Top image: With flutist Zara Lawler (Flute on its Feet) at the Higher Ground Festival in NYC
Reflections on Vichaar (work on the intersection of the arts and the sciences)
A volunteer who helped me with the session "Dancing Hands" at Science Saturday: The Human Machine at Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute
- "Sloka offered a true blend of art, science, and culture! Her presentation felt intentional and family-friendly, connecting Bharatanatyam, communication through hand gestures, and the evolution of the hand and brain. Sloka's ability to weave these threads into one clear, linear story was most impressive. It was creative, authentic, and rooted in her deep knowledge and experience. It was great to see children and caregivers learning hand gestures, creating collaborative art with their favorite one, dancing with origami finger puppets, and asking questions. Thank you, Sloka, for sharing your beautiful dance and knowledge with us!"
- "I thought your eyes were a kind of gesture!"
Readers of the post on using group facilitation techniques and a question-based pedagogy for science communication
- "I was thinking about your work as I studied Hazrat Inayat Khan, and learned his view that the three essential means used to elevate humanity and express the soul's joy are Singing (Gayan), Instrumental Music (Vadan), and Dancing (Nirtan or Nirtya). Might be more important now than ever!"
- "Brilliant work, as usual, D. Iyengar! You are leading a human-centered, arts-informed, science-supported path towards brain health and happiness with your good work! You may be interested in the work of fiber artist, Lauren Kingsland, too. That hand-to-brain connection is so interesting!"
- "Interesting questions...each of your posts makes me wish I lived in New York City to be able to attend your sessions! Good luck with this one."
- "Another great program! I love the questions!'
- "Very much looking forward to having you join another event with us. Thanks for being a part of our Saturday Science program and bringing your valuable scientific knowledge and insights to our spaces!"
- "Really wonderful questions! You should share the answers!"
- "What an infinitely curious world we live in!"
- "Hello Sloka do you remember me. Sr. Agnes St. Ann's School. Ahmedabad. Keep it up. God bless you."
Adult librarian at the Allerton NYPL branch, where I presented "Science is Artful."
- It was such a pleasure working with you this past weekend as well! Thank you for a wonderful performance. We have already received positive feedback from the community regarding the "Science is Artful!" program. We look forward to having you back at the Allerton Library in April for the "Indian Dance/Words and Dance/Moving Poetry" program."
- "It was such a pleasure having you conduct your program at Allerton and I truly appreciate your patience and commitment to what you do."
Participants ("Plasticity as we age" talk for volunteers at The American Museum of Natural History
- On gesture and language: "On the other end of life, I've enjoyed using sign language with my grandchild, who is less than two. It's amazing to be able to communicate with non-verbal (yet) being!"
- "That was a great and really interesting talk. Thank you!"
- "Fascinating and delightful."
- Thank you so much for your hard work! It is inspiring to see science and art come together like this!"
Supporter of my work at the intersection of Bharatantyam and neuroscience
"I noticed your Instagram. You are a few leagues beyond awesome !! You need a Netflix series to inspire the next generation to be like you. Science and art to heal the soul."
"I noticed your Instagram. You are a few leagues beyond awesome !! You need a Netflix series to inspire the next generation to be like you. Science and art to heal the soul."
Program organizers of The Dancing Brain as part of "Art and Science Saturday" at Mount Sinai
- "Thank you SO much for your presentation today!! It was really spectacular."
- "THANK YOU so much for your WONDERFUL workshop with our young people!! Formal "thank you" note from our whole team coming shortly :)"
- "Thank you again for your workshop & performance on Saturday! We've received wonderful feedback from the students, and the MiNDS Team really enjoyed your session as well."
Reader of the article on traditional and indigenous systems of knowledge to shape arts-in-health
- "You are the epitome of collaboration - you show the interconnectedness of life throughout your work - you are such a great role model for me - thank you!"
Readers of the post on Interoception and Bharatanatyam
- "In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, there is the concept that feelings, thoughts and behaviors are interdependent, such that you can change your feelings by changing your thinking. I have wondered if you can change your thoughts and your feelings through your behavior, i.e. you use a physical discipline like dance or mudra change the way we feel and think. I think that's the same thing you may be considering."
- Such a thoughtful perspective. Linking gesture, gaze, and emotion to interoception really highlights how deeply dance can shape our lived experience of the body. 😊
Readers of the post on Interoception that mentions my time at the animal shelter
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"I can almost hear you call him."
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Reader of the paper "Reflections on Bharatanatyam and Neuroscience"
- "I recently read your paper “Reflections on Bharatanatyam and Neuroscience: A Dance Studies Perspective,” and I wanted to express my sincere appreciation. Your articulation of movement, cognition, and embodied aesthetics deeply resonated with me, especially the way you connected classical dance with neurological and cognitive frameworks. It has been truly inspiring. "
- "The quality of your work is truly remarkable. The topics you explore are far beyond what I had imagined which existed, and they have truly deeply inspired me."
