Marich, J. & Howell, T. (2015). Dancing Mindfulness: A phenomenological investigation of the emerging practice. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 11(5), 346-356.
Research Summary
Abstract
An extensive review of both quantitative and qualitative literature reveals numerous connections between mindfulness practice and psychological well-being. Literature in the field of dance therapy references mindful movement. In contrast, Dancing Mindfulness, as a holistic wellness practice, is an approach to mindfulness meditation that draws on dance as the vehicle for engaging in the ancient practice characterized by non-judgment, loving kindness, and present-centered awareness. Ten of the first participants who learned the Dancing Mindfulness practice in a community-based setting shared their lived experience with the practice, and these experiences were analyzed using A.P. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological psychological method. As a collective sample, the women described positive experiences with the Dancing Mindfulness practice. Specific themes indicate improvements in emotional and spiritual well-being, increased acceptance, positive changes to the self, and increased application of mindfulness techniques and strategies to real-world living. Another thematic area suggests that dancing and music are the two major components of action within Dancing Mindfulness leading to these benefits.
Keywords: dance, mindfulness, body awareness, bodyfulness, phenomenology, wellness
Background
Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinical counselor and trauma specialist (the first author on this article), developed and coined the phrase Dancing Mindfulness as an approach to mindfulness meditation. Marich fully recognizes that there is nothing to be trademarked or patented with the term since cultures around the globe have collectively drawn on the power of dance and present-moment meditation since the dawn of time. The approach of Dancing Mindfulness simply offers individuals in the modern era a container for practicing mindful meditation through dance. The purpose of this research inquiry is to investigate the lived experiences of the first individuals to take part in the practice under Dr. Marich’s leadership.
Because of the practice’s newness and the individualized experiences the practice promotes, a phenomenological research study is the optimal design to investigate themes of participant experience in a community/non-clinical setting (i.e., the first setting where founder Jamie Marich developed and taught Dancing Mindfulness classes). Phenomenology, a philosophical approach attributed to Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) that became phenomenological research methodology, rejects the Galilean idea of seeing the world through mathematical principles. Exploring the subjective, human experience is at the heart of phenomenological inquiry.
Individuals who took part in Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio in northeast Ohio during the first year of the class’s offering at the studio were invited to participate. After the researcher obtained permission from the yoga studio owner, whose team conducted an ethical review of the proposed research, Marich sent email invitations to approximately twenty women who attended two or more Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio in the first year of the practice’s inception. To be eligible, participants needed to be over the age of 18, and they must have attended at least two Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio (at the time, Dr. Marich facilitated all classes). To allow for the possibility of negative case analysis, Marich, the primary researcher, stipulated that all eligible participants be invited to participate, not just those participants who had good experiences with Dancing Mindfulness.
Participants
The sample studied for inquiry consisted of ten Caucasian females ranging in age from 18-61 (average age= 45.4, median age=44.5). This range and demographic is representational of the community members attracted to Dancing Mindfulness in the city of Warren, OH (population 41, 557 as of the 2010 census) where Dr. Marich developed and first introduced the practice at a community level. A variety of professions are represented in this sample core of participants (chiropractor, real estate agent, yoga teacher/studio owner, administrative assistant, banking, inventory control, health care professional). The youngest participant identified as a college student. One participant identified as being on disability, and another participant identified herself as a retired teacher.
Five participants in the sample disclosed issues with mental illness, naming anxiety, depression, post-partum depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically. One participant disclosed a family history of mental illness (schizophrenia, paranoia, and obsessive compulsive disorder). Five of the ten participants disclosed being in recovery from one or more addictions (e.g., alcohol, drugs, food/sugar, compulsive spending). That half of the sample disclosed addiction recovery issues is not surprising since the first year of Dancing Mindfulness classes as taught in Warren, OH seemed to attract many females who identified as being in recovery, specifically being a part of 12-step programs. Only one of the participants disclosed formal dance training and yoga practice, and one other participant had past extensive experience with yoga. In general, Dancing Mindfulness and the various activities it utilizes, like yoga, movement work, breath, and meditation, was a new experience for the women participating in this study.
Results
In phenomenological, qualitative research, ten participants studied in depth is an ideal sample size for preliminary inquiry. A properly-selected, systemized data analysis procedure is important to establishing credibility in a qualitative study. Data analysis procedures for qualitative data offer researchers a step-by-step method to follow for reading, coding, and interpreting the data. Otherwise, a qualitative researcher can be easily accused of reading the data simply to find the passages she is looking for to support her own pre-conceived notions. Amodeo Giorgi’s phenomenological psychological method for analyzing data was ultimately selected as the primary analytical system for this study because of his work’s established, phenomenological grounding. To allow for a level of objectivity in analyzing the data, Dr. Marich recruited her doctoral research intern, Terra Howell (the second author on this study) to code and analyze the data through the Giorgi system. The intern has not taken a Dancing Mindfulness class from Dr. Marich or any other facilitator.
The experience of the sample can be described through three major psychological themes: overall improvement and growth in emotional and spiritual domains, experiences of the various components within Dancing Mindfulness (e.g., dance, movement, yoga, music, facilitation, venue) as mechanisms of action, and mindfulness experiences. There are several major and minor clusters of experience within each theme that, in the full article, are more fully explored.
Theme 1: Overall Improvement in Emotional and Spiritual Domains
· Subtheme 1: Spiritual growth as a result of participation in Dancing Mindfulness (8 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 2: Emotional growth as a result of participation in Dancing Mindfulness (5 of 10 participants)
Theme 2: Experiences of the Various Components within Dancing Mindfulness as mechanisms of action
· Subtheme 1: The role of dance in Dancing Mindfulness (all participants shared some element in this domain)
-dance as cathartic (8 of 10 participants)
-happiness, acceptance of emotions, empowerment also emerged as descriptors amongst the sample set
-other comments include: anyone can do it despite individual differences, allows you to learn something new, mutually beneficial, a good workout, allows you to express without drugs or alcohol
· Subtheme 2: The role of yoga in Dancing Mindfulness as important (5 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 3: The role of music in Dancing Mindfulness as important (5 of 10 participants)
· Minor clusters (less than 4 participants making comments): the role of the facilitator in Dancing Mindfulness, the role of the venue, and desired changes to experience
Theme 3: Mindfulness Experiences
All ten of the participants indicated experiences with practicing mindfulness and accessing its benefits during their Dancing Mindfulness experiences.
· Subtheme 1: acceptance & non-judgment (8 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 2: changes to the self (5 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 3: applying mindfulness techniques and strategies to the real world (4 of the 10 participants)
The full article on this study, including more depth of exploration on each of the themes, subthemes, and minor clusters, is currently in preparation. Discussions, implications, and directions for further research will be included in the final article. A full literature review will also appear.
An extensive review of both quantitative and qualitative literature reveals numerous connections between mindfulness practice and psychological well-being. Literature in the field of dance therapy references mindful movement. In contrast, Dancing Mindfulness, as a holistic wellness practice, is an approach to mindfulness meditation that draws on dance as the vehicle for engaging in the ancient practice characterized by non-judgment, loving kindness, and present-centered awareness. Ten of the first participants who learned the Dancing Mindfulness practice in a community-based setting shared their lived experience with the practice, and these experiences were analyzed using A.P. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological psychological method. As a collective sample, the women described positive experiences with the Dancing Mindfulness practice. Specific themes indicate improvements in emotional and spiritual well-being, increased acceptance, positive changes to the self, and increased application of mindfulness techniques and strategies to real-world living. Another thematic area suggests that dancing and music are the two major components of action within Dancing Mindfulness leading to these benefits.
Keywords: dance, mindfulness, body awareness, bodyfulness, phenomenology, wellness
Background
Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinical counselor and trauma specialist (the first author on this article), developed and coined the phrase Dancing Mindfulness as an approach to mindfulness meditation. Marich fully recognizes that there is nothing to be trademarked or patented with the term since cultures around the globe have collectively drawn on the power of dance and present-moment meditation since the dawn of time. The approach of Dancing Mindfulness simply offers individuals in the modern era a container for practicing mindful meditation through dance. The purpose of this research inquiry is to investigate the lived experiences of the first individuals to take part in the practice under Dr. Marich’s leadership.
Because of the practice’s newness and the individualized experiences the practice promotes, a phenomenological research study is the optimal design to investigate themes of participant experience in a community/non-clinical setting (i.e., the first setting where founder Jamie Marich developed and taught Dancing Mindfulness classes). Phenomenology, a philosophical approach attributed to Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) that became phenomenological research methodology, rejects the Galilean idea of seeing the world through mathematical principles. Exploring the subjective, human experience is at the heart of phenomenological inquiry.
