Dev– First of all, my sincere congratulations on writing and publishing your book and winning the gold award at the Living Now Independent Book Publishers Awards. When did you first think about writing about this particular topic?

Maha al musa– Thank you very much Dev for your congratulations.

I had been teaching belly dancing as a prenatal exercise for about four years when in 2000 we were on a family vacation in Western Samoa with my two sons who were then 1 and 4 years old. One morning I was sitting on the beach chatting with another female traveler telling her how I facilitated belly dancing for pregnancy classes and how I had connected to my Middle Eastern roots through dance. We talked about culture, my experiences of being raised in the West from an oriental culture, the meaning of belly dancing for Arab women and women in labor, my Muslim origin on the part of my father, etc. I mentioned that for me belly dance represented this same poeticism of expression: the East meets the West and life experiences and how I related it to my teaching of pregnant women about childbirth and how powerful our personal stories can be. when we allow ourselves to fully embrace life’s experiences. experiences. She turned around in all sincerity and said

“You must write about this! And share your insights and knowledge with all the women of the world! Women need to hear about this and women definitely need to be empowered around natural childbirth as in these modern times we have to eliminate the fear of childbirth “.

I said “that’s what my job is all about and belly dancing has the potential to bring women to a safe and autonomous place in childbirth!”

A month later, once we got home, I thought this woman was right. I must write!

So I started my book in 2001.

Dev– You have added your personal memories to each chapter, there are some very honest statements about finding your mother and growing up in Australia as an immigrant. Do you link the events spiritually and emotionally to your personal journey to becoming a mother?

Maha al musa– Yes, I cannot separate my experiences as a first generation migrant (although I was only two years old when I arrived in Australia) from my emotional and spiritual world and my life as a mother. Motherhood is an extension of who I am and what I do! Who am I without my stories, beliefs, culture, education, experiences of being ethnic in Australia etc etc? It is a rich tapestry of color like belly dancing!

I invite all women to reflect, acknowledge and assimilate the stories of their own lives in the deeply moving experience of childbirth and motherhood, both positive and negative, both in balance. The most important thing is to accept ourselves as spiritually integrated women regardless of color, race, or creed.

Dev– It was an interesting read about the breakdown of movements and explanations of belly dancing as a tool for prenatal and childbirth. In the Middle East, do people still use childbirth preparation techniques as you have explained?

Maha To the muse– As I mentioned in my book, Dance Of The Womb, I did a lot of research on whether women in the Middle East use belly dancing as a birth dance today; it was extremely difficult to access this information, especially anything written. There are some Egyptian hieroglyphs that portray women squatting and being cared for by women in the past; It seems to me that modern Arab women may have lost some of this knowledge today and indeed can see traditional and indigenous ways of giving birth as primitive as they too embrace the so-called wonders of technology. I would very much like my work to return to the Arab world and re-educate women about what we may have culturally lost regarding natural childbirth.

Dev– One of the main aspects of belly dancing is despised and often misinterpreted by the general public as sexual in some way. As an educator and teacher, how do you approach this complex situation with the general public?

Maha al musa– I understand that the element of “sexuality” is strongly represented in the opinions that people have of belly dance per se … and in the perception of dance by the public and also by some dancers … my work With pregnant women it takes the belly dancing to another level (although in reality pregnancy stems from a sexual act) – we cannot deny that birth is an extension of our sexual experience as women, but the way it is taught and I present in my work – The Al Musa Method – it is quite a spiritual practice that purposefully supports this powerful feminine experience. Belly dancing helps women connect with their bodies by giving birth to wisdom rather than purely sexual nature, so women can consciously give birth and hopefully work towards a fearless delivery. .

So, we could say that belly dancing is essentially rooted in the woman’s sexuality (conception) and can then be expressed in childbirth reflecting strength and autonomy – those attributes that have been lost in the commercialism and medicalization of birth – the general public once they begin to understand and hopefully experience belly dancing in this form of prenatal exercise and childbirth will fully understand and accept its amazing gifts for women … I guess I’m looking forward to reliving its powerful! another nature in conventional childbirth!

Dev– You have also supplemented your book with a DVD release. What can our DVD players expect? Do you think that in the current scenario, visual presentation has much more effect on people than reading a book?

Maha al musa– My DVD, of the same name, Dance Of The Womb, is a continuation of the book. It basically brings the book “life” … women can now easily follow me through dance practices as if they were in an intimate and enriching space with me holding them with ease and grace during their pregnancy. I definitely think that visual representation through a DVD format not only presents an idea of ​​my style of teaching and expressing myself, but is also a wonderful way for women to connect with their bodies and their babies. I think reading has its merits too and there were definitely challenges to writing about dance in print! I embellished the idea by weaving my personal story through belly dancing to the birth movements to give it a deeper and more intimate background. I think it works very well as a writer … A moving experience!

So hand in hand, the book and the DVD are wonderful resources: in the book you get to know me and my story and in the DVD we can visually share this together … and it is also a rare event to see a 46-year-old woman. natural pregnancy and natural childbirth.

I guess I dance my talk!

Dev– Going back to your book, you mentioned the evolutionary nature of belly dancing. The Middle East is part of the new economic and cultural globalization, how do you see the opinion of the general public about belly dancing in the next 20 years, specifically in the West?

Maha al musa – Well for me personally, as mentioned, I hope to be part of the new wave of seeing the art form of belly dancing in a new perspective … often traditional art forms, when accepted by the West , they get a renewed renewal of life since we apply a different perspective on their attraction … although in saying that I believe that it is always important to respect and recognize the roots and the source of the information used so that it is not diluted too much as to lose meaning and expression. It is a fine line to walk ….. and the notion of who owns culture is an interesting question … would we ask who owns the Earth? Humanity?

Respect, respect, respect is of the utmost importance to me … recognizing the rich history and culture of the Middle East and the incredible gifts bestowed over the past thousands of years from this part of the world, from algebra to medicine and belly dance. for the birth !!

Dev – Thank you very much Maha for your time and patience. I am sure our readers will enjoy your interview and we wish you every success in the future.