SLC hosts spirit through movement event

Elmhurst University’s Spiritual Life Council (SLC) held their Spirit Through Movement Workshop with EU’s dance department. The event took place in the Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel auditorium on March 2. 

The event was a change from SLC’s typical events and was open to any and all students, no matter one’s religion or beliefs.

“The intention of this event was to open up SLC to people who may not be interested in our traditional, more lecture-based events, and to encourage participation and collaboration with other departments,” said SLC president Grace Wadsworth.

The event was led by dance professor and instructor Amy Lyn McDonald, who helped students connect with their own spirituality and mindfulness through movement and dance.

Photo by Eve Hvarre

While students were guided through light, free-flowing movements, they were encouraged to find their own “stillness” and mindfulness within their mental health and spirituality.

The movements brought awareness to one’s own tension in the body, helped students “let go,” and be free from stress for a moment.

“I am very passionate about using dance in therapeutic and healthy ways,” said McDonald, “The emotional and mental health can be so significant when it comes to dance.”

One of the biggest messages McDonald wanted her students to take with them was that, “we are all beautifully made.” 

Toward the end, some students shared their own takeaways from the event and what spirituality meant to them.

Many takeaways included things like letting go of anxieties and taking moments to “be still,” even if it meant finding stillness in the chaos of college life.