Almost everyone I've ever met hates Mondays. There are songs about how much Monday sucks. We have a name for the depression people feel on Mondays - Monday blues. After having a (hopefully) peaceful and non-stressful weekend, Monday comes along and it's back to work/school/reality and it drains us of all our energy and enthusiasm.
Technically we should feel well rested and be better mentally and physically prepared for the start of the week, and we should have less energy on Friday. However, the history of working days has shown that we are more lacklustre at the beginning of the week than at the end of the working week. I believe it is mostly in our minds (Monday it a human construct and we do gain energy the closer we get to the weekend and suddenly lose it on Sunday night), so getting our heads straight is one step to ridding us of Monday's dominion over us, but we have to take a more wholistic approach (mind, body and soul). Thus, we must find ways to calm, energise and replenish ourselves on Monday (not Saturday and Sunday) to fight the war against Monday.
When you have class on a Monday, the Monday blues has usually caused an energy sap that leaves you too tired to put the energy into your dancing. It may mean you don't want to go to class, or you go to class but are distracted or can't concentrate, or just can't move your body.
We have had our advanced class on a Monday night this year. We will never do that again. Everyone is tired and the energy in the class is so low we may as well be sleeping. It wasn't always this way, but as the end of the year draws nearer, zeal becomes scarce. It has become difficult as a teacher to get through the class. I want to cry because any energy that I had before walking through that door has left my body and dispersed in to the black hole that Monday brings with it.
I've been thinking about how we can combat these Monday vivacity voids. We can't all prepare for class before hand. Most people rush to class from work, or dropping the kids at home and shoving food down their throats. There's no time to relax, destress or stretch before class. My suggestion is that the beginning of the class is utilised to create energy. Some deep breathing will help oxygenate the body. I like to start my warm up with some deep breaths and stretching the whole up towards the ceiling. Stretching can also be invigorating. I find doing the sun salutation (yoga) wakes up my body and energises me. Also a easy cardio exercise will wake up the body and mind, as it oxygenates the blood and the increased heart rate carries that blood to all the corners of your body quicker.
Another important thing to do is to try and leave the day (no matter what day of the week it is) outside the door. You are now in a timeless space, where the only thing is the present. Make a conscious decision to open your mind and be in the moment. I always know when a student does this, because at the end of the class they say "Is it the end already?"
I find that after a good class my soul in fuller, but on Monday nights my soul bleeds into the vacuum created when all my energy is ripped from my body.
Obviously, my ideas aren't enough if we are still struggling on Monday nights, but I must factor in the end of the year (and 2016 has been quite the stressful year) exhaustion to the equation. Sometimes we just have to "suck it up, buttercup", and push through the malaise.