happenings

Dilshad Patel

(Movement Therapist)

Tardeo, Mumbai

Dance and Movement Therapy

Ms. Dilshad Patel is a Movement Therapist with an education from the the Harkness Dance Center, New York.  You may be wondering, what is Movement Therapy?  Movement Therapy can be harnessed for diverse requirements and enables an individual to fully maximize his or her potential. It is the psycho-therapeutic use of movement that helps individuals find inner peace, release stress, gain energy and mind/body synchrony to enable performance optimization and well-rounded individual development. Movement Therapy outwardly projects the individual’s internal expression, creating an outlet for any internal imbalances. It enhances the mental, physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being of an individual.Dilshad has worked with street children, prisoners, and patients with chronic illnesses. She has taken Movement Therapy to the medical realm where she conducted a pioneering research study on Movement Therapy for Lung patients at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai under the guidance of Dr. Farokh Udwadia and Dr. Khyati Mehta. She has also worked with heart patients at the Asian Heart institute under the guidance of Dr. Ashish Contractor and recently addressed 400 patients with Parkinson's disease at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital.Apart from making some important strides in effective use of Movement Therapy as a supplement to medical needs for patients, her contribution to the field is highlighted by her ground-breaking innovations to Movement Therapy with her pioneering MTS™ program (Movement Therapy for Sports). Dilshad is the first movement therapist to have successfully taken Movement/Therapy into an unexplored realm with elite sports world over.  Her training method has been adopted by elite sports teams like the Rajasthan Royals IPL Cricket team for seasons three and five and the Canadian National Cricket Team during their training for the 2011 world cup. By popular demand, Dilshad is a recurring guest lecturer at Hamaara Sapna - the beneficiaries absolutely adore her class.  As for Dilshad, she'll tell you "I'm not here to teach dance.  I'm here to make you feel good" and that she does! Dilshad, through the medium of dance reached out to the beneficiaries. She taught the women some dance moves. This session was to be one to destress and bring about a sense of relaxation and enjoyment to them. With discussions and emoting attitudues, the stress levels of the women were reduced. They felt relaxed and more calmer after the session. There was an increase in the level of confidence. These sessions have helped the women in not only learning some steps but also express themselves through movement. Beneficiaries have had a lot of fun. These sessions take place on a regular basis to make the beneficiaries let off steam.