MEET OUR SPONSOR
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Gigi Oppenheimer:
Dancer, Intuitive Healer & Owner of White Lotus Grace |
Meet Gigi: Gigi Oppenheimer, owner of White Lotus Grace, has been a lifelong dancer and is a naturally intuitive healer with over 30 years of spiritual study, assimilation and teaching experience.
She was introduced to dance at the age of three as a means of healing her excessively painful shyness. Dance became an elixir of joy for her, and throughout her childhood and adolescence, she studied and performed several different styles of dance with a focus on ballet. She danced pre-professionally with the Mid Hudson Ballet Company in many adjudicated festivals and other venues. At the age of 17, she moved to New York City to reside in a Vaishnava temple, and for seven years, she studied the devotional wisdom of the Vedas [ancient Indian scriptures], chanting sacred mantras and dedicating herself in a spirit of service to Divinity. Gigi immersed herself in dance again during a pivotal time when she was recovering from a chronic illness and grief. She found that dance was the catalyst that initiated her healing process. Guidance came from within to show her how to move and dance through it in order to be healed and spiritually uplifted. She was driven to share this experience with others who could similarly benefit. During this time of reinvention, Gigi discovered that she was an empath – someone able to receive information and energy intuitively and empathically, enabling her to help others to heal and move forward. Her deep passion for the profoundly joyful power of movement, meditation, and healing inspires her to work with clients (individually and in small groups) to create a healing experience that is personally comforting and supportive. |
Gigi is also an author of two works: Grace: Moving in Divine Alignment and a new project that she is currently completing, Moving By Faith - A Course of Embodying Inner Trust.
About White Lotus Grace:
White Lotus Grace, located in Millbrook, NY, was created to share an array of unique services, classes and courses that nurture mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being. The space was originally opened as White Lotus Ballet in 2004. The focus at that time was on foundational dance technique and creative self-expression for children and adults. Gigi’s own healing through dance inspired her to expand the range of personal services and instruction. In doing so, the studio became a sanctuary, and the name was changed to White Lotus Grace. It now serves a variety of clients (locally and long distance), not only in the realm of movement, but through an expanse of dimensions of intuitive spiritual healing arts. All of these services are offered in person as well as remotely (by phone and internet). |
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Note: The name White Lotus Grace is inspired by a Sanskrit prayer in which it says that the chanting of the divine name expands the white lotus of good fortune.
Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, visited Gigi at her studio (the space is aptly deemed her sacred sanctuary) in Millbrook, NY to discuss her journey as a dancer and the inspiration behind founding her company White Lotus Grace.
Your journey as a dancer has brought you full circle. Can you start from the beginning?
I started dancing when I was three. I was painfully shy, so my mother enrolled me in ballet to get me out of my shell. Early on, I took a combination of classes in ballet, tap and jazz. I later joined Estelle and Alfonso’s, [Estelle & Alfonso Performing Arts Complex was located in Fishkill, NY] and trained in Russian ballet.* With Estelle & Alfonso, I traveled around the Northeast, participating in large, adjudicated festivals that chose dance groups for their gala performances. It was a big deal to be selected for a gala. Besides these artistic regional festivals, we performed in many venues – schools, nursing homes, shopping malls, theaters, and fairs - we even performed for the West Point Cadets.
When I got out of school, I moved to New York City and was taking dance classes there. But I was a country girl in the big city, and I felt out of place, so my attendance waned. I had joined a Vaishnava temple, where I studied and dedicated my life in devotional service to God. During this time, I began to suffer from chronic fatigue which lasted for 14 years. It wasn’t until later in those years that I started dancing again.
I moved back upstate because of my illness. When I look back on all of this now, I realize that I didn’t understand that I was an empath.** I took on others’ emotions and feelings and would literally absorb their issues.
Your journey as a dancer has brought you full circle. Can you start from the beginning?
I started dancing when I was three. I was painfully shy, so my mother enrolled me in ballet to get me out of my shell. Early on, I took a combination of classes in ballet, tap and jazz. I later joined Estelle and Alfonso’s, [Estelle & Alfonso Performing Arts Complex was located in Fishkill, NY] and trained in Russian ballet.* With Estelle & Alfonso, I traveled around the Northeast, participating in large, adjudicated festivals that chose dance groups for their gala performances. It was a big deal to be selected for a gala. Besides these artistic regional festivals, we performed in many venues – schools, nursing homes, shopping malls, theaters, and fairs - we even performed for the West Point Cadets.
