWLRQ²KDQGV MRLQHG FRKHUHQFH UHQHZHG D OLYLQJ reminder that our well-being is interwoven with one another and with the living Earth. Within its quiet turning, we remember what it means to be whole together. The Science of Health Meets the Art of Healing Every time we join hands and step into the circle, we enter a dia- ORJXHEHWZHHQPDWWHUDQGPHDQLQJ(SLJHQHWLFVḊ UPVZKDWWKHVSLU - LWKDVDOZD\VNQRZQ RXUFKRLFHVDQGHPRWLRQVFDQUHVKDSHWKHVWRU\ written in our cells. In the quiet turning, we become both scientist and mystic, integrat- ing knowledge and experience, intellect and intuition, science and spirituality. The circle invites integration across time and culture, age
and tradition, reminding us that healing arises when all parts — body and mind, indi- vidual and collective, past and future — move in harmony. In the circle’s quiet turning, the science of health meets the art of healing — and life itself becomes the dance. Olga Brazhnik, PhD, is a scientist and life coach who dances at the meeting point RI NQRZOHGJH DQG ZRQGHU Drawing on her background in physics and NIH research, she now explores how move- ment, mindfulness, and con- nection can inspire creativity, KDSSLQHVV DQG WKH ÀRXULVK - LQJRIKXPDQSRWHQWLDO
PATHWAYS—Winter 25-26—47
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