5Rhythms is a moving meditation practice developed in the late 1970s by American artist, theatre director, musician and writer Gabrielle Roth (1941 – 2012). The practice is always growing and evolving – you will find classes or workshops you can attend in many countries around the world. Melbourne has one of the oldest and largest communities in the world. You can read more about the 5Rhythms below.

The Fridays in Castlemaine Class is an ‘open class’ for first timers and regulars. This is the weekly ‘drop-in’ class. This night aims to create a respectful, fun-loving and welcoming space for the community. After 15 years of teaching Moving Essence 5Rhythms teachers David Juriansz and Meredith Davies are now joined by Thais Sansom a newly minted 5Rhythms Teacher-in-Training after completing her 3 year mentorship via the 5Rhythms Sweat Spaceholder Program. These weekly classes are either led by Thais, David or Meredith. Join the 5Rhythms Castlemaine Facebook Group and join the dance.

We are honoured to welcome Thais into the Moving Essence family as a friend and teaching colleague – much loved in the Castlemaine community where we have been travelling to offer 5Rhythms since 2009.

The class is in the style of a themed “Sweat Your Prayers” music-only session, with very little formal instruction. The intention is for the dance journey to be deep and silent.

The class starts at 6pm and runs for 1.5 hours. Please arrive on time for a 6pm start, as the front doors close at 6:30pm with no late entries permitted after that time.

If you have questions about coming to a 5Rhythms class – even if it is not your first time – please see our page: Coming for the first time on our website http://movingessence.com/about/guidelines-for-practice/

ABOUT THE 5RHYTHMS

The 5Rhythms are Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical & Stillness. Together they are called a Wave.

In FLOWING we listen to our body with an inward focus. We respect our energy and encourage movement with fluidity, continuity, and breath. We follow our feet.

As our energy builds, we have energy we need to express. In STACCATO we move outwards with clarity, definition, purpose. Percussive, directional, goal oriented movement.

In CHAOS we meet complexity and surrender to it. We soften and shake out. We let go of that which we can’t control and rest in the beat and the unpredictable release of our movement.

We begin to lighten up in LYRICAL. We re-discover an inner essence that was obscured by mental distress and distraction. We move with spaciousness, spontaneity and a fuller expression of our true creative self.

In STILLNESS we move with the empty space that we feel both inside and outside of us. We begin to distil and complete our dance with a heightened sense of awareness and presence. Often feeling wonder and deep gratitude.

Together, the 5Rhythms are a map for living a dynamic, fluid and creative life – the Medicine Mandala indicates the depth and different expressions of the work. For all students, it begins with dancing a Wave: a revelation where we fully embody our experience, harness raw energy and give expression to all of this. Dancing Wave after wave is a pathway towards greater personal exploration, expression and freedom.

Moving Essence