developer– First of all, my heartfelt congratulations on writing and publishing your book and winning the Gold Award at the Living Now Independent Book Publishers Awards. When did you first think of writing about this particular topic?
maha al muse– Thank you very much Dev for your congratulations.
I had been teaching belly dancing as an antenatal exercise for about four years when in 2000 we were on a family holiday in Western Samoa with my two children then 1 and 4 years old. One morning I was sitting on the beach talking. with another female traveler telling her how I facilitated belly dancing for pregnancy classes and how I connected with my Middle Eastern roots in dance. We got to talking about culture, my experiences of being raised in the West from an Eastern culture, the meaning of belly dancing for Arab women and women giving birth, my Muslim background on my father’s side, etc. , etc. I mentioned that for me belly dancing represented this same poetism of expression: East meets West and life experiences and how I related this to my teaching pregnant women about birth and how powerful our personal stories can be when we we allow ourselves to fully embrace life’s experiences. experiences. She turned around in all sincerity and said
“You must write about this! And share your views and insights with all women in the world! Women need to hear about this and definitely need to be empowered around natural childbirth as we need to eliminate the fear of childbirth today “.
I said, “That’s what my work is about and belly dancing has the potential to bring women to a place of safety and autonomy in childbirth.”
One month later, once we got back home, I thought this woman was right, I must write!
And so I started my book in 2001.
developer– You have added your personal memories in each chapter, there are some very honest statements about finding your mother and growing up in Australia as an immigrant. Do you relate the events spiritually and emotionally to her personal journey to become a mother to her?
maha al muse– Yes, I cannot separate my experiences as a first generation migrant (although I was only two years old when I arrived in Australia) from my emotional and spiritual world and my life as a mother. Motherhood is an extension of who I am and what I do! Who am I without my histories, beliefs, culture, education, experiences of being ethnic in Australia, etc., etc.? It’s a rich tapestry of color like belly dancing!
I invite all women to reflect, acknowledge and assimilate the stories of their own lives in the deeply moving experience of birth and motherhood, both positive and negative, both in balance. The most important thing is to accept ourselves as spiritually integrated women regardless of color, race or creed.
developer– It was interesting to read about the breakdown of movements and explanations of belly dance as a tool for prenatal and childbirth. In the Middle East, do people still use childbirth preparation techniques as you have explained?
Maha al-muse– As I mentioned in my book, Dance Of The Womb, I did a bit of research on whether women in the Middle East use belly dancing as a birth dance today. It was extremely difficult to access this information, especially anything written. there are some Egyptian hieroglyphics that portray women squatting and being attended to by women in the past; It seems to me that the modern Arab woman may have lost some of this knowledge today, and in fact, she may see the traditional indigenous ways of giving birth as primitive as they too embrace the so-called wonders of technology. I would very much like my work to return to the Arab world and re-educate women from what we may have lost culturally regarding natural childbirth.
developer– One of the main aspects of belly dancing is underestimated and often misconstrued by the general public as sexual. As an educator and teacher, how do you approach this complex situation with the general public?
maha al muse– I understand that the element of “sexuality” is strongly represented in the opinions that people have about bellydance per se… and in the perception of the dance by the audience, as well as some dancers.. .my work with pregnant women takes the womb. dance to another level (although in reality pregnancy is derived from a sexual act) – we cannot deny that birth is an extension of our sexual experience as women, but the way it is taught and presented in my work – The Al Method Musa – is much more of a spiritual practice that supports this most powerful feminine experience with a purpose. Bellydancebirth helps women connect with their bodies by giving birth to wisdom rather than a purely sexual nature, so women can give birth mindfully and hopefully work towards a fearless birth…
So, we could say that belly dance essentially has its roots in the sexuality of the woman (conception) and can then be expressed in childbirth that reflects strength and autonomy, those attributes that have been lost in the commercialism and medicalization of the childbirth, the general public once they begin to understand and hopefully experience belly dancing in this form of prenatal and childbirth exercise will fully understand and accept its incredible gifts to women… I guess I want to relive it! your other powerful nature in conventional childbirth!
developer– You have also supplemented your book with the release of a DVD. What can our DVD readers expect? Do you find that in the current scenario visual presentation has much more effect on people than reading a book?
maha al muse– My DVD, of the same name, Dance Of The Womb, is a continuation of the book. It basically brings “life” to the book… Women can now easily follow me through dance practices as if they were in an intimate and nurturing space with me holding them with ease and grace through their pregnancy. I definitely believe that visual representation through a DVD format not only presents an insight into my style of teaching and expressing, but it is also a wonderful way for women to connect with their bodies and their babies. I think reading has its merits too and there were definitely challenges writing about dance in print! I embellished the idea by weaving my personal story through belly dancing to birth movements to give it a deeper and more intimate background. I think it works very well as a writer… A moving experience!
So the hand in hand book and DVD are wonderful resources – in the book you get to know me and my story and in the DVD we can visually share this together… and it’s also a rare event to see a 46 year old woman naturally pregnant and naturally giving birth.
I guess I dance my talk!!
developer– Going back to your book, you mentioned the evolutionary nature of belly dance. The Middle East is part of the new economic and cultural globalization, how do you see the opinion of the general public about Belly Dance in the next 20 years, specifically in the West?
maha al muse – Well, for me personally, as mentioned, I hope to be a part of the new wave of seeing the art form of belly dance in a new perspective…often traditional art forms when adopted by the West get a new lease on life as we apply a different perspective on your attraction…although in saying that, I think it’s always important to respect and acknowledge the roots and source of the information used so it doesn’t get too watered down and lose meaning and expression. It’s a fine line to walk… and the notion of who owns culture is an interesting question… would we ask who owns the Earth? Humanity?
Respect, respect, respect is of the utmost importance to me… acknowledging the rich history and culture of the Middle East and the incredible gifts received over the past thousands of years from this part of the world, from algebra to medicine to belly dancing. for birth!!
developer – Thank you very much Maha for your time and patience. I’m sure our readers will enjoy his interview and we wish him every success in the future.