When I got out of school, I moved to New York City and was taking dance classes there. But I was a country girl in the big city, and I felt out of place, so my attendance waned. I had joined a Vaishnava temple, where I studied and dedicated my life in devotional service to God. During this time, I began to suffer from chronic fatigue which lasted for 14 years. It wasn’t until later in those years that I started dancing again.
I moved back upstate because of my illness. When I look back on all of this now, I realize that I didn’t understand that I was an empath.** I took on others’ emotions and feelings and would literally absorb their issues.
“If I can serve as an instrument to spare someone else difficulty…or to bring them peace, joy, relief, inspiration…that is the seed and the purpose that White Lotus Grace has sprouted from.” ~ Gigi Oppenheimer |
My return to dance changed my life. I came to realize that it is as essential to my well-being as air and water. In time, I finally understood that I could use dance in conjunction with my acute sensitivity to energy to help others.
*Russian ballet is known for its impeccable precision, ease of execution and attention to detail with instruction meticulously conducted in a particular order. **An empath feels and absorbs other people’s emotions and/or physical symptoms because of their high sensitivities. |
When you started dancing again, did you go back to your roots or dabble in other styles?
When I returned to dance, I first worked with a woman who had a modern background. Then I explored classical Indian dance. Later, I studied Hawaiian Hula dancing. [Each of these dances is rooted in culture and spiritual practices.]
Today, I dance a fusion of forms that have created my vocabulary of movement – ballet, jazz, modern, hula, Indian, and my own self-expressive style.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I value being present in the moment with each individual and allowing Divine Grace to intuitively guide the progression of movement in a way that best connects with his/her personal experience. There is profound power in dance to integrate body, mind, and soul, and to embody the highest aspirations of one's being. I approach the process with each client as a friend, facilitator, and conduit, supporting and nurturing their own innate relationship with movement, self, Spirit/God, and healing.
When I returned to dance, I first worked with a woman who had a modern background. Then I explored classical Indian dance. Later, I studied Hawaiian Hula dancing. [Each of these dances is rooted in culture and spiritual practices.]
Today, I dance a fusion of forms that have created my vocabulary of movement – ballet, jazz, modern, hula, Indian, and my own self-expressive style.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I value being present in the moment with each individual and allowing Divine Grace to intuitively guide the progression of movement in a way that best connects with his/her personal experience. There is profound power in dance to integrate body, mind, and soul, and to embody the highest aspirations of one's being. I approach the process with each client as a friend, facilitator, and conduit, supporting and nurturing their own innate relationship with movement, self, Spirit/God, and healing.
Gigi Dancing with Grace
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Tell me about your healing dance classes. What do clients hope to gain through this experience?
I have a variety of intuitive healing services, but the majority of them are movement-based. There are different ways I work with clients in classes and private sessions. There is a passive style where the client relaxes, and I dance and move around the person as I help balance and transfer positive energy. There is also a guided style of movement where the client follows my movement but has the opportunity for self-expression. Lastly, the interactive and responsive style can be incorporated into what I call “Change the Dance of Life,” where I represent an element that someone wants to heal, and I intuitively guide the person to move in relation to it in order to embody transformation. This style can also be used with “Change the Dance of Love,” in which I guide two or more people through what they want to heal in their relationship. In some classes, we start with a 30 minute healing dance practice that I’ve channeled. It’s a basic set sequence. It is meant to clear, ground, and center energy while toning and improving flexibility. It’s a total body-mind-spirit exercise. Once members of a class start to connect, we can begin to develop relationships. We sit in a circle to start, and from that emerges what we would like to accomplish through movement for the day. |
We are often dancing stress away, and part of the class is to reflect on the movement. There is an energetic shift that is carried with the students when they leave. We literally step out of old patterns and re-choreograph how we move through life.
I have clients – mature women who have been coming for quite a while – who consider it their therapy now. With this group, we listen to where we are in the moment…it’s very intuitive.
I have clients – mature women who have been coming for quite a while – who consider it their therapy now. With this group, we listen to where we are in the moment…it’s very intuitive.
“Every class is an imaginative journey, together creating, with Gigi’s guidance, a transcendent energy that carries me through the day and enhances my goals for the week. I can bring anything into that class that I want to move, and we move it, and I grow. She’s spiritually gifted and deeply grounded at the same time. Gigi’s classes are a must for mental and physical healing and well-being.” ~ Cat Greenstreet, Courage and Renewal Facilitator® |
Do you offer services that do not incorporate movement/dance?
