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Mindfulness is the ancient practice of living in the present moment—a practice so simple, yet so often neglected in our fast-paced, modern lives. Dancing mindfulness invokes the art of dance as the primary medium for discovering and practicing mindful awareness. It can be a gateway to higher spiritual growth, a path to more balanced living, a healing experience and an ignition for your creativity. Dr. Jamie Marich expertly guides readers through seven primary elements of mindfulness in motion: breath, sound, body, story, mind, spirit and fusion. By dancing through these seven elements, either in personal practice or in a group, novices of dance and meditation as well as those experienced in both arts are better able to:
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What others are saying about Dancing Mindfulness...
I am one of literally millions of Americans to wonder about relief from stress and anxiety, to fret over my physical and spiritual health, and to seek an antidote for the physical, mental and spiritual exhaustion that seems to surround us. Dr. Jamie Marich offers us help that is right in front of us: the chance to use dance, almost the most instinctive of movements, to restore us to the mindfulness that offers calming perspective and renewed, non-judgmental excitement about our relationships with ourselves, our multi-layered communities and our environment. This book offers a chance to make lives better, and that is a real contribution.
Congressman Tim Ryan, OH-13, Author of A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit
Meditation is more than sitting on your butt. Mindfulness is more than obsessively chewing a raisin. Both are about being so physically present to the environment that you can no longer maintain the delusion that you are other than the environment. Jamie Marich’s Dancing Mindfulness will take you to that place of acute presentness, and awakens you to the dance of life within and without.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent
I’ve watched Dancing Mindfulness grow for several years and it’s clear that Jamie’s work in the realms of movement and mindfulness strike a chord. She has unique appeal among the very people who need her work most, and a passion for training facilitators and bringing the work to underserved communities. A welcome force among the members of Dance First, supporting the mission of “movement before medication.
Mark Metz, Founder of the DanceFirst Association and Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine
Dr. Jamie Marich has written a most interesting book for those looking for a more physical and creative way to practice mindfulness. Dancing Mindfulness gives a detailed description of this method and how it originated and then outlines its various components by chapter. Dr. Marich includes discussion of the historical significance of dance as a healing arts form that involves attention to the physical and emotional self and, when practiced in a group, to growth in community and community building. The book also provides guidance in workshop development and leadership in this method, and has a DVD to illustrate the method.
Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, Psychologist, Independent Practice, Washington, DC
Author, It’s Not You, It’s What Happened to You; Healing the Incest Wound; and Treating Complex Trauma: A Sequenced, Relationship-based Approach (with Julian Ford, PhD)
It has been my privilege to bear witness to Dr. Marich's (Jamie's) process of discovery and the sharing of her gifts with the world. Her research and her work on trauma has been indispensable to me and to many of my colleagues. The greatest gift thus far was her insight and then action to blend two passions, dance and mindfulness practice, into a cohesive system called Dancing Mindfulness. Two ancient, simple designs to bring us into our bodies, into our healthy selves. It is not surprising to me that Dancing Mindfulness already has the hallmarks of a movement, one where the ancient wisdom and power of dance and mindfulness meditation bring healing, joy, and a greater embodiment of mind, body and spirit.
Stephen Dansiger, Psy.D., MFT, Clinical Director of Refuge Recovery Treatment Center, and regular meditation teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society
For centuries, dance has been a vehicle for returning to awareness, celebrating our radiant true nature and cultivating our spiritual connection. In recent years, mindfulness has swept through our culture and is increasingly recognized as a powerful set of practices for personal development. There are many ways to practice mindfulness. In Dancing Mindfulness, Jamie makes a special contribution to the world of mindfulness by inviting all of us to get off the cushion and explore moving our miraculous bodies. By focusing on seven primary elements of mindfulness-in-motion, she encourages us to discover the fundamental connection between movement and meditation practice. I encourage anyone interested in mindfulness to let go of old inhibitions and follow Jamie’s wonderful guidance to experience the full body/mind joy of mindful dancing.
Terry Fralich, Psychotherapist, co-founder of the Mindfulness Retreat Center of Maine and Author of Cultivating Lasting Happiness: A 7-Step Guide to Mindfulness and The Five Core Skills of Mindfulness: A Direct Path to More Confidence, Joy and Love
Jamie invites me to claim my birthright to dance and I accept and get up and dance in my living room. I agree, it is wonderfully freeing to just dance again for the sake of dance and movement. I feel uplifted, empowered, free – an awakening. This is a joyful addition to my self-care options – a low cost and safe way to transcend the critic inside my head that judges me, and the world around me. This book will help you dance your story in your space with mindfulness – a journey home to the present moment, and ultimately to your authentic self – summed up by the Tolstoy quote in this book, “music is the shorthand of emotion” greatly aided by the richness of intentional movement.
