As Printed in the Quarter 3/05 (July/Aug/Sept) issue of The Belly Dancer Magazine

The Mat

Thoughts by Kitiera

     Every Monday night, women from every walk of life converge on the gym where I teach, laughing and chatting as they check in at the front desk. Their faces are flushed with stress and hurry. Sometimes I stand by the studio door and watch as each individual transforms. As they peel off coats and bags, fit dance shoes and hip wraps, I see the sense of peace touch them. As we all move to stand on our mats, facing the mirror, I gaze into their eyes and see the souls within. I feel honored to stand at the front of the room and lead each woman through their mental, emotional, and physical journey to being the dancer and the women they dream of being.

     What is the magic of the mat? In Ballet, I felt the transformation at the barre, but in Middle Eastern Dance class I am immediately centered when my bare feet touch the mat. I breathe in, plie, and breathe out. Breathe in... breathe out... this time is for me.

     The mat is power. Here we are reshaped: we sweat, we stretch, we face our self in the mirror and are reborn. Here we shed our everyday selves, facing our shortcomings but feeling our potential in every cell of our being. We laugh and cry together as we journey towards our goals. As a result, we create our community of strong, healthy women devoted to each other and to the dance.

     The mat is resistance. The gentle pain of muscles awakening and reshaping makes us loathe the mat... and the exhilaration of new strength and flexibility makes us love the mat. At home, we stare defiantly into mirrors and stand firm, grounded, and powerful on the mat. We walk about taller, spine elongated and pelvis centered. People will ask us: "What's different?" I always respond: "The mat!" Our nemesis and our best friend, the mat pushes us to achieve our goals. It never reproaches, but is always brutally honest. It knows our body intimately, and standing on the mat our weaknesses are laid bare so that we may fight to overcome them.

     The mat is solace. When everything else in life is falling apart, we crawl onto the mat and sob through our workout. We feel weak, but we are fighting to become strong. We release our pain into the beat. Breathe in... Breathe out... Focusing inward, we can forget the stress and crush of everyday life. We spend these brief moments immersed in our life experience, sweating and panting as we drive past what ails and what haunts us. Here we push toward our individual dreams.

     At the end of warm up, and again at the end of class, we stand fully aware of our internal struggle. Aware, and full of focus and exaltation. We are women. We are dancers. We are a force to be reckoned with.

     As we move out into center, and as we walk back out into the mundane world, we can smile. Breathe in... Breathe out... In our core, we still stand on the mat.