"If you put the psyche in motion, it will heal itself." Gabrielle Roth

The chaos rhythm has characteristics of adventuring to plumb the depths of what’s happening, surrendering, questioning, not knowing... like a river that goes down a waterfall, temporarily goes into a whirlpool, before it continues its course; or like the leaves of the trees fully opening out with ever more leaves, more twigs forming, and with their fruits starting to develop and deeper roots going down - a lot happening at the same time.

My (Nancy’s) experience of chaos is - thank goodness for chaos in all its tiniest up to its biggest forms. One of the most healing chaoses I ever had was when I was doing the most tiny internal vibrations all through chaos - that was all I could do and I really listened and kept going and that experience has always stayed with me. It really affirmed for me that it doesn’t matter what the music is doing or what other people around you are doing, just being really true to yourself in chaos (and throughout all of the wave) gives immense rewards which ripple outwards into your life. Of course, I have my times for big tumultuous chaos dances too and anything in-between. Chaos is a precious phase of the 5Rhythms® for me. It’s a time when, the more I stay present with myself, with my moving feet held and supported by the earth, then what is ready to happen will happen, without pushing; the release just comes exquisitely in its own way; or it may be a time of letting something cook a bit more inside me, integrate more and move through me; also a time of transformation, regeneration, me blending with the change, so that I begin to “become the change” in my tissues; and even, truly a time of rebirth.

I (Edo) now see how my scientific education has immersed me in the energy of this rhythm. I experience it when I step into a situation or endeavour, trusting myself, but not knowing what will come out of it, be it in my own inner world, in a relationship, at work, or elsewhere in my life; when I am propelled by my sense of truth, looking for the veracious explanation, not clinging onto an initial hypothesis, but continually following where the experiments take me, always connected (empirically) to the concrete facts and findings.

You can find a more detailed account in Gabrielle’s book 'Maps to Ecstasy', and in chapter 6 of her book 'Sweat Your Prayers'.