( with a sway of those hips )

( with a sway of those hips )

by jennifer hetrick

     

with a lightly flicking sway of her hips, douglassville resident georganne mcintyre is making herself known in the area in the name of belly dancing and is helping the women she meets learn to love their bodies and themselves through the practice.

     

mcintyre’s interest in belly dancing began in the 1970s, but with some time away from the movement-happy endeavor, she plunged back into it in 2007 through a comedy act based around making fun of herself, teaching her audience the importance of women straying from the culturally unspoken rules that train them to think they and their bodies are not good enough.

     

she also approaches this subject from the view that belly dancing is a holistic means of healing and works to cultivate inner happiness back into the lives of women through the motions that bring their bodies in sync with their hearts in a much-needed sense of harmony.

     

her experience with belly dancing stems back to when she took lessons from a turkish woman who taught at a ymca in philadelphia. having always been active in extracurricular activities like plays and choral groups in high school, mcintyre didn’t like that in nursing school, she had no opportunity to still hone her more creative, theatrical side.

     

“i didn’t realize the healing affects of dancing,” mcintyre said about her first exposure to the belly-persuaded work. “the dance is empowering.”

     

“we hold emotions inside of our bodies, our hips,” mcintyre said. “through movement, we realize that we can release these emotions—anxiety, guilt, jealousy, and other negative feelings.”

     

this view is one mcintyre learned from dr. christiane northrup after reading her book women's bodies, women's wisdom and hearing her speak at a conference in new york city.

     

“it's also where most of us keep our protection, in that belly area, if we feel intimidated by life or have had traumas through our lives,” she said. “we protect ourselves with a layer of fat in that area.”

     

mcintyre said belly dancing has the double benefit of aid in weight loss, when it is needed, by working the middle section's muscles, in combination with helping to release the stored negative motions held and gathered in the hip region.

     

“the movements of belly dancing allow us to forgive, and it empower us,” she said. “tapping into the feminine side of ourselves allows us to be confident, and then that reaches out to everyone in our lives. healing effects go on to our families and our relationships for embracing better connections with others.”

    

“a lot of women think they’re not the right age, shape, or size to be belly dancing,” she said. “but it can be for anybody.”

     

in her classes, mcintyre brings along the props of brightly hued coin scarves for everyone to wear and also sometimes the accessory of finger cymbals, or zills.

     

( georganne mcintyre teaches her belly dancing at lovely events & occasions 
in west reading, inner light holistic center in gilbertsville, & clayote in boyertown. 
she is often asked to do classes for corporate and retirement parties,
 girl scout troops,  and in nursing homes. )

while she said most people seem to be intimidated about showing their stomachs, nobody has to show theirs to sway to the dance as she teaches.

     

mcintyre also teaches to men and children.

she notices that with how free-spirited children often are, they end up teaching her as they dance, and their jumping and flexibility is impressive to adults whose built-up tension is away from younger years.

her youngest students were three-years-old, and her oldest was a 91-year-old woman at the frederick mennonite community.

     

last year, she served as the keynote speaker to a healthy women’s group affiliated with the pottstown memorial medical center. two hundred women laughed, swayed, and enjoyed themselves to mcintyre’s wholesome instruction.

     

lately, she is delving into inspirational motivational belly dancing, incorporating positive affirmations into her teaching. she’s even been asked to do motivational speaking in work environments, striving to dispel the quilted dramas people often carry into their jobs with competition and anger instead of teamwork.

     

“the bottom line is to find joy, still focus on your desires, to know that you can love yourself exactly as you are, and that life is always guiding us into something better, loving, and good,” mcintyre said.

     

“no matter where people are in their lives, just to break out of their comfort zones with a little bit of dancing can help change the way they think about life,” mcintyre said, noting that she works with people also to help them see their no longer functional patterns of living and to move beyond them.

     

what mcintyre finds most fulfilling about teaching belly dancing is seeing the transformation of women in her classes, watching them learn to love who they are. reach her at 610.308.0745.

comment below to enter for a chance to win a free belly dancing class ! this contest ends saturday, february 6th. please include your e-mail address in the comment. good luck !