This body-based framework is the living map behind Niio Dance.
Drawing from ancient wisdom traditions — Yoga’s chakra system, Taoist philosophy, and somatic movement education —
these pillars map both the physical body and its energetic intelligence.
Your roots connect you to grounding, stability and inner knowing.
Your wings open you to possibility, expansion and creative flow.
Each of the 7 pillars is an invitation to return to your body’s intelligence, innate support and the heartbeat of your soul —
a path of reconnection, healing, and creative leadership.
Throughout these pillars, you’ll encounter references to chakras, elemental energies, and the subtle body.
These aren’t abstract concepts — they’re maps of embodied experience drawn from ancient wisdom traditions (Yoga, Taoism, indigenous practices) that have guided humans for thousands of years.
Whether you think of them as energetic reality or metaphor for somatic experience, they offer a rich language for what we feel in our bodies.
The Roots and Wings Body Map has Seven Sacred Pillars, distilled from my decades of exploration, personal research and study.
They are a grounded, visceral and direct expression of ancient and modern models of our wellbeing.
The Chakra energy system in Yogic philosophy
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for self-actualisation in Psychology
The Seven aspects of the Life Wheel in modern Psychology
Somatic Movement Education.
This is our base chakra for survival and the element of earth. We connect into its magnetic frequencies to hold and support us. We also find our inner anchor. The foundation of our embodiment.
Our breath can relax, energise, awaken and empower us. It is our most powerful tool for transformation as it accesses our subconscious, and is our gateway to freedom. When we can harness the power of our breath, we harness our power to self-direct.
Drop into your body and unprogram your mind. Our bodies are a living, liquid matrix of bones, tissues, tendons and fluids, a harmonious orchestra that is open to change and creativity.
This is our base chakra for survival and the element of earth. We connect into its magnetic frequencies to hold and support us. We also find our inner anchor. The foundation of our embodiment.
This is our base chakra for survival and the element of earth. We connect into its magnetic frequencies to hold and support us. We also find our inner anchor. The foundation of our embodiment.
The signals of our heart are sixty times stronger than that of our brain. When we practice compassion we access deeper realms of feeling and healing. We invite in joy, and expand into new realms of creativity.
When we are aligned and integrated, we can give and receive in a beautiful connection of synergy to the threads of our existence and out into the universe. We are grounded, present, total and in flow. We can lead and self-lead with confidence, courage and creativity.
This ancient philosophy and system for holistic wellbeing has now seeped into the mainstream. I was fortunate to 'discover' yoga and meditation in India in 1995, which are part of the ancient texts of tantra, and they have been my constant companions with dance every since.
Niio Dance is an expression of my own life journey - beginning with Ballet, Hung Gar Kung Fu, Yoga, Meditation, Dance Movement Therapy, Somatic Movement Education and extended Conscious, Ecstatic and Shamanic dance journeys spanning five decades, a distillation of what has truly resonated.
There is a force and power in nature that humans can never match, and indigenous cultures are in tune with its rhythms and cycles of life. We have the elements of nature within us, and it can inform, inspire and heal. Interestingly the Inca word for the 'body' is 'animated' or 'luminous' earth...
Science is still discovering how our mind and body are interconnected. Our perception, understanding and even goal planning are linked to the motor cortex of our brain. Through embodiment practices we can become more aware, have better communications, be more creative and enhance our overall well-being.
I have been touched by the sacred on many occasions and particularly influenced by the three 'T's of Taoism, Toltec Spirit and Tantra.
