Qoya helps heal broken hearts, numb bodies, and crumbled dreams.
Danielle Laporte
What is Qoya?
Qoya is intuitive, embodied, sensual, emotional, therapeutic, sacred dance with a community of women. It’s movement as medicine. Dancing Qoya deepens and strengthens your sense of self. Every class is another opportunity to return home to your body, to yourself.
There's no way to do Qoya wrong...
and the way you know you're doing it right, is that it feels right, feels true. Your movement is right for your body.
There are no levels in Qoya.
Every Qoya class is different, an opportunity to experience movement for the first time.
Neha Sangwan, M.D.
"Qoya has been a spectacular experience of discovering freedom and joy in my body while being supported by a powerful sisterhood. Qoya is not just fun; it’s healing. This practice has helped me create movement with meaning. It also aligns with some of my highest values—accessing my body’s innate wisdom, variety and fun as I learn, connecting to the sacredness of sisterhood, and honoring true authenticity—what’s real for me in the moment."
The core components of Qoya are not so much detailed exercises as they are invitations to explore the inner and outer sensations of your particular body.
I weave together these invitations to create an emotional and physical exploration of an idea such as “gravity and lightness,” or “freedom,” or “the scripture beneath your skin.”
Wear whatever feels comfortable for you to move in, whether it's workout clothes, a comfy t-shirt with leggings, or anything else. You can be barefoot, or wear shoes, whatever is most comfortable for you.
What if i have a bad back, or I'm not in good shape?
There are no levels in Qoya: no beginners, no experts. Every dancer adapts the movements to her own body so there's no one way to move, no right or wrong. If you body wants to move fast and wild, move fast and while. If your body wants to dance while sitting, dance while sitting. If you want to lay down and take a nap during class, take a nap! Your body is perfect: dance in your own perfect way.
But what if I'm not a good dancer?
Dearest, you CAN dance. You ARE a good dancer.
When we dance Qoya together, it doesn't matter what it looks like, what matters is how it feels. Everyone can dance. We evolved over millennia dancing around our fires, dancing under the moon, dancing through our lives. We've been dancers as long as we've been humans. You were born a dancer, and even though you may have forgotten, you are a dancer still.
When we dance Qoya together, each one of us is focused on the feelings of our own body, and allowing that feeling to lead us: there's not space to worry about what the women around us are doing. Every one of us will dance differently, dance in her own way, dance beautifully and perfectly as an expression of her own body.
There is, truly, no way to do Qoya wrong, no way to dance wrong. The only thing that matters is that you dance the truth of how you feel. That you be your authentic self. That you dance.
