Hungry for Change - Must Watch!

"Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life" - (Robbins, Hungry for Change, 2012)

Upon the recommendation of Adesola I decided to watch the documentary "Hungry for Change". My inquiry research has intended to explore what is necessary for a dancers well being, away from the scientific nutritional ingredients in the food we eat. The main aim of this documentary is to highlight the importance of eating less processed sugar, fat and carbohydrates however they do also address other aspects of a persons life that will affect their mood, attitude, food intake and overall health. This is what I was most interested in for my research.

"From the moment we are born, we equate love with safety." (Hungry for Change, 2012)

This documentary has opened my eyes to the importance of love for a persons well being. It discusses the fact that without love and care from our parents when we are born, we can not possibly survive and so this attitude is forever present in our mindset as we mature. In terms of a dancers needs, love would not be something I would have ever considered and yet this film seem to make it very obvious. I would argue that in the dancing world, positive encouragement and care isn't very well promoted or stressed within a dancers education and it occurred to me that somewhere along the lines of my training and starting my career, I had forgotten about the importance of loving and caring for others and the importance of loving and caring for myself. 

"I accept myself unconditionally right now" (Hungry for Change, 2012)

The documentary suggested an exercise that everyone should practice daily for their emotional well being. The exercise was to look at yourself in the mirror and say the above quote. Repeating the phrase every time your own negative thoughts about yourself began to attack. This exercise is known as "Self Affirmation" and is possibly one of the most powerful phrases I have come across in my research. I have always been aware of the importance of having confidence in my dancing (as many things go wrong if I don't) however my training only seemed to teach my how to fake confidence when it is necessary. And I am sure I am not alone about this. Self affirming encourages a person to recognise their achievements, their goals, their positive attributes and channels the mind to release the negative weight that many of us carry into our day. Since discovering self affirmation I have been able to approach my work with a much more peaceful attitude. Before if I was having a bad day it would follow me into class and usually I would not perform so well. In a recent class I realised that now when I am dancing, it is all I think about. My focus is directly on my work. Only time will tell the true affects of self affirmation in my work but it has so far been enlightening to both my practice and my inquiry research.

Had you heard of "Self Affirmation?

Do you practice it?

I would love to know your thoughts! And if you have netflix I highly recommend this documentary to everyone!