Movement Is Our First Language | Rochelle Schieck

Movement Is Our First Language

by Rochelle Schieck

Dear Soul on the Other Side of the Screen,

I’m writing this letter in the middle of winter in upstate New York and as I look out the window, big fluffy snowflakes are coming down, swirling and dancing. I wonder as you sit down and read these words, where you are and when you look out the window what do you see? Is life also dancing right in front of you? 

Dance was my oasis growing up. It offered me an opportunity for catharsis and inspiration day in and day out. I couldn’t imagine my life without dance, so I chose an Interdisciplinary Arts degree to study the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of movement in college. Some years  after completing that degree, I was enrolled in a master’s program for somatic psychology when my intuition guided me against it. The advice I heard was that, “Everything that is taught in this school will be 5-10 years behind the leading edge of what is emerging. Learn by doing. Immerse yourself in your personal practices and share what works for you.” I still desire to get that degree and am in awe at how much the field of somatic psychology has evolved in the last 20 years. And I simultaneously am grateful for the self-directed studies I have been able to immerse myself in. I love to learn and a list of some of the trainings I have studies are:  Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Kids Yoga, Senior Fitness, Personal Training, Energy Healing, Nia, Massage Therapy, Herbalism, Doula, Yoga Nidra, Anti-Racist Studies, Nature Mysticism with Q’ero Paqos and many more. While some people invested in houses or cars, for 20 years, I bought plane tickets. I also attended life school by traveling to over 30 countries experiencing the gifts of cross cultural awareness. Each of these inner and outer adventures led me to feel the clarity of my calling, which is to invite people to awaken the wisdom, wildness and freedom of their essence in their body. 

In these times of great change, I personally believe in the importance of each person becoming literate in the language of the body. I question the conditioning will distracts us from honoring the body in favor of productivity or shame. I am committed to the exploration of embodied presence that inspires compassion, care and connection. 

For the last 15 years, I have passionately devoted myself to creating spaces for those who are inspired to gather to remember what is true for them when they awaken sensation in their body. It turns out, what worked for me, worked for many others as well. Hundreds of thousands of free Qoya videos have been watched. Tens of thousands of people have been to a Qoya class. Hundreds of teachers in 20 different countries have been certified. And here you are today! 

My prayer is that the Qoya Inspired Community will continue to grow in ways that support each being to come home to their body. In doing so, feel more open to receive their individual instructions on how to bring their unique gift to this world that makes our shared home a more equitable place for All. 

I hold this vision above with beauty and trust and also with an awareness of the challenges ahead; including confronting the lies deeply rooted in white supremacy, capitalism, misogyny, colonization, materialism and fear based living. I hope that Qoya Inspired Movement can be a tool to soothe your nervous system, grow your capacity to hold tension and courage, and as Resmaa Menakemm says in the book My Grandmother’s Hands, choose to act from the best parts of yourself. 

That’s why I’m here. Because you are too. And because I still can’t not dance. I believe that movement is the easiest way to come back to myself and I know so much more is possible when each of us remember the essence of who we are and live from that place. 

I invite you to embark on this journey together.

With love from my heart to yours,

Rochelle Schieck

Through Movement, We Remember

After you’ve moved along with this video, reflect even further:

What is a time that movement in your body has helped you to feel connected with your spirit?

What is a time when your body has felt separate from your spirit? What brought them into a feeling of greater unity?

What do you feel your soul wishes to serve most in its time in your body here on earth?

How might you honor your body every day as a way to say thank you for being a home to your soul?

If you have a daily movement practice, how might you make a conscious choice to engage with your spirit through movement? A mantra? A prayer? Setting an intention before your practice or dedicating your movement to something each day?

If you don’t have a daily movement practice, but wish to find one that opens the connection between body and soul, Qoya is a great way to incorporate this into your everyday life.

Check out our library of free movement videos or free 10 Days of Qoya Love e-course on our website to get started.

Like everything in life, what you do matters less than how you do it. The same goes for movement. Whatever movement makes you feel good, do it with the intention to feel the sensations of your body more, and in doing so, experience the timeless truth that’s always living inside of you.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORESS

Rochelle Schieck

Rochelle Schieck is the founder of Qoya. Qoya combines movement, ritual, community and pilgrimage for women. Since its inception in 2009, she has trained hundreds of Qoya teachers, taught thousands of Qoya movement classes, and led dozens of retreats in the most sacred places on earth with one intention in mind: to remember, and to help others do the same. Her work has been featured in outlets like New York Magazine, Oprah.com, Self Magazine, The Telegraph, and Psychology Today. To learn more you can visit www.qoya.love and read her book titled "Qoya: A Compass for Navigating an Embodied Life that is Wise, Wild and Free".