Events & Personalities
Body as a healing force
Movement Therapy (MT) "works on the premise that the mind and the body are inseparable, such that a change in one affects a change in the other. It is a kind of psychotherapy based on the concept of using the body as a healing force for emotional distress,” reveals movement therapist Dilshad Patel in an email sent to Parsiana. Bombay born and bred Patel returned seven years ago from the Harkness Dance Center, New York after a course in MT (see "Dilshad’s dance domain,” Parsiana, March 7, 2011).
Patel stresses, "MT is not dance but psychotherapy using movement. I have just completed a research-based pilot study on lung patients at Breach Candy Hospital. The aim of this project was to harness MT for patients with chronic asthma. The study was geared to address the emotional triggers that induce asthma symptoms and help the patient cope with anxiety and fear of getting an attack and coping abilities related to enhancing a quality of life.”
Patel stresses, "MT is not dance but psychotherapy using movement. I have just completed a research-based pilot study on lung patients at Breach Candy Hospital. The aim of this project was to harness MT for patients with chronic asthma. The study was geared to address the emotional triggers that induce asthma symptoms and help the patient cope with anxiety and fear of getting an attack and coping abilities related to enhancing a quality of life.”
(Top): Dilshad Patel with Shane Warne and IPL cricketers;
Patel (alongside); (above): movement therapy session
The therapist’s pioneering Movement Therapy for Sports (MTS) program is a training method for performance enhancement by sports professionals to augment potential abilities and skills through strengthening the mind-body connection addressing therapeutic, team building and day-to-day performance. MTS, which is trademarked, also lends itself as an effective tool in working with injuries and taking the sportsperson’s specific game to greater heights. On a purely physical level, it results in increased mobility as well as flexibility, preventative injury, retraining muscles and providing an intense neuromuscular workout, the email mentions.
The trainer gives the example of cricket which "requires synchronicity of movement from the players, both in the context of fellow team members and in context to oneself. It is imperative that a cricketer becomes proficient at intuitively understanding his teammates’ body language, his own in relation to them, and in relation to the ball.” Her training method has been adopted by teams such as the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket and the Canadian National Cricket Team during their training in Bombay for the 2011 World Cup.
According to the email, Patel was appointed as movement therapist by McCann Health for a project which is India’s first health related dance fitness video "Pump Start” that has therapeutic and in-depth scientific research based movement elements as an important component of the choreography. This routine not only works the 12 core muscles of the body but also incorporates various aspects of fitness and wellness. Patel expounds that each movement has a specific connection/relationship to various parts of the brain, body and psyche. "All movements in MT are organic and come from the client.”
The 35-year-old therapist is enthusiastic about her work with prisoners in the Byculla Women’s Prison and non-government organizations, where people from varied backgrounds including street children benefit from her MT workshops. Corporations also rope her in for their employees’ physical and psychological wellbeing, notes the email.
Patel represented India at the American Dance Therapy Association International conference where she introduced her pioneering work on MTS and her research on lung patients. She was also invited to give a keynote address at the Health Conference, Bangalore earlier this year. Mehroo Kotval
The trainer gives the example of cricket which "requires synchronicity of movement from the players, both in the context of fellow team members and in context to oneself. It is imperative that a cricketer becomes proficient at intuitively understanding his teammates’ body language, his own in relation to them, and in relation to the ball.” Her training method has been adopted by teams such as the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket and the Canadian National Cricket Team during their training in Bombay for the 2011 World Cup.
According to the email, Patel was appointed as movement therapist by McCann Health for a project which is India’s first health related dance fitness video "Pump Start” that has therapeutic and in-depth scientific research based movement elements as an important component of the choreography. This routine not only works the 12 core muscles of the body but also incorporates various aspects of fitness and wellness. Patel expounds that each movement has a specific connection/relationship to various parts of the brain, body and psyche. "All movements in MT are organic and come from the client.”
The 35-year-old therapist is enthusiastic about her work with prisoners in the Byculla Women’s Prison and non-government organizations, where people from varied backgrounds including street children benefit from her MT workshops. Corporations also rope her in for their employees’ physical and psychological wellbeing, notes the email.
Patel represented India at the American Dance Therapy Association International conference where she introduced her pioneering work on MTS and her research on lung patients. She was also invited to give a keynote address at the Health Conference, Bangalore earlier this year. Mehroo Kotval
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