Workshop on exploring emotions of caregiving through dance at NYU's humanistic medicine program

Workshop on exploring emotions of caregiving through dance at NYU's humanistic medicine program

In March 2023, I will work with medical students, staff/faculty at NYULMC/Bellevue, public health students, dentistry students, and nursing students as part of NYU's humanistic medicine program to explore the emotions surrounding caregiving. 

Bharatanatyam has in it codified an array of emotions, called “rasas”. The nine rasas (“Navarasa”) include love, laughter, sorrow, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder, and peace. While Bharatanatyam is a form rooted in tradition, the emotions laid out are relevant even today, and perhaps more so.
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In this workshop, participants will explore the various emotions they feel while taking care of their patients. By bringing in rhythm, movement, melody, and music, we will explore aspects of caregiving through the language of dance. 

The title of this workshop is "​Rasas of Caregiving: Healing through Dance". 
The workshop was incredibly well received. The main area of addition/improvement was to include exercises for people to apply their knowledge of Bharatanatyam to thinking about and processing their own experiences with patients or caregiving.

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