1) The similarities btw dance therapy and yoga therapy- principle/method, effect/benefit (physically, psychologically)Throughout the ages, cultures have relied on dance to convey emotion, tell stories, communicate with each other and the supernatural — and to treat illness. Individuals embraced its rhythms as a therapeutic experience, and healers employed its movements as an intrinsic accompaniment to the ritual of healing. The power of dance to communicate, express, and restore underlies the ability of movement therapy to heal to this day. There are two very similar yet different methods of treatment.
Modern dance therapy, also called dance/movement therapy, finds its origins with modern dance pioneers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. They transformed dance from stylized forms like ballet into a self-expressive, spontaneous form, where individuality was encouraged. In the 1940s, after turning to a career as a dance instructor, some instructors noticed that for some of their students, dance was an emotional outlet for feelings they needed to express, not just a series of movements. This trend now encouraged dance students to concentrate on experiencing these emotions through movement, rather than focusing on the actual technique of the dance routine “this rhythmic action in unison with others results in a feeling of well-being, relaxation, and good fellowship.”The field of dance therapy was expanding. Around WWII, the work of psychoanalytic pioneers like Freud and Jung made their mark on the Dance Therapy movement.
One of them was Mary Starks Whitehouse, who would become a Jungian analyst. She developed a process called ?“movement-in-depth” based on her knowledge of dance, movement and depth psychology. This form of dance therapy is known today as?“authentic movement,” a process where patients dance their feelings about an internal image that provides insight into issues in their past or current life.According to the? ADTA dance therapy is “the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual.
”Dance therapists believe that the body, mind, and emotions, are interrelated and that the state of the body has a positive or negative affect on our attitude and feelings. Illness, injury, emotional and physical trauma can cause us to become out of balance and our way of expression and functioning in the world changes as well. Dance therapy seeks to open up these restrictions by allowing the patient to uncover and express them in movement, integrating and accepting them as part of the whole. It also provides a means of communication beyond the self, enabling the individual to go beyond any isolation to connect, share and express common ground with others.Dance therapy provides can be helpful for a wide range of patients and problems. It is useful for those with restricted movement of movement, whether from arthritis, aging, degenerative disease, or other causes.
For the chronically ill or dying, it can aid in dealing with issues of death, pain and changes in body image. Children, who don’t have the patience or attention span for other forms of therapy, can benefit from the openness that comes with expressive dance. Adults whose emotions have been buried or who are not in touch with their feelings, as well as victims of abuse who are otherwise unable to articulate their problem, may find insight and release through dance. Even those confined to wheelchairs can move their upper body in response to musical rhythms.
Dance therapy can assist in interpersonal relationship within the family and can serve as communicator for those with speech and learning disabilities and autism. It is also a means of relaxation and stress reduction. Dance’s expressive element may also add an aesthetic and spiritual dimension to the experience. An evolving area of dance therapy is its in disease prevention and health promotion programs for the chronically ill.
Dance therapy is the therapeutic use of movement to improve the mental and physical well being of a person. It focuses on the connection between the mind and body to promote health and healing. Dance therapy can be considered an expressive therapy. Dance therapy is offered as a health promotion service for healthy people, and as a complementary method of reducing the stress of caregivers and people with cancer and other chronic illness. Physically, dance therapy can provide exercise, improve mobility and muscle coordination, and reduce muscle tension. Emotionally, dance therapy is reported to improve self-awareness, self-confidence, and interpersonal interaction, and is an outlet for communicating feelings.
Some promoters claim that dance therapy may strengthen the immune system through muscular action and physiological processes and even help prevent disease.Dance therapy is based on the belief that the mind and body work together. Through dance, it is thought people can identify and express their innermost emotions, bringing those feelings to the surface. Some people claim this can create a sense of renewal, unity, and completeness.
Dance therapists help people develop a nonverbal language that offers information about what is going on in their bodies. The therapist observes a person's movements to make an assessment and then designs a program to help the specific condition. The frequency and level of difficulty of the therapy is usually tailored to meet the needs of the participants. It is also used in a variety of settings with people who have social, emotional, cognitive, or physical concerns.
