Whether she is staying fit with BollyFit classes, enjoying fun moments with her sweet elementary school-age daughters, or illuminating her college students with English Literature, BollyFit student and guide Holly Poppink radiates a BollyFit when in doubt just shake it attitude.
This week, Holly bridged her roles as dancer and teacher when she taught her English Literature students this poem by African-American poet Lucille Clifton:
homage to my hips
these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips.
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
Holly exclaimed to me and fellow BollyFit Guides, “I could only think of BollyFit when I taught this poem!”
Unfortunately, for many women, hips are usually disdained more than celebrated. “My hips are too big!” we wail. Within the psyches of men, I am guessing these strong swivel bones rarely even come up. Although, especially in Indian dances, some men are confident enough to move their hips and look cool while doing it!
Pop star Shakira brought some smooth hip action to the music scene in her hit song, “Hips Don’t Lie”.
I love to see how something as simple as moving ones hips in BollyFit class can completely change a womans mood! Those who have never shaken their hips start to do so tentatively, and then a little sparkle shines from the eyes. With each additional shake, their confidence increases as does the movement. (The photo is of happy BollyFitters shaking it at a rehearsal for the 2011 BollyFit Flash Mob at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival!)
We literally and figuratively shed weight within and without, dropping it through the earth, when incorporating hip movement into our dances. It doesnt happen in a high-pressured, “I want to get rid of these” way, but through release, joy, and enjoyable movement that leaves us leaner and healthier while having fun.
Inside Note from Holly: “From the classes I enjoy with BollyFit Belly Guide, Ziva, I love learning about belly-dancing being in preparation for childbirth- not for seductive dancing for the benefit of a male audience like many probably mistakenly believe! I have certainly felt blessed by curvy hips following problem-free childbirth!”
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