Dancer, Poet, Woman on the Edge
Daniela is a certified 5Rhythms® dance meditation teacher and an accredited 5RTA® member. She studied with Gabrielle Roth, the creator of 5Rhythms® for 9 years. With poetic artistry and infinite compassion Daniela facilitates safe and powerful containers for embodiment, transformation and deep inquiry. Her intuitive, multi-layered approach is informed by her apprenticeship with the Northern Drum UK Shamanic Center and her certification as Focusing Practitioner in the therapeutic body-oriented practice of Domain Focusing.
Daniela leads groups and workshops internationally, as well as online. Her focus is in the fields of grief and loss, group transformation, fluid empowerment and the DNA of creative writing. She holds 2 MA degrees and certifications in Shamanic Healing, Organizational Learning and Domain Focusing Therapy.
My Story
I was born to two scientifically minded humans in the larger environment of Communism. I apparently danced freely, amusing my parents and their friends, since the age of 5. I never took a dance class. Communism dissolved with a bang by the time I was 18 and my world meanderings began. I led change communications and online projects in financial institutions in Amsterdam.
-- I found 5Rhythms dance, met and studied with Gabrielle Roth. Little did I know that that meeting will change my life. The 5Rhythms will become my most trusted healing companion and inform my work in the world, including my business work. --
I helped restructure business units and companies, created and led change communications strategies in New York City. In my work with the Society for Organizational Learning, I slowly began merging these 2 seemingly disperate worlds. I studied the art of leading sustainable transformation under Peter Senge’s tutelage and dreamed about creative freedom, holistic view, embodied soulful leadership and authentic dance becoming the heart of the business world.
-- I danced, trained and started teaching the 5Rhythms. --
One summer, about a decade ago, I became mysteriously ill with what later, years later, transpired to be Lyme disease. That’s when the real journey began. The injury, trauma and inquiry still unfolding; the lessons encrypted in the dark night of the soul still revealing. I danced for a while, then had to stop for what felt like an eternity - in reality, it was just over a year and a half. Focusing body-oriented therapy helped a lot. I became a Focusing Practitioner.
-- Now I’m back dancing, teaching, creating and sharing my passion. --
Going through this harsh rite of passage, during which the body almost refused to be an instrument of life, I became even more aware of the intricate interconnection between breath, presence, consciousness and the body. All the systems inside and around interacting, humming, constantly changing and the unwavering being-ness right at the core patiently always already listening. It is that interplay, that deep listening and delicate awareness, that frontier that I aspire to bring to you. To zoom into the minutest detail of personal experience, relate to the bigger picture of life and the world we live in, and hold the possibility of embodying open questions and freedom in our becoming.