Yes. I provide intuitive readings without movement that offer a deep, spiritual connection to guide and encourage. I also offer guided meditation. I provide mantra healing, which is spiritual healing through sacred sound. In these healing classes, I chant…although, sometimes I will dance during a mantra healing as well. The bottom line is that it’s a nurturing experience. Whether it’s through dance, mantra or meditation, I make a personal connection with the client to share what is in my repertoire that may support their well-being. |
What is an energy healing dance treatment?
There are two parts: The first is reading someone’s energy and the second is the healing phase. At times, the client is not moving, but receives energy channeled through my movement as a conduit.
I provide intuitive-empathic energy healing. Through the movement I receive information to help the client address specific issues or for his/her overall well-being. I often work through chakras [energy centers that are located in different spots along the spine] to restore balance, applying my physical movement to shift these subtle energies within and around them. This treatment clears negative thoughts and revitalizes the client – it has a soothing effect.
For years, you taught traditional ballet. Do you still hold classes in ballet?
These classes are still available. I teach traditional ballet to those who desire this instruction. I am dedicated to reaching the needs of all of my clients.
How many students typically in a group class? What is the maximum?
Often, there are two or three people in a group class. In order to keep the atmosphere intimate and to be able to offer personal quality attention to each individual, I hold four spots at the most.
Tell me about Grace, Moving in Divine Alignment.
This book* was inspired by my work and spiritual experience through dance. The word grace has three meanings: elegance of movement, divine grace, and the honor of one’s presence. When all of these things are aligned, the sensation of grace reaches its pinnacle, and there is an ease of movement through life which can be felt.
Dance movement is an incredible conduit for grace. That is how I’m able to receive and channel grace for healing. The book is for anyone, though, with relevance beyond the scope of dance.
*Grace: Moving in Divine Alignment is available from Gigi’s website.
You have a new book coming out, right?
I’m currently working on Moving By Faith: A Course of Embodying Inner Trust. My vision is for it to be an online book of day by day inspiration accompanied by step by step video illustrations of movement and dance practices to deeply internalize a faithful way of being. It’s designed as a one month course for inner trust to become a daily habit, but those who take it will be able to go at their own pace. Stay tuned...
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
I find deepest sanctuary from within…in my heart…through my relationship with God as my friend. I also find sanctuary through grace and dancing from that inner-most place.
There are two parts: The first is reading someone’s energy and the second is the healing phase. At times, the client is not moving, but receives energy channeled through my movement as a conduit.
I provide intuitive-empathic energy healing. Through the movement I receive information to help the client address specific issues or for his/her overall well-being. I often work through chakras [energy centers that are located in different spots along the spine] to restore balance, applying my physical movement to shift these subtle energies within and around them. This treatment clears negative thoughts and revitalizes the client – it has a soothing effect.
For years, you taught traditional ballet. Do you still hold classes in ballet?
These classes are still available. I teach traditional ballet to those who desire this instruction. I am dedicated to reaching the needs of all of my clients.
How many students typically in a group class? What is the maximum?
Often, there are two or three people in a group class. In order to keep the atmosphere intimate and to be able to offer personal quality attention to each individual, I hold four spots at the most.
Tell me about Grace, Moving in Divine Alignment.
This book* was inspired by my work and spiritual experience through dance. The word grace has three meanings: elegance of movement, divine grace, and the honor of one’s presence. When all of these things are aligned, the sensation of grace reaches its pinnacle, and there is an ease of movement through life which can be felt.
Dance movement is an incredible conduit for grace. That is how I’m able to receive and channel grace for healing. The book is for anyone, though, with relevance beyond the scope of dance.
*Grace: Moving in Divine Alignment is available from Gigi’s website.
You have a new book coming out, right?
I’m currently working on Moving By Faith: A Course of Embodying Inner Trust. My vision is for it to be an online book of day by day inspiration accompanied by step by step video illustrations of movement and dance practices to deeply internalize a faithful way of being. It’s designed as a one month course for inner trust to become a daily habit, but those who take it will be able to go at their own pace. Stay tuned...
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
I find deepest sanctuary from within…in my heart…through my relationship with God as my friend. I also find sanctuary through grace and dancing from that inner-most place.
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