“They dance from their gut. And what they have is presence. No one ever asked me if I felt present when I was dancing. And when I recently went back to training for the first time, I was like, wow I am the least present ever when I’m dancing. I am so out of my body. I don’t feel anything. I’m so in my head. The amount of times we come off stage and the choreographer goes ‘how was that, how did that feel?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t remember’. I still see that with kids, I watch them come off stage and they don’t remember what happened. Part of it is nerves, but part of it is not teaching presence as an artist, as opposed to tricks.”

>>> IMPORTANT NOTICE <<< This episode carries themes, personal stories, discussion of recovery, and ongoing management of eating disorders.

TODAY ON THE GODDESS MOVEMENT:

- Laura tells her story of becoming a competitive dancer as a young child

- Aryn dives into the theme revealed after the last LUVEN performance — healing dance trauma

- How Laura found TGM studio as the photographer for our 1885 production in June of 2023

- The struggle of body image from a young age, how it turned into body dysmorphia and eventually an eating disorder

- How leaving the dance world helped Laura heal, and then flipping the role to become a dance teacher

- All about leadership, responsibility and the cascading impact of self-criticism as the role model for kids and teenagers

- How beneficial basic resources could be if this industry took more responsibility for mental/emotional ‘injury’ rather than just physical injury

- Having boundaries as dance teachers — and and leaving the saviour archetype behind

- The damage done by the lack of information around diet pills and shakes

- Ways we can support kids with high-performance tendencies in nervous system regulation

- Laura shares her wish for people to understand that sacrificing our health for excellence is NOT the answer to achieving goals

- Signs and signals someone may be struggling with an eating disorder

- Laura reflects on her partner Bri (who also teaches for The Goddess Movement) and her teaching style with kids

- Aryn recalls the evolution of pole fitness becoming competitive in nature, how scoring came to be, and the lack of artistry

- Prioritizing artistry and presence with kids to ensure a healthy balance of excellence and somatic experience

- How costumes can work for or against our self-esteem and how to advocate for ourselves in group formats

- Tuning in to where we get our validation from as leaders, instructors and teachers

CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST ARYN SAVARD

- https://www.instagram.com/aryn_savard

JOIN US IN STUDIO

- https://www.instagram.com/tgm.studio

- https://www.thegoddessmovement.com

PODCAST LOVE-BYTES

- https://www.instagram.com/thegoddessmovementpodcast

CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST LAURA TENCER

- https://www.instagram.com/laur.tencer/

- laura.m.tencer@gmail.com

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEENS + ADULTS

PROGRAMS/ONLINE RESOURCES

- Fraser Health: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/Service-Directory/Service-At-Location/5/C/eating-disorders-program---fraser-health-south

- Child + Youth Mental Health Offices: http://childandyouth.com/

- BC Children’s Kelty Mental Health: https://keltyeatingdisorders.ca/

COUNSELORS

- THRIVE COLLECTIVE > Alison Esau, Sarah Price, Vanessa Brown:

https://www.thrivewellbc.com/meet-the-team

- TIA PRINCE > private practice: https://callistocounselling.ca/

- TIA PRINCE > group work: https://www.vitalitycollective.ca/tia-prince