09/02/2025
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1161661309334255&id=100064711894680
Once upon a time, we all knew how to speak the language of symbols, rhythm, and magic. We believed in dragons, followed trails of breadcrumbs through the forest, and saw ourselves in wide-eyed heroes, clever foxes, and enchanted trees. For Carl Jung, fairy tales were not childish fantasies but living blueprints of the human psyche. He believed these stories revealed the inner workings of the unconscious mind, especially the part he called the collective unconscious — a shared well of imagery, emotion, and experience we are all born with.
At Chakradance Kids, co-founders Anna Kelly and Natalie Southgate use fairy tales not as entertainment—but as mirrors of the inner self.
When children step into story and dance, something extraordinary happens—imagination becomes transformation, and the brain lights up with possibility.
Neuroscience shows that storytelling and embodied movement activate multiple brain systems simultaneously, for example, the left hemisphere (language, logic) and right hemisphere (emotion, imagery), helping children integrate emotion with understanding (1). This integration is crucial for developing emotional regulation and a coherent sense of self.
Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) outlines how trauma and dysregulation are most effectively addressed through bottom-up regulation. Activities like dance, drumming, and movement re-pattern brainstem and midbrain responses through rhythm, which is the first language of brain development.
When story meets movement, the whole child awakens—mind, heart, and body weaving together in resilient harmony.
Over 30 years ago, Natalie Southgate created Chakradance for adults, as a powerful movement-based form of active imagination for adults. This proven therapeutic process helped individuals connect with their inner world through dance, music, and guided imagery, allowing unconscious material to safely surface and be integrated. Then, 15 years ago, we found a way to adapt this process for children, bringing it into classrooms, kindergartens, and family homes through the creation of Chakradance Kids.
Modern neuroscience supports this approach. According to child psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Siegel, storytelling helps integrate both hemispheres of the brain by connecting emotional experience with logical understanding. In ‘The Whole-Brain Child’, he explains how naming emotions and creating narrative structure helps children process and regulate their internal world.
Storytelling and Movement
When storytelling is paired with movement, it becomes an even more powerful multisensory experience. Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading voice in trauma and child development, emphasises that rhythmic, patterned, and relational activities, such as dance, drumming, and guided movement, help regulate the nervous system and support healing, especially for children processing stress or overwhelm.
By engaging the whole brain and body, these practices help children:
💫 Strengthen memory and attention
💫 Develop empathy and emotional regulation
💫 Improve sequencing and cognitive function
💫 Increase creativity, confidence, and self-awareness
In Chakradance Kids, these benefits are woven into every session. From story to movement to art, children are developing not only skills, but a deeper relationship with themselves. We are happy to collaborate and share the great work they do for children and adults.
References:
https://chakradancekids.com/
Dr. Dan Siegel, The Whole-Brain Child. (2024, June 4). https://drdansiegel.com/book/the-whole-brain-child/
Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz, The boy who was raised as a dog : and other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook : what traumatized children can teach us about loss, love, and healing. (August, 2017). Colorado Mountain College. https://cmc.marmot.org/Record/.b57463384
