Khala Brannigan Blogpost
Ever since I was a young child, movement brought me the greatest sense of joy and healing. When my mom was cooking dinner on her rare day off work, she would blast music on the stereo and I would push the coffee table aside in the living room so I could dance. At the age of seven, I begged my mom to start ballet classes and I showed up to my very first class in a pink tutu, pink tights, pink leotard, and a pink scrunchie in my hair. From that moment on, dance became a place I could always return to, and in many ways, it truly saved my life.
I believe the body is more intelligent than we could ever comprehend, and as it stores our memories, emotions, pains, and pleasures, it's also a straight channel to divinity. I'm in awe of the book "The Body Keeps the Score" written by Bessel Van Der Kolk because I am so fascinated by the connection between the brain and body. Our bodies have a deep, intuitive, animalistic nature that can't be described in words.
Around the age of 12, I became even more rigorous with my dance training, and my modern dance teacher, Eka Gustafson who danced with Martha Graham and met Juliu Horvath in New York City when the GYROTONIC® method was first founded, taught me GYROKINESIS® movement. I felt lightheaded and dizzy doing the movement and the breath, but slowly over time, it started to completely change my dance training. I was then completely hooked when I did a GYROTONIC® session with Eka, and by the age of 18, I did the Level 1 Foundation Course with her in my hometown, Santa Fe, NM. It was the summer before I would leave to attend Alonzo King's Lines Ballet Training Program in San Francisco, CA. My body absolutely transformed by going deeper into the studies of the GYROTONIC® system, and even at the young age of 18, it unleashed stored energy that I unconsciously held in my body.
Throughout my journey pursuing a dance career and discovering my true nature of being a choreographer, the GYROTONIC® method has absolutely informed how I approach movement. My first dance teacher, Ronn Stewart always used the word expand. I'll never forget my greatest teachers. Their words will always live in my body. I teach yoga, I dance, I choreograph, I teach dance to students with autism, and I am fully confident in saying that there's nothing more special than the practices of the GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC® methods. It is symbiotic, and it connects me to a power greater than my own self. It expands beyond movement. Whether you yearn for physical, emotional, or mental freedom, the magic of this movement language creates the most subtle and profound shifts. I am honored to be able to share it with others as I continue down this path where my body leads, as my heart follows.
