322: Jenny C. Cohen on How to Use Dance to Reset Your Brain When Business Feels Like Too Much

What if the thing your body needs most is also the thing you stopped letting yourself do?

Award-winning dancer and somatic movement coach Jenny C. Cohen joined Kandas for a conversation about using dance as a healing tool — not as performance, not as exercise, but as a way back to yourself.

Jenny danced through chemotherapy, rebuilt her life after breast cancer, and turned that experience into a business that helps women reconnect with their own instincts through movement.

This one is for the Gen X woman who has been through something hard and is still figuring out how to carry it while building something real.

“Everyone’s birthright is to dance. Dancing puts you in touch with your body almost immediately.” — Jenny C. Cohen

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

1. Why dancing to music you love activates most of your brain — and how to use that as a solopreneur reset
2. The 5-minute somatic practice that gets you present fast when your brain won’t stop
3. The dominant/non-dominant hand writing exercise that accesses what your subconscious already knows
4. Why trusting yourself matters more than hiring another coach
5. How acknowledging hard anniversaries actually deepens your gratitude instead of derailing it

Jenny’s approach to movement isn’t about technique, choreography, or knowing what you’re doing. It’s about giving your nervous system a way back into your body.

Especially when running a business, managing a household, and just getting through the week has you living entirely from the neck up.

The tools below don’t require a class, a studio, or any prior experience. All you need is five minutes and a willingness to feel a little silly.

Collect songs that make your body want to move. If you’re drawing a blank, you just haven’t found your right rhythm yet — not everyone connects with the same music or even music at all.

My go to playlist when I need to dance is called Dishwashing Music. It’s a recreation of the mixtape I made when I was a teenager with all my favs from the early 80s.

Set a 5-Minute Timer and Just Move

When your Pomodoro breaks, when you’re overwhelmed, when you can’t think straight — set a timer and dance. Play music in the shower. Wiggle before you’re on dry ground. Let the break be a real break.

Activate All Five Sense Before You Start

Imagine your favorite taste. Notice sounds around you beyond the music. Feel your feet on the floor and your clothing on your body. All five senses online — now you’re present. Now dance.

Write the Question with Your Dominant Hand, Answer with Your Non-Dominant

Use a flowing gel pen. Dominant hand writes the question you can’t get a clear answer on. Non-dominant hand answers without thinking. Don’t judge what comes out. Your body’s been waiting to be asked.

Track Hard Anniversaries on the Lunar Calendar

If a date feels too heavy or keeps slipping past you unnoticed, try tracking it on the lunar calendar instead. The date shifts each year, which means your body gets reminded rather than ambushed.

Connect with Jenny C. Cohen

• Website: JennyCCohen.com
• Podcast: dancetohealpodcast.com
• YouTube: youtube.com/@dancetohealpodcast
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennyccohen
• Instagram: @jennyccohen

🎁 Free for Gratitude Geek listeners: Jenny is offering free admission to her monthly master workshop at movetobloom.com

Your body has been trying to tell you something. Maybe it’s been trying for a while. The good news is it’s not too late to start listening. All it takes is five minutes, a playlist, and permission to dance around your living room like nobody’s watching.

Stay Groovy!

PS – If you want to keep doing this kind of work — the practical, experiment-driven, real-life kind — come do it with us in the Gratitude Geek Lab. We meet monthly, we keep it doable, and we do not take ourselves too seriously. Join us here.