About – dance pants

Welcome, friends!

I’m a wellness facilitator & community resource. This website is where I share inspiration and practical guidance with you, on how to find and cultivate deeper levels of wellness, bliss, and personal development in your life.

What’s so special about dance pants?

The material presented here at dance pants is body-based and experiential, open-ended and flexible, and creative and often playful. It is also grounded in existing methods, practices, and other resources that are already accessible to many of us. Why reinvent the wheel when we can set our sights higher, right?

My mission: helping you and your whole self feel good, from the inside out—by giving you creative inspiration, tools, and resources to support your self-care and personal growth.

My research centers on the exploration and synthesis of participatory, interactive, bodymind practices that tend to a) feel good, and b) be good for us. These practices include Expressive Arts Therapy (e.g., Dance/ Movement Therapy, Art Therapy, Drama Therapy), nature/ wilderness-based learning, contact improvisation, meditation, visualization, Hakomi Method (somatic psychotherapy), Authentic Relating, Feldenkrais Method, 5Rhythms, Ecstatic Dance, and more.

What do I mean by “feel good”?

By “feel good“, I mean bringing joy and pleasure through physically moving in open-ended ways and connecting with yourself, the present moment, and other humans around you. And from a different angle: these bodymind practices naturally encourage the flow of serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. (Good stuff). Note that we may notice moments of discomfort or resistance while engaging in these bodymind practices, and that such moments are often where things get really interesting and informative.

What do I mean by “good for us”?

By “good for us“, I mean facilitating expression and flow in numerous dimensions—creative, physical, emotional, mental, psychological, social, and such. Movement helps us to feel what is going on, and feeling helps guide us towards increased self-awareness. Among other benefits, increased self-awareness and self-understanding help us to better tend to our/others’ needs and wants, and to confront our challenges where they are holding us back.

I also like to speak to the whole mind (“right brain”, “left brain”, and everything in between), do my best to help share information that I feel is valuable and underrepresented, and to help provide clarity in a field (i.e., holistic wellness) where ideas and information often seem to be described in a very vague way and/or be challenging to practically apply. In defense of this phenomenon, though, and my own imperfect efforts(!), let me clarify that: by virtue of being experiential, bodymind practices based in feeling and sensing are often not well encapsulated by rational thought, words, and the mental sphere, overall.

Here at dance pants, I do my best to strike a balance between an open-minded holistic perspective and rational practicality—both of which have great benefits, especially when paired together. I sincerely hope that the resources you find here are helpful to you. Of course, please don’t hesitate to ask questions, suggest a topic for an article, or share your feedback with me.

Happy trails & thanks for visiting!
Amber

>>To learn more about dance pants & my background, read on.<<

Why “dance pants”?

As a website name, dance pants functions as a lighthearted reminder not to take ourselves too seriously, and to allow ourselves to have fun. Fun, play, and physical movement are very much a part of my life philosophy and personal wellness practice.

Dance pants are also my favorite type of clothing. Really, these are any type of bottoms that accommodate a wide range of physical movement. Dance pants are NOT limited to the traditional body-hugging yoga wear. They can come in all kinds of colors, cuts, and fabrics—some flowy, some frilly, some fuzzy and wild. Pants like this are perfect for moving around in, and so comfortable. I live in them! And I’ll admit, I think everyone ought to own a pair of trusty dance pants. Life is simply better in them! And, why let our clothing hold us back?

With whom, and how do I like to work?

I enjoy working with everyday people—especially in small groups, enlisting the active participation (physically and beyond) of those who I work with, keeping my offerings very affordable, and engaging with people more as a community resource and wellness facilitator rather than according to a therapist-client dynamic.

The work I do today consists of:

Facilitating wellness and personal growth through movement, touch, (body)mindfulness practices, and visual arts – by offering periodic workshops, as well as special private events.
Conducting experiential bodymind research – on contact improvisation, Dance/ Movement Therapy, Hakomi Method, Authentic Relating, Feldenkrais Method, Life/Art Process, 5Rhythms, and more; and
Sharing with you the inspiration and practical tools that I harvest from these experiences – through this website.

I believe in reintegrating the body & play into our everyday lives, freely drawing on various disciplines and modalities, as needed or desired, and connecting you with resources and communities to help support your personal growth and wellness.

What I have to share with you is inspired and informed by a lifelong love of feeling good from the inside out, in addition to my background in contact improv and holistic massage therapy. I facilitate special events, an authentic connection-based community circle, and enjoy continuing adventures researching Dance/Movement Therapy and other bodymind modalities. I’ve accumulated over 600 hours of education and training in Expressive Arts Therapy, psychology, and other specialized bodymind modalities, and have completed a 128-hour somatic education program. I believe that using creative, integrative, and flexible methods for personal wellness and development is the way to go, and I want to share the best of what I discover with you.

Cheers! A