Durga Leela, RYT-500, Founder of Yoga of Recovery
Dr. Jamie Marich has written an enlightening and empowering book on the subject of healing and transformation. Marich uses dance as her vessel of healing and along the way wonderfully integrates mindfulness and creativity. There is something so validating in Marich’s approach as throughout this book she gracefully leads us in the therapeutic power of movement, authenticity, and creativity, and in turn, not only helps us to uncover our own tools for transformation, but encourages us to honor and trust them, as well. Marich’s book is more than an inspired prescription for healing, it is a thought-provoking guide on leading a creative life.
Guy Macpherson, Ph.D.
Founder of The West Coast Trauma Project, and host of The Trauma Therapist | Podcast
Dancing Mindfulness is abundant with accessible resources for not only personal practice and conscious dance communities, but also for educational settings and ministry contexts. Both emerging leaders and seasoned professionals in ministry can refer back to these pages for wisdom and inspiration that will support healing and wholeness in our communities. Dr. Marich’s offering to the conscious movement field is heartfelt, embodied, and spirited.
Rev. Elizabeth D. Barnum, Fountain Street Church (United Church of Christ), Grand Rapids, MI
So many of us rush through the moments of our days toward some imagined future, and before we know it, we feel like we have missed what is truly important. In this delightful book, Dr. Jamie Marich reminds us that life itself is a dance. She applies mindfulness in a sophisticated way to help the reader bridge theory and practice. Her personal and engaging style will help you learn to dance through more of the moments of your daily life, with all its ups and downs.
Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, psychologist and author of Mindfulness: Living through Challenges and Enriching your Life in this Moment
In Dancing Mindfulness, Jamie Marich offers a pathway to spirit through the body. Each chapter offers a doorway to dancing mindfulness as a personal practice and as an opportunity to facilitate others. She skillfully weaves personal stories and research throughout the book making it a must read for anyone interested in developing a mindfulness practice through dance.
Theresa Benson, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Expressive Arts Facilitator, University of Illinois
Dancing Mindfulness is a wonderful invitation into one’s body, into one’s creative spirit. This writing offers us ways to reinhabit and, perhaps for the first time, to accept the wholeness of our being. Each chapter has its own rhythm moving from well researched topic, to personal experience and finally to suggestions for the reader / dancer’s own investigation. These call outs sections, the offers of the practice, got me up out of my chair and into my playlists to start stepping and swaying on my own. It is hard not to get caught up in Marich’s enthusiasm for the subject and the simple ways she presents to get moving.
Kyczy Hawk , Author of Yoga and The Twelve Step Path, Life in BiteSized Morsels and founder of S.O.A.R., Success Over Addiction and Relapse
We all have our own unique beat and rhythm to which we move. Instinctually we have known this from the very beginning of time, but yet somehow we’ve forgotten just how spiritually uplifting, freeing, healing, and how just plain fun it can be to let go of our own (and societal) inhibitions and just be in that moment of pure joy through movement and dance. Dr. Jamie Marich and “Dancing Mindfulness; A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation” helps us to step away from the idea that in order to practice living mindfully or to ‘figure things out’ we should sit cross-legged, empty our minds and wait for answers. Our true ability to be mindful can come through dance and movement whenever we let it- in line at the store, in your car at a red light, taking out the garbage, in your chair at work. The possibilities are endless, and so is your capacity for love, strength and acceptance. To quote Jamie- “… get up and dance!”
Rev. Donald McCasland, LMSW-CCTP
Clinical Trauma Professional, Blogger- "The Functional Veteran", and Ordained Minister, Church of the Latter-Day Dude
Dancing Mindfulness by Dr. Jamie Marich is one of those rare books that is simultaneously cutting edge and accessible as well as practical and enlightening. Her beautifully constructed narrative draws the reader into a state of deeper understanding and ultimately a personal felt sense of mindfulness. Therefore, this book is a must read for any person who practices, teaches, or researches mindfulness or embodiment. In addition, her embodied concept of mindfulness offers an alternative therapy to thousands of individuals who have found traditional therapies ineffective or traditional mindfulness to be confounding. Her careful attention to trauma sensitivity within dancing mindfulness is often lacking in other therapeutic modalities and therefore this book should be required reading for any therapist who wishes to competently work with clients who have experienced trauma. I am so impressed with Dancing Mindfulness that I have developed an undergraduate psychology course centered around this book!
