My Dance Is My Prayer

Abstract This study investigates how intentional dance prayer (IDP), an approach derived from authentic movement (AM), can provide spiritual and therapeutic benefits. The theoretical foundation draws on Merleau-Ponty’s body phenomenology and prior AM research. The empirical work was a six-year longitudinal qualitative study, using a practical-theoretical reflection process to examine participants’ experiences of IDP. This article presents participants’ first-person accounts of the insights and transformations—emotional, spiritual, and bodily—that emerged from the practice.