solavis read along
When I was young, my parents signed me up for tap dance classes. Over the course of my school years, I’d also take ballet, acrobatics, and jazz dance lessons, too…but the one constant was always tap dancing.
The first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a Rockette. Too bad I never grew any taller than 5’4”, I guess…
Late this summer I was inspired to take dance lessons again - the purest form of joy I’d ever known. I was so excited to find adult tap lessons near where I live and started a few weeks ago.
Running parallel to this is my compulsive book buying habit that leaves me with a perpetual pile of To Read accumulating on my book shelves.
After this week’s class, these two things - dance and unread books - intersected.
When teaching a dance sequence, the teacher will start with the most basic step. After a few repetitions, another step will be layered in. And then another. And another. Until a sequence begins to take shape. This is where we found ourselves bright and early on a Sunday morning.
As I worked on learning these steps, I kept adding one. We were supposed to be doing a few different shuffling steps, and I kept inserting some toe-heels. At one point my teacher nodded and said, “Yes, you’re right…that part comes next. We’re getting there.”
Well, huh. Whaddya know?
I wasn’t doing that extra step because I knew I was supposed to. Or was I?
Muscle memory.
Teacher went on to say this sequence is called the Shirley Temple. It seems a fairly common tap sequence. That’s when I realized that maybe I did know I was supposed to. Maybe somewhere, long ago, my feet made this sequence of steps. Maybe somewhere, deep below, they remembered how. Even if I didn’t.
Our minds and our bodies are astonishing. And so, here we are. And it’s time to talk about books again.
One in my pile of unread books is The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk, MD. The full title also includes “Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma”. The publisher’s synopsis reads:
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
Our bodies know so much, remember so much, hold so much. Good stuff like dance steps. Difficult stuff like pain. It is fascinating and hope-filled. Having my muscle memory revelation after class also reminded me that I really want to read this book. Tap dancing hustled this book back to the very top of my To Read list.
And! I want to invite y’all to read it with me. Who’s interested?
I’m not necessarily going to call this a book club. That seems awfully ambitious…but maybe a read along?
Join us in the solavis: conversations Facebook group for ongoing check-ins throughout the month of October and we’ll have a group convo in early November (exact date TBD depending on how quickly folx make their way through the book).
Looking forward to reading this important work and discussing it with you!