Shannon Len Deets, Ph.D., Licensed Professional Counselor, Assistant Professor Psychology, Thiel College
Jamie Marich’s Dancing Mindfulness is the modern gateway to the mind/body consciousness. No longer reserved merely for people sitting in silent contemplation, Dancing Mindfulness reminds us to get up and feel our lives as they were meant to be ALIVE in mind, body and spirit. Of course the real gem you "dance" away with, is that it's even deeper than being Alive, it's being down right joyful about it.
Leisa T. Mills, Buddhist Teacher and Mind/Body Activist
Congressman Tim Ryan, OH-13, Author of A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit
Meditation is more than sitting on your butt. Mindfulness is more than obsessively chewing a raisin. Both are about being so physically present to the environment that you can no longer maintain the delusion that you are other than the environment. Jamie Marich’s Dancing Mindfulness will take you to that place of acute presentness, and awakens you to the dance of life within and without.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent
I’ve watched Dancing Mindfulness grow for several years and it’s clear that Jamie’s work in the realms of movement and mindfulness strike a chord. She has unique appeal among the very people who need her work most, and a passion for training facilitators and bringing the work to underserved communities. A welcome force among the members of Dance First, supporting the mission of “movement before medication.
Mark Metz, Founder of the DanceFirst Association and Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine
Dr. Jamie Marich has written a most interesting book for those looking for a more physical and creative way to practice mindfulness. Dancing Mindfulness gives a detailed description of this method and how it originated and then outlines its various components by chapter. Dr. Marich includes discussion of the historical significance of dance as a healing arts form that involves attention to the physical and emotional self and, when practiced in a group, to growth in community and community building. The book also provides guidance in workshop development and leadership in this method, and has a DVD to illustrate the method.
Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, Psychologist, Independent Practice, Washington, DC
Author, It’s Not You, It’s What Happened to You; Healing the Incest Wound; and Treating Complex Trauma: A Sequenced, Relationship-based Approach (with Julian Ford, PhD)
It has been my privilege to bear witness to Dr. Marich's (Jamie's) process of discovery and the sharing of her gifts with the world. Her research and her work on trauma has been indispensable to me and to many of my colleagues. The greatest gift thus far was her insight and then action to blend two passions, dance and mindfulness practice, into a cohesive system called Dancing Mindfulness. Two ancient, simple designs to bring us into our bodies, into our healthy selves. It is not surprising to me that Dancing Mindfulness already has the hallmarks of a movement, one where the ancient wisdom and power of dance and mindfulness meditation bring healing, joy, and a greater embodiment of mind, body and spirit.
Stephen Dansiger, Psy.D., MFT, Clinical Director of Refuge Recovery Treatment Center, and regular meditation teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society
For centuries, dance has been a vehicle for returning to awareness, celebrating our radiant true nature and cultivating our spiritual connection. In recent years, mindfulness has swept through our culture and is increasingly recognized as a powerful set of practices for personal development. There are many ways to practice mindfulness. In Dancing Mindfulness, Jamie makes a special contribution to the world of mindfulness by inviting all of us to get off the cushion and explore moving our miraculous bodies. By focusing on seven primary elements of mindfulness-in-motion, she encourages us to discover the fundamental connection between movement and meditation practice. I encourage anyone interested in mindfulness to let go of old inhibitions and follow Jamie’s wonderful guidance to experience the full body/mind joy of mindful dancing.
Terry Fralich, Psychotherapist, co-founder of the Mindfulness Retreat Center of Maine and Author of Cultivating Lasting Happiness: A 7-Step Guide to Mindfulness and The Five Core Skills of Mindfulness: A Direct Path to More Confidence, Joy and Love
Jamie invites me to claim my birthright to dance and I accept and get up and dance in my living room. I agree, it is wonderfully freeing to just dance again for the sake of dance and movement. I feel uplifted, empowered, free – an awakening. This is a joyful addition to my self-care options – a low cost and safe way to transcend the critic inside my head that judges me, and the world around me. This book will help you dance your story in your space with mindfulness – a journey home to the present moment, and ultimately to your authentic self – summed up by the Tolstoy quote in this book, “music is the shorthand of emotion” greatly aided by the richness of intentional movement.
Durga Leela, RYT-500, Founder of Yoga of Recovery
Dr. Jamie Marich has written an enlightening and empowering book on the subject of healing and transformation. Marich uses dance as her vessel of healing and along the way wonderfully integrates mindfulness and creativity. There is something so validating in Marich’s approach as throughout this book she gracefully leads us in the therapeutic power of movement, authenticity, and creativity, and in turn, not only helps us to uncover our own tools for transformation, but encourages us to honor and trust them, as well. Marich’s book is more than an inspired prescription for healing, it is a thought-provoking guide on leading a creative life.
