EP 29: Movement for Every(body) with Jules Bakshi of Good Move

Episode Length: 1:37:32

This week on Our Nature, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of my favorite individuals and teachers Jules Bakshi. She’s a dancer, choreographer, certified pilates instructor, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the owner of GOOD MOVE, a dance and mindful fitness studio for movers of all levels, genders, races, shapes, and sizes. Her classes are designed to take the intimidation out of dancing and help you feel the joy, freedom, and empowerment of expression through movement, which you’ll hear much more about in the episode.

This episode couldn’t come at a better time. A time when we’re not moving as much and there’s a lot of built up emotions and stagnation as a result of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, financial stress, uncertainty, and the upcoming election. I honestly couldn’t have made it through the last few months without GOOD MOVE by my side - from taking Jules’ Instagram Live classes to now regularly tuning into GOOD MOVE TV, which is a monthly virtual subscription to all of GOOD MOVE’s offerings. Though I was a competitive dancer and not new to the dance and pilates world, Jules fundamentally changed my relationship to dance and my body.. What I love about Jules is her warm, nurturing energy, her joyful spirit, and her integrity. She means what she says about wanting everyone to feel freer in their bodies. We talk about improvisation, how movement can help us heal, why anger is our friend, entrepreneurship. We also talk about the oppression of women and how our patriarchal society doesn’t want women to have authority or autonomy over our bodies, which is ever timely even though we recorded this episode before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s speech on the violence of misogyny and abuse of power in the workplace and the viral social media #challenge sparked by the growing atrocities against women in Turkey. Finally, towards the end of the conversation, we discuss the surprising connection I have to GOOD MOVE, revealing an aspect of my life that I don’t talk about on the podcast very much. I really love this episode and can’t wait for you to hear it.

“I still feel quite amazed every time I go out into nature.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“We need to shake it up. And shake it out.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“If we’re only living in our heads, first of all, we’re missing out on so much, and not only that, we’re not allowing ourselves to reach out full potential as physical beings.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“The body wants to move.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“It [improvisation] allows us to break up stagnant energy in the body, break up tension and tightness in the body and make space for fresh energy to come in.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“Improvisation helps to empower people by undoing the conditioning that you have to perform and that you have to look like x,y, and z to be valid.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“Movement, especially expressive movement, is going to bring you into a deeper, more compassionate relationship with yourself and with your surroundings in a way that nothing else can.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature
“It makes my heart full when I’m working with women and helping them come into their power.” - Jules Bakshi x Our Nature

Resources

Episode 19: Going All In With David Sleininger
GOOD MOVE
GOOD MOVE IG
Jules Bakshi IG
Pina Bausch
Designer Tim LaSalle
Lot Architects

Show Notes

Jules’ relationship to nature growing up in Bombay, India and in New Jersey
How conditioning shapes our comfort, especially as it relates to nature
What brought Jules to a career in dance
Why moving our bodies is so critical to our wellbeing
How improvisation allows us to feel free in our bodies
Why GOOD MOVE is a different type of dance and fitness studio
Why it’s important to move past of feelings of needing to perform when dancing
The reason why movement is a spiritual practice
How to move past feelings of insecurity and self-consciousness when dancing
Why we shouldn’t be afraid or suppress our anger as women
The origin story of GOOD MOVE
How Jules pivoted GOOD MOVE when Covid-19 hit
One movement practice we can all do to nourish our bodies during this stressful, unpredictable time
The Last Five Questions

Connect with Jules Bakshi:

Jules Bakshi Instagram

The Last Five Questions

What is your favorite place in nature?
The forest - specifically, the Catskills.
What is the animal, mineral or plant that resonates with you the most?
Gold. I feel that its both grounding and uplifting at the same time. Calming and empowering.
What is one thing we can do right now to connect with the natural world and bring more harmony into our lives?
Go outside and move around to get closer to nature.
What’s the greatest lesson nature has taught you?
Nothing is certain.
Complete this sentence: Nature brings me…
Peace.

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