Dance of Shiva-update 1

 

I received my DVD from Andrey Lappa and Universal Yoga . This is a complex and amazing system. Although it is made of 4 + 4 basic arm movements, the creative ramifications are mind-blowing and mind-boggling. The CD has hours of theoretical information including diagrams of the permutations and combinations. Then there are looped practice sessions. After hanging on every word and instruction, I tried the first loop- just the arms. Day 1, 5 minutes, my shoulders were sore and I resolved to be gentler, softer and less interested in perfection in the future. Day 2, 5 minutes and I am being as gentle as I can and I decide that baby steps are the way to go. Day 3 and 4 I am so sore I can’t consider practicing at all and I have taken a few epsom salt soaks!

This is serious stuff. Considering I did very little and it was so intense for my body. I know I will become very strong, flexible and clear if I continue at it. But baby steps. So I’ve asked Havi, there is only one person who knows more than she does about this and its Andrey, and apparently he spends 6 months at a monastery in the Himalayas. AND she is one of only two practitioners in the world to have ever mastered the famed and dreaded Level 7. Check out her great video.

She says: — First couple days are the HARDEST by a lot. Everyone hurts the first few times and then it gets better. — Women about to get their period OR going through menopause tend to get a LOT more soreness. Sometimes good just to back off then. — H3 to H4 transition is the most painful. Especially if you’ve had shoulder issues, soften that up. You can try doing looser, more flowing movements and less exacting ones. — If that doesn’t help, take out #3 and substitute an easier position for you. As long as you’re making connections systematically between points, it’s okay if you change the shape until you recover. — Yes to epson salt baths.– Yes to stretching before after your practice. — Yes to slow practice with breathing.– Yes to massaging your arms after each round. Give yourself a bit of time to recover, and then take it slow. It’s definitely work, and this does happen and yeah, you’re working muscles that hardly ever get used, so also normal.

So there we have it.

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Pat Head Rub Tummy

Chewing gum and walking-easy for most people, patting your head an rubbing your tummy- harder, doing the Dance of Shiva-hardest? Check this out: It’s one of the many moves that are part of the Shiva Nata. Apparently the more you practice, the better you get at recognizing your patterns, breaking them down into their components and building something entirely new to take their place.

Andrey Lappa’s Dance of Shiva (also known as Shiva Nata ) — is a unique and visually stunning, flowing yoga movement form that restructures the brain and facilitates hugely exciting moments of understanding in a safe and systematic way. Havi claims you will make personal breakthroughs in a very short time, usually within 24 hours. There must be creation of new neuronal pathways from the new movement patterns and the mid-line crossing movements. She says, “It’s like a dancing puzzle that sparks forehead-slapping moments of “Ohmygosh!” over and over again as you open to your own potential.” I’m open to that. Certainly would never get bored because it looks fairly impossible to master the movements. I’m going to begin to learn it and will let you know.