During last weekend's Flamenco Retreat at the Oregon Coast (which I'm still on a high from by the way and which you can see pictures of below) we all agreed that flamenco teaches us about life and about ourselves. 

So, today I share with you fifty life lessons I've gleaned from flamenco.

Fifty Lessons:

(This list is full of links in case you'd like to dive deeper into some of the lessons.)

  1. Listen to your intuition, and trust your instincts.
  2. Express your true feelings. 
  3. Be present.
  4. Stand beautifully in your power.
  5. Prepare. (Really prepare.)
  6. Take risks.
  7. Focus.
  8. Act with intention.
  9. The answers are in the mirror, so look.
  10. Show up.
  11. Be the observer.
  12. Attune to your surroundings, to yourself, and to others.
  13. Be you, genuinely you. 
  14. Communicate clearly. 
  15. Have confidence in you.
  16. Put things where they belong.
  17. The way you carry yourself matters.
  18. It is possible.  
  19. Try. 
  20. You are a part of something bigger.
  21. Get out of your head.
  22. Accept (the situation, yourself, others...)
  23. Be curious.
  24. Act. (Even if you feel afraid, even if you don't know where to start, just do something.) 
  25. Have patience, and keep going.
  26. Pay attention to what is working and what isn't working.
  27. Open (And be open).
  28. Try a different approach.
  29. Take care of your body.
  30. You can rise to the challenge.
  31. Your attitude matters.  
  32. Honor your creativity.
  33. There is often more than one right answer.   
  34. Be grateful.
  35. Do what feels good.
  36. A strong mind makes a strong body, and a strong body makes a strong mind.
  37. Center yourself.
  38. Do less.
  39. Accept support.
  40. Don't rush.
  41. Experiment and play.
  42. Mistakes are opportunities.
  43. Not everything requires an explanation. 
  44. Breathe.
  45. Slow down. (Slow down.)
  46. Relax.
  47. Let go.
  48. Do the work.
  49. Surprises are good.
  50. Have fun, and enjoy yourself!

I stopped at fifty though I didn't have to. (In fact, I've already started the follow up post, Fifty More Life Lessons from Flamenco ... )

The bottom line,

Just about anything I learn and do in flamenco I can apply to my life outside of flamenco. 

I know flamenco has taught you many lessons as well. Don't hold back. Please share what you've learned in the comments below. 

Something Else

Besides the flamenco teaching us about life thing, something else we all agreed on during last weekend's retreat is that we feel incredibly grateful to have our flamenco friends to commune with. Students gathered from Florida, Illinois, California, Washington, and Oregon for this event. We danced, we walked on the beach, we ate, we laughed, we rested. The gathering together with fellow flamenco lovers is definitely one of the best things about these events. (I'm so exited to do more of this in February and March when our guest artists come to town.) Here's a peek at what we were up to:

For more life lessons, check this out.

(This is an expansion of this post. )

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