What do you do when speaking doesn’t come easily? In this talk, Nainika Mukherjee opens up about growing up with selective mutism, a condition that made it difficult for her to speak in many situations as a child. For a long time, words in certain situations just weren’t an option for her. But dance gave her a way to express what she was feeling, even when she couldn’t say it out loud.As she followed her passion for Kathak new challenges showed up: the constant pressure to perform perfectly, the fear of not being good enough and more, all of it slowly started to take over. She finally found it the dance therapy, once she started it, things slowly shifted. At first, things weren't easy, but over time, she stopped worrying so much about whether everything was perfect or not. She began to move without overthinking it or wanting to impress anyone but herself to feel and express what was inside. This was more than she had asked for, the more she did she felt it; it was helping her process emotions, understand herself a little better, and even start to heal.Nainika Mukherjee is a Kathak dancer and speaker who shares her experiences with audiences through storytelling and performance, exploring how art, healing, and personal growth often go hand in hand.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Nainika Mukherjee blends Kathak with healing as a Dance Movement Therapy practitioner and counselling psychology expert. Trained under esteemed gurus, she earned a Diploma with Honors in Kathak in 2019 and a Post Diploma with Distinction in 2021 from Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. She also holds an MA in Psychology and studied Dance Movement Therapy at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. A Doordarshan Graded Artist, Nainika co-founded "Serenity in Motion LLP" in 2025 to promote dance and movement practices for well-being. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx