• Exploring self-discovery through dance movement therapy

On the whole, recent years have seen us as a society increasingly focus on the importance of wellness and mental health and the soft skills that come with developing a healthy understanding of yourself. This focus has also meant embracing both conventional and alternative therapies to understand yourself and your emotions. One alternative therapy that is gaining more traction globally (despite being a recognised discipline for nearly 80 years) is Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT). 

DMT emerged in the 1940s in the US as a psychotherapeutic approach that uses movement and dance to improve physical, emotional, cognitive, and social integration and well-being. The idea is to help people improve their physical health, emotions, thinking, and how they interact with others. DMT sees everything – mind, body, and spirit – as connected, so it tries to help all of those parts work together better.

Research has shown that DMT can be effective in addressing a wide range of mental health concerns, including depression, trauma, eating disorders, and addiction. By engaging the body in therapy, individuals can access and process emotions that may be difficult to articulate verbally, leading to profound insights and emotional healing. 

As a discipline, it is highly regulated, and in order to be a practising DMT therapist, you need to have a minimum of a master’s level qualification in DMT, have completed a specific number of hours of supervised training, and be registered with the DMT association of the US or Europe. 

This week, The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with dancer, movement artist and instructor, meditation coach, and yoga teacher Rangi Fernando to learn more about DMT and how it works. Rangi is also the Founder of Sync & Move, a movement method she has built over the years with all the tools she has gathered in her movement repertoire. 

Sync & Move unwittingly served as a form of DMT on its own, blending aspects of dance, yoga, meditation, somatic movement, and a combination of different things that have supported Rangi in her own movement journey. 

The impact of Sync & Move led Rangi to formally pursue DMT as a discipline. She is currently reading for her MA in Dance Movement Therapy at Germany’s SRH University, Heidelberg. Rangi’s research for her MA focuses on DMT as a tool to foster the growth and empowerment of women in Sri Lanka, conducting a pilot programme of eight sessions with a group of 15 women in April. 

Understanding DMT

DMT is rooted in the belief that the body and mind are interconnected and provides individuals with a safe and non-verbal space to explore and process their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. “Dance movement therapy is about targeting clients’ requirements, holding space, and letting them be,” Rangi explained. “It’s more than just movement; it’s a holistic approach to healing.”

“I began experimenting with DMT when doing Sync & Move sessions. I realised Sync & Move was having a huge impact on people’s lives and they were changing through it. But I wasn’t sure how to take it to that next level and really help people who are struggling – those who are differently abled, those suffering from depression and other mental health diagnoses. The support I could give them through Sync & Move was very general, while DMT will allow me to really focus on a person’s specific needs,” Rangi said of what had inspired her to take the step towards pursuing an MA in DMT. 

In DMT sessions, trained therapists guide participants through various movement exercises tailored to their specific needs. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for individuals to connect with themselves on a deeper level, fostering self-awareness, resilience, and empowerment. 

Bringing DMT to Sri Lanka

As part of her research for her MA – which focuses on communities and the growth and empowerment of women in Sri Lanka – Rangi recently conducted a pilot series of DMT workshops for women in Colombo. 

This series of eight workshops spread out over four weeks was for women aged 21 years and over and saw 15 women chosen by Rangi take part. “There was no requirement for any training as DMT is not something that is physically strenuous. It is completely up to you as a participant how you want to take it. You are given the autonomy to decide. It’s really up to you and how you understand your needs. It isn’t someone telling you to move this way or that way.” 

What did guide Rangi when selecting participants was forming a solid cohesive group where they felt comfortable to really explore themselves. A DMT coach shows participants the inspiration behind a movement and then holds a space within which participants can explore that movement in the way that resonates with them most, which is why in a group setting, cohesion is paramount. 

“Like with any form of therapy, the therapeutic relationship is the biggest or the most influential thing. I felt like I was starting the workshops off from a position of trust because I was a woman in Sri Lanka,” Rangi said, noting that as a Sri Lankan woman herself, the participants were better able to relate to and from a base of trust with her. 

Rangi also made it a point to build Sinhala and Sinhala music into the workshops to create as welcoming and safe a space as possible. “It was quite successful for me in terms of how much I learned through it and how much I was able to help people improve. I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of dance movement therapy on people’s lives. It’s not just about physical movement; it’s about connecting with oneself on a deeper level.”

Rangi’s workshops in Sri Lanka used DMT to explore various themes aimed at promoting self-discovery and empowerment through movement. One of the sessions focused on body image exploration, encouraging participants to connect with their bodies and challenge societal norms and expectations. 

Rangi elaborated on the significance of this theme, saying: “We had a session on body image exploration, where participants were encouraged to connect with their bodies and challenge societal norms. It’s about embracing ourselves authentically and finding empowerment through movement.”

Another session focused on transitional spaces, where participants moved through different sections of a room to explore where they were in their lives, where they wanted to go, and their ultimate goals. Through movement, participants experienced these shifts in space, reflecting on their personal journeys and aspirations. One of the most powerful sessions incorporated physical touch, an often taboo subject in Sri Lankan culture because we hardly touch each other physically. 

In addition to these sessions, Rangi introduced sessions focused on authentic movement, where participants engaged in non-verbal expression and observation. By allowing participants to move authentically and be witnessed without judgement, these sessions promoted self-awareness and facilitated deep introspection. 

Rangi reflected on the significance of non-verbal communication, saying: “Through complete silence and non-verbal communication, participants were able to tap into their subconscious and express themselves authentically. Non-verbal communication often reveals insights that verbal communication fails to convey.”

The importance of DMT

DMT as a reflective and therapeutic tool uses the very core of us – our bodies. “Everyone has a body and if you have a body you are able to move. Movement is the first thing you develop as a baby. Before you learn to walk, you crawl and do so many other movements as a baby,” Rangi said, noting that our conventional view on movement was the result of conditioning that began from childhood, often at the expense of ignoring our body’s natural rhythm of movement. “That’s what we’re trying to tap into with DMT; to connect to our true being and our true being’s ability to move.” 

DMT as an alternative therapy is also something that Rangi sees as important to help overcome cultural limitations and bias. “As a culture, we do not self-prioritise and set boundaries. We tend not to have the ability to say no to something because being polite is what’s ‘good’. Prioritising yourself is not encouraged,” Rangi shared.

She added that this lack of self-prioritisation continued into adulthood, not just in the sense of adults not setting boundaries for themselves and prioritising their personal mental health, but also in terms of following courses and milestones defined by society that they may not want to subscribe to.

“Women in particular have this checklist to follow – by 25 they should do this, by 30 they should do that, be playing a certain role and so on,” Rangi said, highlighting that therapies such as DMT created a space in which people could understand themselves and what they wanted and take this knowledge with them out into the world. 

“You get to know yourself. What you like and don’t like, what you’re okay doing, and what you’re not okay doing. DMT sessions help you identify a sense of self, and to me, that is the base of empowerment. When you can really embrace every aspect of yourself you have the power to be empowered.” 

With her pilot programme complete, Rangi is now three months away from completing her MA in DMT, following which, after building on her experience a little more internationally, she will be looking to build a DMT community in Sri Lanka. 

“My immediate plan for the future is to conduct DMT workshops in areas outside of Colombo and be able to deliver lessons in Sinhala and give people from all over the tools to empower themselves through DMT,” she said, adding: “I want to gain more experience in the deep end of DMT so I can grow to be able to hold a space for other people in Sri Lanka.”