It is often used as a part of the recovery process for people with chronic illness. Dance therapists work with both individuals and groups, including entire families.Although individual (anecdotal) accounts provide most of the support for the value of dance therapy, a few experimental studies evaluating the effects of dance therapy on health have been published. One recent study gave breast cancer survivors a 12-week dance therapy and movement class. The women who had dance therapy showed better range of motion in their shoulders than those who had not had the class. Body image (how they viewed their bodies) also improved after dance therapy.
Clinical reports suggest that dance therapy helps in developing body image; improving self-concept and self-esteem; reducing stress, anxiety, and depression; decreasing isolation, chronic pain, and body tension; and increasing communication skills and feelings of well being.Another alternative therapy that is in line with movement and exercise is Yoga Therapy. Yoga Therapy is that facet of the ancient science of Yoga that focuses on health and wellness at all levels of the person, physical, psychological and spiritual. Yoga Therapy focuses on the path of yoga as a healing journey that brings balance to the body and mind through an experiential understanding of the primary intention of yoga: awakening of Spirit, our essential nature. The Healing journey is unique to each individual and Yoga Therapy therefore selects, adapts and modifies the practices of yoga appropriately for the individual with respect to age, culture, religion, and specific physical challenges and conditions to facilitate optimal health and healing of the body/mind.
The Yoga therapy process begins with a thorough description of the student’s present status at physical, psychological and spiritual levels. It takes into consideration the student's Ayurvedic constitution, specific areas of physical and psychological strength and weakness, the role of stress and areas of separation in the life of the student. It then looks at which facets of yoga would facilitate optimal wellness and finally designs a program of yoga practice to meet the needs and goals of the student.Yoga Therapy has tremendous potential to play an important role in the evolving field of healthcare. The scope of the yoga therapist will include offering yoga/wellness classes to the general public, working with specific groups and individuals facing health challenges and also personal yoga training and instruction for individuals based on their particular needs. There is also a growing need for therapists who can work with those who have been injured in their yoga practice and are require a safe and effective way to continue.
For yoga therapy to achieve this potential, an agreed upon model is required. Within this model, a whole spectrum of different approaches, methodologies and techniques can be applied, but a basic agreement on the description, function and goals of Yoga Therapy is needed in order to create a viable profession. Yoga therapy offers a unique perspective on health and healing distinct from the common methods. It offers a different perspective and approach as opposed to the very scientific ones.Yoga in itself is a science of health management rather than a method of treating disease.
When yoga is combined with certain healing and therapeutic modalities, it increases the effectiveness and efficiency of those methods. Yoga can also increase health, general wellbeing and longevity. It does this by removing tensions, calming the mind, and improving vitality. It generally enhances our lives on all levels.After the description of the methods and techinicalities of both kinds of therapies.
We ask what are the similarities of both? The similar effect of both Yoga and Dance therapies are very similar in the sense that they are both useful exercises that provide the health benefits produced by active movement. They are both physical activies and physical activity is known to increase special neurotransmitter substances in the brain (endorphins) which create a feeling of well being. And total body movement enhances the functions of other body systems, such as the circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, and muscular systems.Regular aerobic exercise helps with glucose metabolism, cardiovascular fitness, and weight control. If dance or movement therapy is used in this way, it can confer the same benefits as other types of exercise.
Moderate to vigorous exercise for 30 to 45 minutes on most days of the week can reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Movement therapy can help people stay physically fit and enjoy the pleasure of creating rhythmic motions with their bodies.Well-controlled research is needed, however, to confirm the effects of dance therapy on prevention of and recovery from other types of illness. The communication of the movement (whether yoga or dance) fulfilled a basic human need, and provided insights into the relationship of movements and their therapeutic effect, how speech or narrative can assist in both group and individual settings, how rhythmic movement helps with organizing and clarifying processes, and how dance serves to unify a group.Both kinds of movements are intimate and powerful mediums for therapy.
Based on the assumption that the body and mind are interrelated, both therapies are the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, cognitive and physical integration of the individual. These kinds of therapy bring about changes in feelings, cognition, physical functioning, and behavior.?2) The differences - principle/method, method effect/benefit(physically , physiologically)?- please write more on effect/benefit than principle and methodThe similarities and methods of both movement therapies were stated about. So we will now focus on the differences and what makes them both different from one another.
