Healing

From Product to Process

In nature, we find some of the greatest lessons for life’s complexities. One of the most profound is that everything is in constant motion—life itself is movement. Whether we look at vast galaxies or the tiniest atoms, everything turns, vibrates, and transforms. Movement is inherent to existence, even if we don’t always perceive it. This concept of life as movement mirrors our personal and collective growth.

In healing practices, the emphasis is often placed on restoring wholeness. The verb ‘to heal’ implies making something whole again, as if it were broken. But if we view wholeness as a final state, we’re seeking something static, an end. Is such a state possible?

This idea brings to mind meditation teacher Arjuna Ardagh’s advice to “cancel your subscription to enlightenment,” challenging the notion of seeking a final, perfect state. Life, by its very nature, is always moving and transforming. The human mind, too, is constantly evolving, seeing itself in its own development. Even mental illness progresses through stages—stagnation is an illusion.

Yet the ego often craves stability and permanence, trying to ‘freeze’ the natural flow of growth. We see this in our personal lives and societal structures. Blockages form, symptoms deepen, and ideologies attempt to stop time by creating fixed institutions. But just like physical blockages lead to illness, emotional and mental stagnation can manifest as stress, anxiety, or depression. True healing comes when we reintroduce movement into the system, restoring the flow of life.

In this sense, disease is a form of stagnation, and healing is the return to natural movement. Whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, the process of becoming replaces the illusion of simply being. The body, as my osteopath Mario once taught me, requires movement at all levels—whether it’s the musculoskeletal system or our internal organs. Without movement, life gets stuck. This principle extends to the mind and emotions. If we don’t keep moving, creating, and evolving, we stagnate.

Movement practices like Tai Chi, Yoga, Five Rhythms, and Trance Dance tap into this natural flow of life, helping us reconnect with the process of becoming. Trance dancing, in particular, is a potent way to catalyze the body’s self-healing mechanisms. It activates your growth process while fostering a deeper understanding of yourself, not just as you are, but as you are becoming. Each of us is in constant motion, evolving through different stages of personal growth.

In my work facilitating workshops and retreats, I see firsthand how movement becomes a gateway to healing and transformation. Participants don’t attend seeking some perfect end-state but instead to explore, grow, and learn. Trance dancing, through its deep rhythms and immersive movement, allows people to let go of their fixation on “being” and embrace the joy and energy of “becoming.”

Through movement, we shift our focus from the static to the dynamic, from product to process. This simple but profound shift helps us align with our true selves, promoting healing, growth, and transformation in ways that are natural and sustainable.