02/20/2024
Your Belly Wisdom chapter comes to a close with gratitude and a new vision on the horizon - https://mailchi.mp/78bbc197733a/thank-you
Dear Dancers,
It has been quite awhile since I have checked in with you, and sincerely hope this email finds you in good health and spirits. Last summer I followed a quiet yet persistent message from my intuition and took a big leap into the unknown. My husband and I sold our home in Oregon and hit the open road with our pups for a nomadic adventure in search of the next best step for us. We enjoyed exploring in our home on wheels but we grew weary of that lifestyle more swiftly than we anticipated, and began searching for a place to settle for a spell. As a California-born ocean-loving west-coaster, I never expected that I would feel at home in Texas. But once we found ourselves immersed in the exciting culture of Austin, that familiar “this is it” feeling washed over us and we knew we had found the spot for now. I’m sure I wouldn’t feel like moving in to just any Texan landscape, but there is something to be said for living in a progressive city where and when it really counts.
Much has changed in my life since I embarked on this small business journey in 2018, and even more so since I started teaching belly dance in 2011. This sacred art form has shaped and saved me. I will always revere the myriad styles and practices of the dance, and the incredible teachers I’ve been blessed to study with. My intention when teaching was always focused primarily on the embodied experience of connection and healing that is palpable when we get together as a group and move our bodies, especially our hips and hearts. It was in classes with you all that I discovered what I’m truly passionate about facilitating: ritual containers for somatic exploration and communal care.
After a couple years of weaving that work into my classes, I started to realize that I was ready to shift away from offering belly dance. And then I broke my leg in 2022, and I was confronted with the reality that dance was off the table for me entirely for the time being. Despite the pain of that period, it was a blessing to lean into the nervous system regulating somatic practices I had already integrated. It certainly helped to ease the transition into seated online classes of a nourishing, meditative nature.
Although I am indeed intending to offer online and in person spiritual somatic classes again, it is time for me to let go of the Your Belly Wisdom brand. This was not an easy decision to make as I am very fond of this container and aesthetic and the potent memories therein. But I must walk my talk and surrender this beautiful chapter into the cauldron to emerge transformed.
I would love to stay connected with you! The Your Belly Wisdom website and email address will be expiring in the coming days. If you would like to hear from me again about my class offerings and beyond, please message me here. I know life gets busy, so I will check in with you via email so you can opt in or out then as well. You can also follow my shenanigans on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
If you’re looking to further your belly dance studies, Datura Online is a great resource to start with.
Also! I will be in town presenting my twice annual burlesque r***e at the Camelot Theatre on March 16th at 7:30pm! Come visit me if looking for an fun night of adult entertainment: Camelot Burlesque
My heartfelt gratitude to everyone who blessed my little studio in Talent with their dance! Such magical moments I will cherish always.
Love,
~Marriah
