BYU Alumna Merges Dance Training With Occupational Therapy
When Meg Nielsen took the stage at BYU, movement meant art, expression and performance. Today, in hospital rehabilitation gyms and therapy clinics, that same movement has become her patients’ path to healing.
Nielsen, a 2023 BYU dance graduate now pursuing her doctorate in occupational therapy at Creighton University, is developing a capstone project that merges the language of dance with the science of rehabilitation. “I truly believe dance can be utilized as a tool in the rehab process,” Nielsen said. “Healing takes patience and hard work, but movement can give people back confidence and independence.”
Nielsen’s program, titled “Rewired in Motion,” will launch at Mayo Clinic-Phoenix next year. The project draws on Laban Movement Analysis and somatics — fields she first explored at BYU — to help adults with neurological conditions restore functional movement. She hopes to “create a dance program encompassing targeted body patterns which could be instrumental in an inclusive therapeutic setting to empower patients, restoring their functional capacity in a very meaningful, personal way,” she explained. Nielsen said her hope is not only to restore strength but also to return a sense of self to patients facing life-altering diagnoses. “Dance enhances mind-body awareness and brings meaning to movement,” she said.
The idea took root after Nielsen volunteered at Barrow Neurological Institute’s robotics program. Watching patients with spinal cord injuries and other conditions practice repetitive movements with machines inspired her to imagine something more holistic. “Many patients that I come into contact with are seeking out new experiences that are fulfilling and provide a sense of accomplishment after life-altering events,” Nielsen said.
Her answer is a program built on six “Fundamental Patterns of Total Body Connectivity,” such as breath, core-distal and cross-lateral movement. Each session begins with a warmup sequence she designed, adaptable to a patient’s needs. The goal is to promote neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to rewire itself — through consistent, meaningful motion.
Nielsen isn’t just working from theory, but her own experience. During a therapy rotation at Mayo Clinic, she helped a stroke patient whose dream was to waltz with his wife again. “We spent an entire session practicing balance and dynamic stepping,” she said. “In the last few minutes, I brought his wife in. They danced together, and we were all in tears.”
Nielsen’s leap from stage to clinic reflects the department’s motto: “integrating mind, body and spirit.” She says that “we need all of these things in balance to be able to achieve greater independence in our daily life.”
Her own medical challenges also shaped her path. After undergoing two hip surgeries as a college student, she said she experienced firsthand what it was like to lose independence. “Therapy is humbling,” she said. “That empathy changed how I care for patients.”
Patients, too, have left an impression on her. One man with a spinal cord injury told her, “I can wiggle my toes today. I have seen the hand of God.” Another, defying medical predictions, began walking again after being told there was no hope. While speaking of the resilience of her patients, Nielsen said, “They have found strength greater than their own — this truly is the most amazing part of working in occupational therapy. I get to witness miracles.”
For Nielsen, each small step, whether a breath, a shift of weight or a waltz across a kitchen floor, marks a victory, a moment for growth. In her journal, Nielsen wrote, “Sometimes God gives you hard things because the recovery process will make you stronger than you once were.”