Sadé Jones: Soulful Somatics
Healing through the Art of Movement
Words & Photos by Eric Morales
A psychologist, dancer, and yoga facilitator, Sadé Jones teaches mindfulness in a yoga practice that combines movement set to modern dance and rhythmic beats.
Sadé earned her masters degree in Social Psychology from UT Austin, and she is an award-winning choreographer and performance artist. As the founder of Soulful Somatics, she created a yoga series as a way to share her insight and experience with the local community.
While teaching classes at Sanctuary Yoga, Practice Yoga Austin, among other locations, she currently works with individual clients, small groups, and even guides (online) corporate wellness workshops, sharing her wisdom with people from all walks of life. Sadé’s work is rooted in ancient practices and directly tied to her understanding of Ase, which is similar in concept to the idea of Qi, or Prana. Her practices come directly from her African heritage. According to Sadé, in this kind of contemplative practice, learning is never complete.
“I start my mornings with two hours of meditation,” she insists. “On Sundays, I don’t speak at all: no stimulation other than a book or smooth jazz. I really like elevator music,” she laughs.
Sadé’s approach to meeting people on their level is an art in and of itself. As a healer, Sadé explains, “For example, when someone is on the brink of letting out an emotion but they’re holding on to it, we do contractions.”
Contractions as in “convex and concave, beautiful movements,” Sadé demonstrates, as she arches her back and then hollows her body with arms gracefully poised. “It holds the chest up to preserve their dignity while excavating what is happening.” She adds, “I can say this to someone, and they might not understand it, but their body knows. It’s [really] about listening to your body.”
Sadé shares her insights after practicing healing through movement for years. “People say they want balance, but they really just want the icky to stop. They want triage, just treat the symptoms so they can resume life as they know it.” Generally, those with this mindset might be momentarily satisfied with a quick endorphin rush by pushing their body too hard, too often. However, Sadé’s goal is to lead her clients toward a deeper awareness through movement so they can connect with their bodies and begin to learn from their bodies.
She realizes that many dancers already know how to build in that connection with a sense of wholeness and that some have to learn from scratch.
“There’s a lot of physics in dance and a lot of primary alchemy,” Sadé says. “Dancers don’t always think of those things because we just do it. We know we worked really, really hard and practiced, literally transmuting our body for an outcome we want.” She explains how the outcome is always something magical. “Practical magic, and everybody has access to it.”
According to Sadé, the secret to self-care is rest which is a prerequisite for sleep. “What people want is sleep, but what they need is rest,” Sadé insists. To find out more, Sadé just released an e-book on the subject:
Deep Rest: A Self Care Ritual.
The Show Must Go On
Sadé co-founded Ashé Arts with Zell Miller III to create a space where “the arts could be a tool for personal development and empowerment.” To watch and find out more: ashearts.org.
Additionally, Sadé co-created Melanated Chrysalis, which she says is, “the tale of a Black girl finding her womanhood.” She crafted expressive movements that helped her to understand herself. Others in her community went through their own processes by learning it, and they too were able to share that healing with audiences around Austin.
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