22/10/2025
Rediscovering the Healing Power of Dance – Through the Eyes of a Child
Somatic Movement, Art Therapy & the Joy of Co-Regulation
Today I had the pleasure of supporting my daughter, who teaches musical theatre, in creating a dance routine for little ones.
Watching children naturally move with freedom reminds me why, in art therapy, we often return to the body as a gateway to healing. Before we develop verbal language, we communicate with body language. The nervous system learns safety, connection, and regulation through rhythm, gesture, and shared joy.
🔷 The Somatic Science Behind Dance in Therapy:
Movement regulates the nervous system. It stimulates the ventral vagal system (our social engagement and safety pathway), helping us shift from stress responses into calm connection.
Rhythmic dance supports co-regulation. When we move in sync with others—just as children naturally do—we activate mirror neurons and deepen feelings of belonging.
In art therapy, dance and movement are part of creative embodiment practices, helping individuals process emotions that may be difficult to express verbally.
🔷 Dance;
✔ Reconnects us to play – a powerful antidote to burnout and anxiety
✔ Releases stored tension and emotional energy from the body
✔ Builds emotional resilience through movement, expression, and rhythm
✔ Helps children (and adults) regulate their emotions naturally.
🌿 Try This Simple Movement Practice to Regulate Your Nervous System 🌿
A gentle somatic art therapy exercise you can do in under 3 minutes
You don’t need to be a dancer to use movement for emotional regulation. Your body already knows the way — we just need to give it permission to move intuitively.
🔷 ✨ The Wave Movement Practice ✨
1. Stand or sit comfortably
gently close your eyes and take a slow breath in through the nose, out through the mouth.
2. Begin with your hands
imagine your hands are moving through water. Let them flow up and down in gentle wave-like motions, without force or structure.
3. Let the movement spread
allow your arms, shoulders, and torso to naturally join in. Think ripple, not performance. There is no right or wrong.
4. Add the breath
inhale as the movement rises, exhale as it falls. Your breath becomes part of the dance — your internal rhythm guiding your external flow.
5. Notice what changes
do you feel warmth? Softening? A shift in mood or energy? This is your nervous system moving toward regulation.
Alternatively, hit the dance floor! 🙂
