Sweat Your Prayers: Gabrielle Roth's hidden power of movement

I love to putter.? I love when I’m in those syrupy, sweet, moments of flow when clocks don’t exist and time just unravels.

It was in one of those moments that I was digging through my bookcase, specifically the shelf that holds my unread books.??

And there, I found this gem.? I don’t even remember when I got this book but I snuggled up on the couch for a delightful read.??

Here are my takeaways from Gabrielle Roth’s “Sweat Your Prayers - The Five Rhythms of the Soul”

But first an important caveat:

• Use what works for you and add your own definitions and interpretations, especially for words that tend to be ‘loaded’ like prayers and dance.
• I happen to adore dancing but if the term quakes you to your core, insert your own definition.? Maybe dancing for you is a little shake of the shoulders.

Now on with the sweating.

In the realm of movement, dance, and spirituality, few people have left as profound a mark as Gabrielle Roth. A dancer, author, and spiritual teacher, Her work has resonated with countless people seeking connection, healing, and transformation …. through movement.?

Again, if the movement part has thrown you off, hang in there.? Trust me.

Central to her teachings is the concept of "sweating your prayers." I invite you to define that as you will, both the sweat part and the prayer part.

Roth believed that "the body can't lie. When put in motion, the truth kicks in."?

For her, movement was a direct path to accessing inner wisdom, healing, and spiritual growth.

In her book "Sweat Your Prayers," she shared that "rhythm is our mother tongue," and through movement, we can tap into the primal language of the body and soul.

In today's fast-paced world, we often hunger for rituals, for practices that ground us and connect us to something greater than ourselves.?

Sitting at desks behind multiple screens we’ve lost the incentive to move our bodies.? And the body can contain a lot of both wisdom and pain which we don’t necessarily have easy access to

"The point is not your pain but your relationship to it," Roth often said. Through movement, we can explore our emotions, our fears, and our joys, allowing them to move through us with grace and authenticity.?

As a Sufi saying goes, "God respects us when we work but loves us when we dance."?

"Our heads have controlled our hips for 2000 years, we're making up for lost time," Roth observed. Isn’t that a delicious quote?? I particularly love that line.

In a world where we are often disconnected from our bodies, sweating our prayers becomes a revolutionary act of self-love and liberation. It is a return to the wisdom of the body, a reclaiming of our birthright as embodied beings.

So, how do we sweat our prayers? Roth offers us a recipe:

--> Pay attention:?

• Bring your attention to your body, to the sensations, feelings, and emotions that arise as you move.

--> Bring awareness:?

• Notice the rhythms of your breath, the beat of your heart, the flow of energy within you.

--> Take action:?

• Let go of inhibition, of self-judgment, and allow your body to express itself freely.?
• Dance with abandon, dance with intention, and let your prayers flow through you.

As Gabrielle Roth so beautifully expressed, pay attention to "where do you seek spiritual solace?" The term “spiritual solace” really stood out for me.

In a world with so much division, so much hate, so much conflict, perhaps at least part of the answer lies in the movement of our bodies, and in the sweat of our prayers.

Now go on and learn, laugh, and lead

Learn

• Check out what the research has to say about the risks of too much sitting; Four tools to help you, in honour of World Mental Health Day

Laugh

• I dare you not to smile watching these amazing Indigenous LGBTQI performers in Ecuador dance traditional dancers.

Lead

• Try introducing more movement into your life and see how your body responds (even and especially if it’s simply moving your shoulders and hips a little more).