5Rhythms® Teacher Training, a Dream Come True

Hi. I'm Mary. For my birthday fundraiser this year, I have some exciting news to share and a special Ask. A longtime dream of mine has been to do the 5Rhythms® Teacher Training and to eventually share my love of this transformative movement practice with Outreach populations. I am thrilled to announce that I’ve been accepted into the Waves Level 5Rhythms® teacher training. The training consists of three 10 Day modules, two in Europe & one online, plus additional workshops & mentoring. It’s a highly respected and incredible training, both from a personal development and a skill development perspective. It is also costly, especially with the current USD exchange rate & high interest rates, so I am calling in needed support.

WHAT IS 5Rhythms®?:

5Rhythms® is powerful movement medicine. We embody, ground, define, release, play, breathe, and connect to peace and stillness. Developed by Gabrielle Roth in the late 1970s, and continued by her son Jonathan Horan, (one of my teachers), the 5Rhythms® is the best-known form of ecstatic dance. It’s suitable for all ages, sizes and physical abilities. There are no steps to follow, there is no choreography to learn, and no way to do it wrong, just fantastic music that keeps calling you to dance, and a teacher to guide you through the process. Just like light, sound or ocean waves, a dancing body when moving freely passes through five distinct rhythmic patterns: * flowing, * staccato, * chaos, * lyrical, * & stillness. “THE WAVE”. These patterns continuously repeat themselves in a wave of motion. The 5 Rhythms reflect how energy flows through the body and our lives. 5 Rhythms classes take place all over the world, with trained teachers from Canada, the United States, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, Dubai, Argentina, Singapore, Brazil, Iceland, and more.

MY BIO:

Mary is a passionate community builder, connector, advocate, and fundraiser. Using her collective skills & training she has woven together dance, community, & mindfulness to create events that foster connection, healing, & space for authentic expression through movement. She has trained as a certified Dance Your Abilities instructor, Dance as Medicine facilitator, and MMTCP-certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher studying with Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach. Mary has a B.A. in Psychology, Kinesiology, & Contemporary Dance from Simon Fraser University and is a lifelong dancer with a background in Cecchetti ballet, contemporary dance, Authentic Movement, ecstatic dance, & 5Rhythms movement meditation. She founded and for over a decade ran the popular postpartum wellness initiative Tinseltots Parent Babe Movie Matinee. Mary is also the founder of Collective Joy Dance & Events/Silent DJ Victoria, offering rentals, silent discos, and outdoor dance. She finds refuge in ecstatic dance, mindfulness meditation, circling with others, & time in the wild.

In the past five years Mary has organized Go Fund Me’s for Indigenous women who’ve experienced homelessness, youth mental health initiatives, a writing project for transgender youth, and she raised $10,000 and partnered with LeadNow on a full page Ad in the Vancouver Sun calling Premier Horgan to task over broken promises for old-growth protection. She also donated $5000 from benefit dances towards the legal defense of land protectors.

GOAL: 

$3775 USD (approx. $5000 CDN), is due in Sept. (Thanks to your kindness, I have already raised $3025 CDN & only need to raise $2000 more.)

The remainder of $7125 USD is due through monthly payments during the training. There will be additional travel and accommodation costs for the two in-person modules. 

Any support you can offer is greatly appreciated. These past few months, I have learned that there is something very powerful and humbling in asking for help when I need it, in opening to receive, and in graciously accepting contributions from those of you who've felt moved to give. I appreciate your kindness and support.

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UPDATE AUG. 2023:

We’ve experienced multiple health challenges in the family this past year that call for me to “embody the Rhythm”, not the teacher training calendar--to stay close to home, to prioritize parenting, rest, & healing, and in 5Rhythms lingo to live mainly in the rhythms of flow & stillness. As difficult and disappointing as it is,  it is a medically necessary as well as an Integrity move to accept the current situation and follow the Rhythms & the body, not the expected timing. So I have deferred to the next cohort of teachers-in-training. During this time, I will listen to the deeper river, explore somatic healing, dance more with my local teachers, hone my DJ skills, and read as much as I can about Gabrielle Roth & the 5Rhythms. This will also give me more time to raise funds for the training, (& fingers crossed the exchange rate will get closer to par by then and interest rates will be lower:))

THANK YOU & WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

I’m excited that some DJ and dance facilitator colleagues have kindly offered to donate their skills for fundraising dances and I am also selling discounted 5 & 10 Class punchcards that can be used for current ecstatic dance offerings & future 5Rhythms classes. I am grateful to those of you who have already stepped up to help & those of you who give in future. All amounts add up and help me reach my goal.

Recently one of my teachers attended an ecstatic dance offering of mine on the beach and slipped a little card under my laptop that read, “Congratulations! Wishing you many inspiring connections and much deepening on your path to becoming a 5R teacher. Welcome aboard:)”. I felt a beautiful sense of affirmation, inclusion, and belonging. I feel excited as I prepare to step in and deepen into this amazing practice and tribe of teachers and I am so grateful for your support on the Path.

Big Love & Thanks,

Mary