7Directions® Dance Ceremony

Movement is the medicine.

An earth-based dance ceremony

 

7Directions® was birthed 19 years ago by Staci Boden in the San Francisco Bay Area. After experiencing 7Directions® for years as a participant—and the deep healing and inner knowledge it fostered—I felt called to become a facilitator and completed my training in 2018.

Today I facilitate dances ceremonies in several ways:

  • In-Person Dances: I am holding intimate group dances monthly near my home in Athens, Ohio (upcoming dates here). These are an opportunity to dance with whatever energy is showing up in your life at the time, to connect with your body and intuition, and to experience a loving community container where you can let go and boogie down.

  • Personal Dances: I create and hold a dance ceremony for an individual or small group, often to help honor and process a major life transition such as a birthday, anniversary, divorce, birth, or death. (Virtual or in-person depending on location and COVID.)

  • Personal Journeys: For those moving through major life transitions, I offer three-month ceremonial journeys, during which I hold monthly dance ceremonies personalized just for you. I also help you integrate your experiences through six one-on-one sessions that include guided visualizations, somatic experiencing, and energy work. (Virtual or in-person depending on location and COVID.)

  • “Dance ceremony helped me to establish a connection with a higher spirituality, which I can now tap into at will. This has enabled me to feel more confident in my decisions and sure of who I am. I am now more joyful, present, and motivated than I have ever been before.”

    ~ Andrew S.

  • “Miki is a gem of a human who thoughtfully listens, guides with an open hand, and really does make you feel like you can't ‘do it wrong.’ My experience with Miki gave me the space to work through some very challenging times and helped me learn more about working with my energy.”

    ~ Andrea, Founder of O.school

  • “Miki brings qualities of noticing, deep listening, and an openness to everything she does, which was exactly what I experienced in her 7D facilitation. I felt held by Miki and I felt her profound wisdom carry me through an incredible personal transformation. Now, when I feel stuck, uncertain, scared, or angry, I allow my body to express itself free of judgment, constraint, and agenda.”

    ~ Olivia, Writer/Producer/Director

More about 7Directions®

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Earth-based

  • 7Directions recognizes the opportunity we all have to connect with the earth through the directions (east, north, south, west, above, below, within), the elements (fire, water, air, earth) and our own bodies (which are from and of the earth). 

  • With lineage in altered states work, energy healing, and feminine leadership principles such as co-committed, power-with co-creation, 7Directions can provide a felt sense of our connection to something beyond our individual egoic experience, whatever you choose to call it.

  • Although 7Directions is not a traditional ceremony from original peoples, its founder, Staci, trained with teachers who have deep relationships with original peoples. Therefore some elements of 7Directions resonate with elements of original people’s ceremonies (burning sacred herbs, working with sacred instruments like feathers and rattles). I and all facilitators hold these with a deep bow of respect and responsibility.

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Dance

  • A phrase you’ll hear a lot at 7Directions is “there’s no way to do this wrong.” Rather than focusing on choreography or specific movements, you’re invited to explore how your body wants to move in each moment as a path to growing a relationship with your physical, emotional, and energetic experience.

  • We describe 7Directions as a “vertical dance” where participants are focused inside their own experience (often with eyes closed) rather than a “horizontal dance” focused on connection with other people in the room. That said, boogying down together happens when it feels right!

  • 7Directions creates space for somatic healing experiences in relationship with our bodies. For women especially, having space to explore what feels good rather than what looks good in a dance space with strong protection and facilitation can be transformative.

  • Dance is fun! It reminds us that pleasure and play are key elements in our healing journey and it gives us the opportunity to reconnect with our joy and enjoyment.

  • Recognizing rest as an equally important part of transformation, we create “laydown time” within the ceremony for journaling, art, and integration.

 
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Ceremony

  • Creating a ceremonial container means we call in layers of protection around the experience that create a powerful alchemical field for healing and transformation.

  • As part of the container, the facilitator creates a sacred playlist for the ceremony, attuned to the specific energy of the moment and the participants. The musical journey of a dance ceremony can include powerful electronic and world tracks, fun pop music, gentler devotional songs, and everything in between.

  • Beyond guiding the ceremony moment-by-moment, 7Directions facilitators also track the energy of the ceremony for weeks before and after. They also offer hands-on energy work during the ceremony, as well as integration sessions afterwards. And since energy isn’t limited by time and space, energy healing also happens during virtual 7Directions.

  • Facilitators provide guidance, protection, and support, but we are not there to do the work for you. We are trained as spiritual midwives to help you rebirth yourself and grow your inner authority.

Feeling called? Curious?

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