A supporter on the keynote presentation using Bharatanatyam to talk about early brain development at the Parents as Teachers International Conference (PATCON'22)
- "What an amazing journey combining neuroscience and dance! Your own neurons must be dancing with joy!"
A reader of the paper "Some thoughts on social prescription and the arts"
- “Fascinating! The questions you pose are wonderful. To me you are creating more seats at the table with new dishes and broadening the way we approach healing and aging. Thank you!”
- "Thank you for sharing this Sloka. The issues you raise are very important. I have been thinking about this as my work is largely to do with everyday creativity. This week I have posted about the need for expanding our understanding of art and why it matters."
Attendees of the talk at The American Museum of Natural History in June 2025
- "Thanks again for this talk, Sloka! Our volunteer work has been enriched by scientists and educators who have been so generous with their time over the past few years. Since March of 2020, we have had approximately 200 (volunteer-only) talks on topics as wide-ranging as Lyme disease, the synestia model of lunar formation, and the Audubon Mural Project."
- "It’s so beautiful and almost impossibly difficult with its attention to detail. I remember visiting Cambodia and seeing hints of parallels between Khmer classical dance and Indian classical dance. Thanks for sharing!"
- "I am a member of Toastmasters International , and I can’t help but recognize that these concepts/techniques apply in the "art" of public speaking too (even if we may call them by less poetic names like “eye contact”, “vocal variety” and “body language)."
- "Your passion, brilliance, artistry, collaborations, expansiveness and beauty are evident, healing, enriching, teaching, and soulful. Love you much!"
A reader of the blog post "From Movement to Meaning"
"Dr. Sloka Iyengar's demonstration at Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute illustrates the neurosensory and cognitive connection of movement with communication, and poses Dr. Iyengar's question of whether language acquisition itself is embodied. In the training program at Harvard University's Human Flourishing Institute that I am completing, I am learning that an essential component of Everett Worthington's REACH Forgiveness model is understanding the embodiment of emotion, i.e. that the neurosensory system is not just the brain but the entire nervous system. There is recognition and reactivity to environmental stimuli in every part of the human nervous system, as well as important functions of neuroplasticity to adapt to environments and events. We know from neurological research that emotions are actually a pattern of neural activity that should be looked at as involving patterns across the entire neurosystem, i.e. as embodies. Dr. Iyengar's demonstration may support a connection between movement, language (both acquisition and expression) and the neurosensory patterns of emotion in both."
"Dr. Sloka Iyengar's demonstration at Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute illustrates the neurosensory and cognitive connection of movement with communication, and poses Dr. Iyengar's question of whether language acquisition itself is embodied. In the training program at Harvard University's Human Flourishing Institute that I am completing, I am learning that an essential component of Everett Worthington's REACH Forgiveness model is understanding the embodiment of emotion, i.e. that the neurosensory system is not just the brain but the entire nervous system. There is recognition and reactivity to environmental stimuli in every part of the human nervous system, as well as important functions of neuroplasticity to adapt to environments and events. We know from neurological research that emotions are actually a pattern of neural activity that should be looked at as involving patterns across the entire neurosystem, i.e. as embodies. Dr. Iyengar's demonstration may support a connection between movement, language (both acquisition and expression) and the neurosensory patterns of emotion in both."
A reader of the blog post "From Movement to Meaning"
"Sloka you're one of my favorite people to follow and witness. Sloka, I keep you on my list! Keep doing what you do! There is incredible insight in your work, and still just as many things to still pursue -- important things! I may be quiet but I am a a fan of you!
आपका शुभेच्छक"
"Sloka you're one of my favorite people to follow and witness. Sloka, I keep you on my list! Keep doing what you do! There is incredible insight in your work, and still just as many things to still pursue -- important things! I may be quiet but I am a a fan of you!
आपका शुभेच्छक"
A reader of the blog post "From Movement to Meaning"
"What a beautiful video and post. I feel movement indeed is yet to be explored. Even in vocal music (I can say about Indian classical), the movement of hands plays a tremendous role. They might not be mudras, yet they are part and parcel of vocal expression and the control part of it."
"What a beautiful video and post. I feel movement indeed is yet to be explored. Even in vocal music (I can say about Indian classical), the movement of hands plays a tremendous role. They might not be mudras, yet they are part and parcel of vocal expression and the control part of it."
A reader of the blog post "Gestures and Bharatanatyam"
"So nice to see you Sloka. You are so graceful and the beautiful gestures of your hands are mesmerising. Keep doing this. Lots of love and blessings."
"So nice to see you Sloka. You are so graceful and the beautiful gestures of your hands are mesmerising. Keep doing this. Lots of love and blessings."
