I’ve first heard about “mindfulness” when I started doing social media for one of Tripaneer’s theme sites (BookMeditationRetreats). The more read about it, the more intrigued I was. But practicing mindfulness meditation on my own (or even with the help of an app) wasn’t exactly my forte.

Sure, I’d go hiking and I would immediately become more aware of my surroundings but only because I’ve always loved hiking. Same for traveling and exploring new places. But being aware when it comes to my daily routine, let’s just not talk about that.

Back in September 2017, I discovered Argentine tango. Soon after, I’ve discovered that if you can’t meditate, dancing the Argentine tango is the next best thing.

>>Read more: Can’t Meditate? Try Argentine Tango!

And precisely because of tango, I also ended up at a “wellness and tango weekend” (in Arieseni, Romania), in April 2018. The retreat included a mindfulness workshop (as well as yoga classes, alongside tango classes and milonga). I had no idea what to expect and I also didn’t set any expectations. I just wanted to enjoy the experience (and secretly hoped I could come up with an article about it afterward).

Booking.com

After waking up too early – that’s what happens to me when I am excited to travel – and after a three and a half hours car ride, half of it on curvy mountains roads, I was eager to relax and enjoy the rest of the day with all its workshops and events planned.

The mindfulness workshop

I arrived just in time for the mindfulness workshop. I wasn’t that surprised that most of us were ladies. Most of the guys who came with us decided to take a nap and only three made it to the workshop.

We started with a short, guided mindfulness meditation. Although relaxation is not the goal of it, I was lucky enough not only to be able to be present in that moment but also to relax.

Then we discussed the topic of the workshop: automatic pilot. While we didn’t go into the details of the pros and cons of autopilot, we had a lovely chat about an experience we recently had. We were asked to write down the experience, how it felt in the body, how we felt, what thoughts we had at that moment, and what thoughts we had when we wrote about it.

Being a writer, this task was easy for me. I didn’t struggle to identify the emotions or how the experience felt. We were never forced to talk about, those of us who wanted to, shared the experience with the rest.

A takeaway from this part: do your daily routine but instead of doing everything on autopilot, try to be aware. Did a new shop open on your street? Maybe a new graffiti popped up? And how about those lovely flowers that are now in bloom? How do these things make you feel?

The second part started with another guided meditation which focused on how our body felt. This is now the meditation I now use before almost every dancing session in the dance studio.

We also did a meditation with a partner, before one of the tango workshops. While doing it alone didn’t present many challenges to me, when I did it with my husband, I could feel so many different things and I found it harder to focus.
We did the couple meditation outside, in the sun, but the “bonus” was a couple of dogs, belonging to the place we stayed at, decided to protect us and bark at everything moving around.

After the guided meditation focusing on our bodies, we talked a bit about any aches and pain we might have felt. It was a casual chat, and again, no one was forced to share if they didn’t want to.
The mindfulness workshop ended with a non-guided meditation. For me, this was a bit more challenging, but I have found that just focusing on my breathing was enough.

I left the meditation workshop relaxed, energized, and happy. I couldn’t wait for the tango workshops and for the rest of the night.

Conclusion

While I don’t see myself going regularly to mindfulness or meditation classes, let alone meditate daily, I’ve already tried some meditation apps. I can’t commit to a daily practice but, as mentioned above, I sometimes do a body scan meditation before dancing.

Pro tip:

If you are interested in trying meditation but have no idea where to start, an online meditation course could be a good way to dip your toes into the practice. There are also online mindfulness courses to choose from.

And, for sure, don’t shy away from trying something new. If you are a dancer (any dance!) and go to retreats or festivals that offer meditation, yoga, or other workshops, try them. You never know what you’d end up loving.

Plus, both yoga and meditation are excellent tools for dancers to get in tune with their bodies.

And if you happen to be visiting Arad (Romania), drop me a line. I am a certified dance instructor and teach with my husband. We can help you learn and improve your tango.