Emily Jarrett Hughes of Wisdom Dances in Minneapolis writes regularly for Eye of the Heart’s newsletter and blog about qigong, dance, and other initiatives like Adventures in Kindness or a Solstice celebration.
What’s more powerful than spring? Springtime dance traditions can teach us about power. This is how Wisdom Dances cultivates resilience, compassion and joy through dance on Earth Day.
Culture traditions help us remember why are here. The Wisdom Dances Earth Day Dance Celebration begins with two dances to affirm our interconnection with all of life and our purpose to send love to future generations. Practicing a focused sense of purpose cultivates presence and sets the stage for joy.
What do you do after everything you’ve been working on falls apart? Do you dance? Zorba the Greek was able to dance with the full catastrophe of life – both literally and figuratively. If you embody resilience in dance you can access resilience in your whole life.
Why is it so hard to be kind? The spiritual root of why it is hard to be kind points to why practicing kindness is a spiritual practice. Intentionally choosing to become more kind is to set out on a transformational adventure; it will bring you to the deep source of kindness and make you available to be a generous and fearless agent of good in the world.
How to mark the transition from winter to spring – with dance! The Winter Water Blessing honors the water for nurturing all the life for the growing season to come. We participate in making it happen by sharing our dancing energy.
The red bird and the flying woman are key images for working with the energy of 2025. Explore the meaning of the image of the red bird and flying woman, including the wisdom from the phoenix. Mastering working with the seasons and elements is a central part of learning how to have freedom and ease and prepare your spirit to fly free.
Learn how to feel nature supporting you from within. This Creative Nature Qigong meditation will help you feel strong and ready for whatever comes your way.
How to wake up more quickly and feel more alert in the morning with qigong. Free up your spine.
Learn how to discharge tensions from the day, clear the head, and improve breast health. Learn the qigong breast massage technique with a special chanting for qigong massage to help you get even more healing benefit.
Learn tools to help you fall back to sleep. Play with how qigong can be free and spontaneous, and this can help you soothe your body for sleep. Find out what makes the difference between an ordinary movement and a qigong healing movement.
Why setting intention is important in qigong practice. Four ways intention setting is an art. What to do if you don’t feel clear about your intention.
How to work with Winter Solstice energy. If the summer we have the most yang (fire) energy, in the winter our yang is the weakest. We simply can’t do as much and need to protect the warmth in the body. Slowing down in winter gives us space to embrace our inner life.
Every week in the middle of my dance class I love offering my basket of angel cards to my students with the invitation to pick one. By that point in the class, everyone is so much more relaxed and energized than when they walked in the door. Each card in the basket has one word on it, and we use the cards to help us attune to the qualities coming through us as we dance.
Recover the natural rhythm of rest, dreaming, and renewal that comes with the night.
It can be so hard to rest when we feel like we need to do more, be more, or get more. You may be unconscious of how powerful this voice of insufficiency is until you recognize how very hard it is to stop.