A reader of the blog post "Gestures and Bharatanatyam"
"Oh, Sloka! This is my favorite piece, having attended one of your dance presentations and remembering how I vividly felt the bond of love and delight between the mother and her child. Your gestures were indeed loving, tender, beautifully executed, and incredibly precise! Beautiful to watch!!"
"Oh, Sloka! This is my favorite piece, having attended one of your dance presentations and remembering how I vividly felt the bond of love and delight between the mother and her child. Your gestures were indeed loving, tender, beautifully executed, and incredibly precise! Beautiful to watch!!"
A reader of the blog post "Gestures and Bharatanatyam"
"I think what you are describing of gestural communication as an evolutionary milestone fits in well with important parts of the Unlimited Associative Learning theory of consciousness, specifically conditioned stimuli that are compounds of discriminable perceptual features arranged in a pattern, where also these features may be in different sense modalities or in a single sense modality -- like a communicative gesture. Among the capacities that are regarded as jointly sufficient for a system being an experiencing subject is intentionality: the capacity to represent the world and one’s own body. Thank you for sharing, Sloka!! 😎 👍"
Birch, Jonathan & Ginsburg, Simona & Eva, Jablonka. (2020). Unlimited Associative Learning and the origins of consciousness: a primer and some predictions. Biology & Philosophy. 35. 10.1007/s10539-020-09772-0.
"I think what you are describing of gestural communication as an evolutionary milestone fits in well with important parts of the Unlimited Associative Learning theory of consciousness, specifically conditioned stimuli that are compounds of discriminable perceptual features arranged in a pattern, where also these features may be in different sense modalities or in a single sense modality -- like a communicative gesture. Among the capacities that are regarded as jointly sufficient for a system being an experiencing subject is intentionality: the capacity to represent the world and one’s own body. Thank you for sharing, Sloka!! 😎 👍"
Birch, Jonathan & Ginsburg, Simona & Eva, Jablonka. (2020). Unlimited Associative Learning and the origins of consciousness: a primer and some predictions. Biology & Philosophy. 35. 10.1007/s10539-020-09772-0.
A reader of the chapter "A neuroscientist's take on the interplay of art and science"
"Sloka, I just read your article and my heart feels such admiration for you and your work. And most of all, that humanity is alive somewhere. (Before reading your article), I just watched a video a friend had sent me. Though I know it is a fact, I am so saddened and heartbroken that we have no humanity left at all. With the corporatization of hospitals, it is scary to go see a doctor."
"Sloka, I just read your article and my heart feels such admiration for you and your work. And most of all, that humanity is alive somewhere. (Before reading your article), I just watched a video a friend had sent me. Though I know it is a fact, I am so saddened and heartbroken that we have no humanity left at all. With the corporatization of hospitals, it is scary to go see a doctor."
Dr. Pramod Suratkar
"I wish you all the best for your passion for and dedication to art and science, and your vision to put it all together for the betterment of the lives you touch."
"I wish you all the best for your passion for and dedication to art and science, and your vision to put it all together for the betterment of the lives you touch."
Ms. Sharon Snider
Reflections on the article in BMJ Medical Humanities on communicating science through Bharatanatyam
"Hey, it’s 3 am and I finished your article. I loved it. You present so many different ideas on using our brains and our bodies in unison. Amazing!❤️"
Reflections on the article in BMJ Medical Humanities on communicating science through Bharatanatyam
"Hey, it’s 3 am and I finished your article. I loved it. You present so many different ideas on using our brains and our bodies in unison. Amazing!❤️"
Dr. Pramod Suratkar
Reflections on the keynote presentation using Bharatanatyam to talk about early brain development at the Parents as Teachers International Conference (PATCON'22)
The presentation can be found here.
"Thanks for sharing your article on caregiving with focus on parents caring for children and its implication on how this interaction can impact neural connections and network on both the parent or caregiver and the child the care receiver. I like the way you demonstrate the link between art and its impact on the brain. I think ultimately caregiving from parents to children and its mutual impact on the brain, can be extended to caring among any two mutual interactions, children and elders, people and pets, caring for people in need, people in love, or even for some caring for art or inanimate objects, as long as it is triggered by genuine love for it. The plasticity and elasticity of brain, as you have pointed out, is malleable from any input be it caregiving, Love or even something totally opposite of it..."
Reflections on the keynote presentation using Bharatanatyam to talk about early brain development at the Parents as Teachers International Conference (PATCON'22)
The presentation can be found here.
"Thanks for sharing your article on caregiving with focus on parents caring for children and its implication on how this interaction can impact neural connections and network on both the parent or caregiver and the child the care receiver. I like the way you demonstrate the link between art and its impact on the brain. I think ultimately caregiving from parents to children and its mutual impact on the brain, can be extended to caring among any two mutual interactions, children and elders, people and pets, caring for people in need, people in love, or even for some caring for art or inanimate objects, as long as it is triggered by genuine love for it. The plasticity and elasticity of brain, as you have pointed out, is malleable from any input be it caregiving, Love or even something totally opposite of it..."