There are many different types of Yoga therapy with diverse styles of practice. Some are gentle; others are vigorous. Some center around stillness, others are about movement. Just as there are different routes to reach a given destination, these approaches all have the same intention- to guide practitioners to a state of health, equilibrium and peace. The variety of styles accommodates different needs and temperaments.There are three types of Yoga that are commonly used in a therapeutic setting: Hatha Yoga, Gentle Yoga and Restorative Yoga.
A hybrid may be used depending on the interests and needs of the individual or group. The difference among them is essentially the way in which the postures are practiced. They would all likely include guided relaxation, breathing practices and meditation.Yoga therapy differs from dance in some technical aspects, such as the heated room. Yoga as an exercise focuses on heating the room so that the participant will perspire thus, eliminating toxins. Where as Dance movement is practiced in a room with normal temperature.
Also, Yoga therapy patients when practicing this discipline are mostly in stationary positions. But Dance movement focuses more on moving around. Yoga therapy aids in building muscle as it is more focused on stationary and balance training whereas Dance movement is moving around actively.3) One paragraph of `How they can be made together by using the each unique advantage?Now, the question is, how do we fuse two very similar yet different types of therapy to achieve healing. Both Yoga and Dance Therapy, foster a physically and emotionally safe, non-judgmental environment that is respectful of individual limitations and achievements. They both also facilitate individual expression and communication with other people.
Another factor that is innate to the discipline is that they increase body awareness, spontaneity, creativity and a healthy self-image. It is found that when patients undergo the movement therapies,? it promotes emotional stability (including anger management and stress reduction) and also support personal growth through insight, energy, and an expanded movement repertoire. Both movement therapies are so intertwined in each other than to fuse them together would only better the healing of the patient. Yoga therapy focuses on the thinking and the psychological aspect while dance seals the therapy because it helps the patient manifest what he believes in.Dance is an exercise for the body while Yoga therapy is more the exercise of the mind.
It aids in both psychological and physical well-being. While therapeutic methods such as medicines, surgery, herbs, acupuncture, psychotherapy and body-work act on the body-mind, yoga therapy empowers the individual to take a conscious and active role in his or her own healing. Yoga therapy also super-charges each of these methods.For example, when yoga therapy is used in combination with prescription drugs in a medical situation, it is often possible to reduce the dosage so that the side-effects are minimized and the drug acts more efficiently. This is because yoga in itself strengthens and relaxes the body, making it more able to absorb and derive benefit from the medication.
When yoga therapy is combined with psychological forms of intervention it provides a practical, experiential basis on which the patient can self-regulate themselves as they move through often painful processes of self-discovery.When combined with other healing methods, the process of yoga therapy is synergistic and cumulative. Yoga therapy works on the basis that relaxation leads to purification. Purification then helps to strengthen the entire body-mind. A strong, whole body-mind raises energy and naturally begins to heal specific problems. This leads to the rebalance and restoration of the entire being.
Relaxation is the basis of all healing, as it allows the natural intelligence and healing power of the body-mind to do its work. . In dance/movement therapy, the channels through which the goals are accomplished involve the physical body that we inhabit.Using the body for psychotherapy allows us to provide the patient with what Frieda Fromm-Reichmann speaks of: "an experience, not an explanation".
Both dance therapy and psychotherapy provides a bridge between our conscious and unconscious worlds. Dance therapy bridge allows more material to cross over in less time by bypassing some of the defenses that guard the bridge in verbal psychotherapy. Movement therapy group sessions are designed to bring the participants into direct contact with the information that is stored in their bodies. Some of the exercises focus awareness on how the body feels. These feelings may be physical (aches and pains from actual injuries or muscular tension) or they may be a sensation that is a way of expressing an emotional or mental state (emptiness at the heart, sharpness in the eyes, deadness in the feet).
Actually, it is difficult to separate the physical components from the psychological components, and perhaps it is not necessary to make this distinction, because even the physical aspects offer psychological information. When the body begins working in a directed way designed to provide access to feelings, the talking part of the session has a somewhat different quality. A context is created where parts that usually lie under the surface are invited to speak. Both disciplines thus, when fused together bring about a more effective method of healing and expression that enables the patient to not only feel better psychologically but physically as well.
