Paul Molina

I have been living with Parkinson’s Disease for nearly five years now. My motor symptoms include a left-hand tremor and slowness of movement of the left side of my body. Severe, debilitating non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s-related depression and anxiety led to my early retirement from medical practice two years ago.

I am fortunate to have a wonderful family support system consisting of my wife Grace, with whom I recently celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary, and three beautiful daughters: Jamie, Sarah and Lindsey. All three of my girls are graduates of Durham Academy, located right here in Durham, North Carolina. Jamie is a pediatric dentist who recently joined Durham Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics. Sarah is an aspiring museum curator working on her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, and Lindsey hopes to begin medical school next year.

For most of my life, I have enjoyed playing a variety of sports ranging from baseball, basketball and soccer in my younger days to tennis and golf in my later adult years. Immediately upon retirement, I began to immerse myself in a number of Parkinson’s-related activities, including Rock Steady Boxing, Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery (PWR) exercise classes, Pilates for Parkinson’s and Dance for Parkinson’s. All of these activities have come relatively naturally for me, except for dance. I have found dance to be completely out of my comfort zone as it requires rhythm and creativity, both of which I was sorely lacking.

I have participated in Tommy and Murielle’s Dancing with Parkinson’s workshop series since the beginning of the series in March of 2019. Although as I mentioned the practice of dance was very much out of my comfort zone, I wanted to “give it a try” because of the growing body of research demonstrating the benefits of dance for Parkinson’s. And I am glad that I did!

Tommy and Murielle are outstanding dance instructors with a special gift for unlocking freedom of movement in new and creative ways. Their enthusiasm and joy in the art of improvisational dance are infectious and they have provided our entire group with a safe, supportive and compassionate learning environment within the American Dance Festival studios. Over the course of the past year, including the seminal experience of choreographing, rehearsing and performing an original work of dance in the American Dance Festival’s summer 2019 season, Tommy and Murielle have fostered a deep sense of camaraderie and community among all of us that is positively palpable.

The development of this supportive, caring, tight-knit community has been extremely beneficial for mood and provided a valuable social outlet for our group. It has been very touching to see the connectivity and support displayed among all the dancers, particularly during group movement exercises. The net effect of these dance workshop interactions has been an improvement in the quality of life and overall well-being of persons living with Parkinson’s.

In addition to teaching movement and dance, Tommy and Murielle’s Dancing for Parkinson’s workshop series encourages an attitude of openness to new movement, cultivates curiousity in movement, and enhances the mind-body connection through creative dance. This has served to broaden my perspective of the wide range of movement possibilities that are available to me.

“The benefits of creative dance for Parkinson’s extend beyond the physical and emotional to include tangible improvements in cognition. I believe that out of all my Parkinson’s-related activities, it is dance that uniquely challenges and fortifies the mind-body connection. As dance and movement therapist Erica Hornthal has said, ‘Movement is a very inherent, primitive way to express emotions, tap into memories and unlock cognitive potential.’””

This broadened perspective has enabled me to connect and integrate movements from all of the Parkinson’s-related activities in which I participate -- Dance, Pilates, PWR Moves, and Rock Steady Boxing. I believe that these movement activities are beneficial in managing the symptoms of Parkinson’s and in slowing the progression of disease. I view them all as being complementary to one another and also as potentially synergistic when practiced and combined. As a result, I now find myself using the myriad choices of movement possibilities to better adapt to various environments and situations in everyday life. Through Tommy and Murielle’s Dancing with Parkinson’s workshop series, I feel that experiencing the mental and physical process of creative dance has significantly enhanced my own personal mind-body connection.