Tuning into our bodies for joy and stillness

Galway Dancer in Residence Bernadette Divilly feels we can learn a lot from children. The way they learn to play, which is a voyage of discovery on so many levels, resonates deeply with this woman whose journey towards harnessing dance for exploration and mindfulness began when she was eight years of age. On holidays on her grandmother’s farm in Leitrim, she suddenly became aware of her senses in a way that she hadn’t previously been. That awareness, combined with her grandmother’s stories and the way of life there, nourished body and soul, Bernadette recalls.

But, as adults, whose lives are immersed in work and routine, we usually lose the immediacy and curiosity of children.

“Over-habituation wears us down. We as adults need to rediscover that journey,” she feels.

Bernadette is a dance-movement psychotherapist and artist who specialises in mindful movement and whose contemplative practice focuses on the connection between mind, body and spirit, and on the places and societies in which we live.

Via a series of online events taking place next week, she’s offering people an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves, each other and the places around us.

The psychology graduate from NUIG embraced an integrated approach toward mind and body many years ago and, she says now, “it’s time has come”.

In the late 1990s, Bernadette did a Master’s in Somatic Psychology at the Buddhist-inspired Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Somatic psychology is grounded in the connection between mind and body and takes a holistic approach to healing by using psychotherapy and physical therapy

In Naropa, Bernadette first came into contact with renowned choreographer Barbara Dilley, a leader in the area of Contemplative Movement and the women went on to become friends.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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