Prana and apana in dance: balancing energies in our movement and lives

“Push up and pull down”: if you’re a dancer, no doubt you’ve heard that before. A teaching artist might have cued that when drilling pirouettes (or even yelled it while you were running choreography). Yet this idea of balancing upwards and downwards energy has much broader implications for dance technique and artistry, and – even more broadly – dancer health and wellness.

In yoga philosophy and methodology, prana is that upwards energy and apana is that downwards energy (at the risk of oversimplification; there’s a lot more to it than that). We can also think of it as action and rest, or creation and stasis. Neither is good or bad, wrong or right, superior or inferior to the other. Rather, like yin and yang, or the two sides of the Force in Star Wars, together these two forces create the balance within all life. When the two forces are in balance, there is harmony and ease. When they are not, there is conflict and malfunctioning.

Prana and apana in dance technique and artistry: grounding and lifting up

For my money (whatever that’s worth), the dancers who truly wow and enrapture with their artistry have this fundamental quality, among others: they have a firm grounding in their foundation, and to the earth, while they also grow expansively upwards and outwards. By the literal physics at hand, the former is necessary to achieve the latter. It’s all connected, and it’s all co-dependent.

If one were to look more closely at many technical issues, or artistic growth areas, one might very well find as a root cause an imbalance of these upwards and downwards forces: not lifting enough from the hamstring in an extension, not having enough deep plie to achieve strong jumps, feeling a bit too disconnected from the floor in floorwork. Coming at the issue with an upwards/downwards balance mindset could, in many cases, be exceedingly helpful for dancers and dance educators aiming to help their students grow.

Reaching and resting: prana and apana for finding #dancelife balance

The smooth balance of prana and apana also has implications for dancer wellness – and, consequently, also for the sustainability, fulfillment, and success (as it’s traditionally understood) one can find along their dance journey. I’ve certainly learned it the hard way: we can’t go far if we’re not well. The more we support ourselves, the closer to our best selves we’ll be.

Dancers, and the dance sector, is getting more aware of and skilled at staying well while we create and share our art. Yet there’s a long history of dancers pushing themselves past their limits – physically, spiritually, mentally, and more – and that legacy doesn’t just go away.

As such, dancers are very “go, go, go”: constantly doing and rarely taking time to just be. I 150% get it, and I’ve been there; when you’re trying to grow as an artist, reach for your dance dreams, and pay the bills at the same time, there are never enough hours in the day. It can feel unimaginable to let any of that go, even if you’re fully aware that doing so would be better for your wellbeing.

I think that gaining varied perspectives can often lead us to the solutions that we’re looking for; we can never know what nugget of wisdom, framed in a certain way, can resonate with us and have those proverbial lightbulbs going off in our minds. So how might the yogic concept of balancing prana and apana help dancers find better balance in their lives?

Simple tools for balancing energies

Here, I think about the concept of adding unlike with like, rather than like with like. Indeed, dancers are busy and often don’t have a lot of mental space to spare. Yet simple tools, those that encourage balance by adding unlike with like, can be fast, accessible, and relatively easy. For example, after a long and very active dance day, simply taking a Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall Pose) could help balance out the high level of prana energy in the day with grounding apana.

Take the pose by supporting one’s legs against a wall, lengthening upwards, with sitting bones and tailbone pressed up against the baseboard. Or even lie on your back in the middle of a carpet and float your legs up to the sky, as a modified version of the pose. You could give a little care to tired ankles and wrists by taking gentle circles or soft flexions and extensions through those joints. Finding stillness is also a great option – it all depends on what you need, now.

Breathwork, such as taking longer exhales than inhales (for example, a three count inhale and a four count exhale), is another simple tool to balance out apana energy with more grounding apana energy. Mantras (or affirmations) such as “I am calm”, “I can rest now”, and “I am grounded”, can have a similar effect.

I’d say that it’s more common for dancers to need softening, easeful energy over lifted, generative, and vivacious energy, but there could be times when you need an energy boost (particularly if you’ve had to burn your candle at both ends a bit). In those cases, similar tools could help bring some more prana energy into your body, mind and spirit.

You could try moving with strong and expansive qualities, or yoga poses like Warriors and/or lunges, if at all possible wherever you might be. Taking longer inhales than exhales (for example, five counts of inhale and three counts of exhale) brings in more oxygen, which can help energize you. Use mantras or other mindfulness exercises that encourage energy: “I shine bright”, “I am vigorous”, “I can do this”, “I have the energy in me to get this done.”

There certainly could be times when bigger changes are needed in our dance lives in order to get to better balance. Of course, such bigger changes are rarely easy – but they can also be incredibly important. Short of that, when we need grounding or energizing in a pinch, simple tools are available to help us get closer to balance. We truly do need that balance to reach towards our visions and our dreams for what our creative lives, and lives overall, can be.

I’m sending you the absolute best as you do that balancing and reaching. As always, I share all of the above with all possible non-judgment and loving kindness. I’d love to know your thoughts, and – of course – if you try any of the approaches or tools mentioned above and you feel comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear how it went for you. Reach out to mindfulmovers5678@gmail.com with more there, or even just to say hi (I’d love that!).

Happy dancing and happy striving towards balance!

Photos courtesty of Canva