Individuals who took part in Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio in northeast Ohio during the first year of the class’s offering at the studio were invited to participate. After the researcher obtained permission from the yoga studio owner, whose team conducted an ethical review of the proposed research, Marich sent email invitations to approximately twenty women who attended two or more Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio in the first year of the practice’s inception. To be eligible, participants needed to be over the age of 18, and they must have attended at least two Dancing Mindfulness classes at the yoga studio (at the time, Dr. Marich facilitated all classes). To allow for the possibility of negative case analysis, Marich, the primary researcher, stipulated that all eligible participants be invited to participate, not just those participants who had good experiences with Dancing Mindfulness.
Participants
The sample studied for inquiry consisted of ten Caucasian females ranging in age from 18-61 (average age= 45.4, median age=44.5). This range and demographic is representational of the community members attracted to Dancing Mindfulness in the city of Warren, OH (population 41, 557 as of the 2010 census) where Dr. Marich developed and first introduced the practice at a community level. A variety of professions are represented in this sample core of participants (chiropractor, real estate agent, yoga teacher/studio owner, administrative assistant, banking, inventory control, health care professional). The youngest participant identified as a college student. One participant identified as being on disability, and another participant identified herself as a retired teacher.
Five participants in the sample disclosed issues with mental illness, naming anxiety, depression, post-partum depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically. One participant disclosed a family history of mental illness (schizophrenia, paranoia, and obsessive compulsive disorder). Five of the ten participants disclosed being in recovery from one or more addictions (e.g., alcohol, drugs, food/sugar, compulsive spending). That half of the sample disclosed addiction recovery issues is not surprising since the first year of Dancing Mindfulness classes as taught in Warren, OH seemed to attract many females who identified as being in recovery, specifically being a part of 12-step programs. Only one of the participants disclosed formal dance training and yoga practice, and one other participant had past extensive experience with yoga. In general, Dancing Mindfulness and the various activities it utilizes, like yoga, movement work, breath, and meditation, was a new experience for the women participating in this study.
Results
In phenomenological, qualitative research, ten participants studied in depth is an ideal sample size for preliminary inquiry. A properly-selected, systemized data analysis procedure is important to establishing credibility in a qualitative study. Data analysis procedures for qualitative data offer researchers a step-by-step method to follow for reading, coding, and interpreting the data. Otherwise, a qualitative researcher can be easily accused of reading the data simply to find the passages she is looking for to support her own pre-conceived notions. Amodeo Giorgi’s phenomenological psychological method for analyzing data was ultimately selected as the primary analytical system for this study because of his work’s established, phenomenological grounding. To allow for a level of objectivity in analyzing the data, Dr. Marich recruited her doctoral research intern, Terra Howell (the second author on this study) to code and analyze the data through the Giorgi system. The intern has not taken a Dancing Mindfulness class from Dr. Marich or any other facilitator.
The experience of the sample can be described through three major psychological themes: overall improvement and growth in emotional and spiritual domains, experiences of the various components within Dancing Mindfulness (e.g., dance, movement, yoga, music, facilitation, venue) as mechanisms of action, and mindfulness experiences. There are several major and minor clusters of experience within each theme that, in the full article, are more fully explored.
Theme 1: Overall Improvement in Emotional and Spiritual Domains
· Subtheme 1: Spiritual growth as a result of participation in Dancing Mindfulness (8 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 2: Emotional growth as a result of participation in Dancing Mindfulness (5 of 10 participants)
Theme 2: Experiences of the Various Components within Dancing Mindfulness as mechanisms of action
· Subtheme 1: The role of dance in Dancing Mindfulness (all participants shared some element in this domain)
-dance as cathartic (8 of 10 participants)
-happiness, acceptance of emotions, empowerment also emerged as descriptors amongst the sample set
-other comments include: anyone can do it despite individual differences, allows you to learn something new, mutually beneficial, a good workout, allows you to express without drugs or alcohol
· Subtheme 2: The role of yoga in Dancing Mindfulness as important (5 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 3: The role of music in Dancing Mindfulness as important (5 of 10 participants)
· Minor clusters (less than 4 participants making comments): the role of the facilitator in Dancing Mindfulness, the role of the venue, and desired changes to experience
Theme 3: Mindfulness Experiences
All ten of the participants indicated experiences with practicing mindfulness and accessing its benefits during their Dancing Mindfulness experiences.
· Subtheme 1: acceptance & non-judgment (8 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 2: changes to the self (5 of 10 participants)
· Subtheme 3: applying mindfulness techniques and strategies to the real world (4 of the 10 participants)
The full article on this study, including more depth of exploration on each of the themes, subthemes, and minor clusters, is currently in preparation. Discussions, implications, and directions for further research will be included in the final article. A full literature review will also appear.