Guy Macpherson, Ph.D.
Founder of The West Coast Trauma Project, and host of The Trauma Therapist | Podcast
Dancing Mindfulness is abundant with accessible resources for not only personal practice and conscious dance communities, but also for educational settings and ministry contexts. Both emerging leaders and seasoned professionals in ministry can refer back to these pages for wisdom and inspiration that will support healing and wholeness in our communities. Dr. Marich’s offering to the conscious movement field is heartfelt, embodied, and spirited.
Rev. Elizabeth D. Barnum, Fountain Street Church (United Church of Christ), Grand Rapids, MI
So many of us rush through the moments of our days toward some imagined future, and before we know it, we feel like we have missed what is truly important. In this delightful book, Dr. Jamie Marich reminds us that life itself is a dance. She applies mindfulness in a sophisticated way to help the reader bridge theory and practice. Her personal and engaging style will help you learn to dance through more of the moments of your daily life, with all its ups and downs.
Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, psychologist and author of Mindfulness: Living through Challenges and Enriching your Life in this Moment
In Dancing Mindfulness, Jamie Marich offers a pathway to spirit through the body. Each chapter offers a doorway to dancing mindfulness as a personal practice and as an opportunity to facilitate others. She skillfully weaves personal stories and research throughout the book making it a must read for anyone interested in developing a mindfulness practice through dance.
Theresa Benson, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Expressive Arts Facilitator, University of Illinois
Dancing Mindfulness is a wonderful invitation into one’s body, into one’s creative spirit. This writing offers us ways to reinhabit and, perhaps for the first time, to accept the wholeness of our being. Each chapter has its own rhythm moving from well researched topic, to personal experience and finally to suggestions for the reader / dancer’s own investigation. These call outs sections, the offers of the practice, got me up out of my chair and into my playlists to start stepping and swaying on my own. It is hard not to get caught up in Marich’s enthusiasm for the subject and the simple ways she presents to get moving.
Kyczy Hawk , Author of Yoga and The Twelve Step Path, Life in BiteSized Morsels and founder of S.O.A.R., Success Over Addiction and Relapse
We all have our own unique beat and rhythm to which we move. Instinctually we have known this from the very beginning of time, but yet somehow we’ve forgotten just how spiritually uplifting, freeing, healing, and how just plain fun it can be to let go of our own (and societal) inhibitions and just be in that moment of pure joy through movement and dance. Dr. Jamie Marich and “Dancing Mindfulness; A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation” helps us to step away from the idea that in order to practice living mindfully or to ‘figure things out’ we should sit cross-legged, empty our minds and wait for answers. Our true ability to be mindful can come through dance and movement whenever we let it- in line at the store, in your car at a red light, taking out the garbage, in your chair at work. The possibilities are endless, and so is your capacity for love, strength and acceptance. To quote Jamie- “… get up and dance!”
Rev. Donald McCasland, LMSW-CCTP
Clinical Trauma Professional, Blogger- "The Functional Veteran", and Ordained Minister, Church of the Latter-Day Dude
Dancing Mindfulness by Dr. Jamie Marich is one of those rare books that is simultaneously cutting edge and accessible as well as practical and enlightening. Her beautifully constructed narrative draws the reader into a state of deeper understanding and ultimately a personal felt sense of mindfulness. Therefore, this book is a must read for any person who practices, teaches, or researches mindfulness or embodiment. In addition, her embodied concept of mindfulness offers an alternative therapy to thousands of individuals who have found traditional therapies ineffective or traditional mindfulness to be confounding. Her careful attention to trauma sensitivity within dancing mindfulness is often lacking in other therapeutic modalities and therefore this book should be required reading for any therapist who wishes to competently work with clients who have experienced trauma. I am so impressed with Dancing Mindfulness that I have developed an undergraduate psychology course centered around this book!
Shannon Len Deets, Ph.D., Licensed Professional Counselor, Assistant Professor Psychology, Thiel College
Jamie Marich’s Dancing Mindfulness is the modern gateway to the mind/body consciousness. No longer reserved merely for people sitting in silent contemplation, Dancing Mindfulness reminds us to get up and feel our lives as they were meant to be ALIVE in mind, body and spirit. Of course the real gem you "dance" away with, is that it's even deeper than being Alive, it's being down right joyful about it.
Leisa T. Mills, Buddhist Teacher and Mind/Body Activist