Scientist: Madhavan Narayanan, PhD (Assistant Professor at Benedictine University, IL)
"What the renowned British neurologist Oliver Sacks did for music, science and medicine is what Dr. Sloka, a neurobiologist by training, is attempting to do through Vichaar for dance and neuroscience. In an age where technology and access to resources have made us sedentary, Vichaar’s exploration and exposition of the connection between intention, movement, expression and its connection with brain states, could enthuse more people into picking up dance of one form or another and embark on a journey of their own. Dr. Sloka, who is an out of the box thinker, is constantly exploring interesting topics and is looking for ways to benefit society. Overall, I am excited for the journey we all are about to go on with Vichaar."
"What the renowned British neurologist Oliver Sacks did for music, science and medicine is what Dr. Sloka, a neurobiologist by training, is attempting to do through Vichaar for dance and neuroscience. In an age where technology and access to resources have made us sedentary, Vichaar’s exploration and exposition of the connection between intention, movement, expression and its connection with brain states, could enthuse more people into picking up dance of one form or another and embark on a journey of their own. Dr. Sloka, who is an out of the box thinker, is constantly exploring interesting topics and is looking for ways to benefit society. Overall, I am excited for the journey we all are about to go on with Vichaar."
Reflections on the "Song and Dance of Neurons"
The presentation can be found here.
Dr. Shweta Karambelkar
Sloka gave an absolutely breathtaking performance at the STEMpeers 2022 conference in Philadelphia!
I loved her performance thoroughly. Although the stage at the conference venue was clearly more suited for a conference presentation than a classical Bharatanatyam dance performance, Sloka's energy and engaging facial expressions more than made up for it! If anything, it further underlined her message that science and art can co-exist in the same physical space, just as they can do in our brains.
I was almost moved to tears by her expressions during a part of her performance in which she portrays a mother eagerly awaiting her child's return from school and delighting when that finally happens.
It was a beautiful coming together of art, science, womanhood, and so much more. As a female scientist myself with an extreme love for art, I feel super proud of girls like Sloka who constantly push the envelope! I wish her all the best for everything!
The presentation can be found here.
Dr. Shweta Karambelkar
Sloka gave an absolutely breathtaking performance at the STEMpeers 2022 conference in Philadelphia!
I loved her performance thoroughly. Although the stage at the conference venue was clearly more suited for a conference presentation than a classical Bharatanatyam dance performance, Sloka's energy and engaging facial expressions more than made up for it! If anything, it further underlined her message that science and art can co-exist in the same physical space, just as they can do in our brains.
I was almost moved to tears by her expressions during a part of her performance in which she portrays a mother eagerly awaiting her child's return from school and delighting when that finally happens.
It was a beautiful coming together of art, science, womanhood, and so much more. As a female scientist myself with an extreme love for art, I feel super proud of girls like Sloka who constantly push the envelope! I wish her all the best for everything!
Reflections on the keynote presentation using Bharatanatyam to talk about early brain development at the Parents as Teachers International Conference (PATCON'22)
The presentation can be found here.
The presentation can be found here.
Constance Gully, President and CEO, Parents as Teachers
"Sloka’s presentation was masterful; weaving neuroscience and dance into a flowing conversation made the content very accessible. And beautiful. What struck me most was the concept of ‘parent/caregiver instinct’ as a capacity we all carry, but one that requires unleashing. This is particularly important to help practitioners recognize that all of us—despite whatever trauma or doubts or disconnects we may carry—have the capacity to parent, if provided the right, strengths-based supports."
Alison Gee, MPH; Vice President of Government and Community Engagement, Parents as Teachers
"Dr. Sloka Iyengar not only understands neuroscience, but she also brings brain development to life through dance and stories. Carefully describing what each movement in her Bharatanatyam dance symbolizes, she performs stories of parenting, child development, connection, and joy. I think I would have paid more attention in science class if it would have included the arts!"
"Sloka’s presentation was masterful; weaving neuroscience and dance into a flowing conversation made the content very accessible. And beautiful. What struck me most was the concept of ‘parent/caregiver instinct’ as a capacity we all carry, but one that requires unleashing. This is particularly important to help practitioners recognize that all of us—despite whatever trauma or doubts or disconnects we may carry—have the capacity to parent, if provided the right, strengths-based supports."
Alison Gee, MPH; Vice President of Government and Community Engagement, Parents as Teachers
"Dr. Sloka Iyengar not only understands neuroscience, but she also brings brain development to life through dance and stories. Carefully describing what each movement in her Bharatanatyam dance symbolizes, she performs stories of parenting, child development, connection, and joy. I think I would have paid more attention in science class if it would have included the arts!"