DAILY When we play, we are lively, as in ‘full of life.’ In that happiness, we connect. In depression, we disconnect, and grow stagnant. Growing joy and contentment is no small job. Maybe it never was. With over-ripe angst, anger, and confusion , bliss is not a luxury. Consciously cultivating solace is a worthy job.
We don’t realize what we lack until its lack reaches a tipping point, like becoming silent to finally be heard. We would not take time or energy to grow delight if we were not drowning in its opposite. Personally, having done battle with various levels of depression, I am steeped in this tipping point. Falling into dark waters is easy, pulling oneself out to re-generate is difficult…a Scorpionic task.
Shakti Dance has been growing from these emotional re-boots. My Yoga Practice enhanced mind and body, but emotionally I could not find deep emotional nurturing. When I combining dance, song, and deeper connections within the Practice, happiness moved like Pluto’s scythe through the depression.
The emotional-body, particularly the heart-body, needs jbliss in order to obliterate old patterns, and master new. As we overcome the entrenched, forging space for the unknown, we move more deeply into true Self. The exciting part is we don’t where the dance leads. Perhaps it is Elliot’s “still point?” Perhaps it is the ability to see with wider vision? Perhaps it is overcoming rooted-sorrows?
It is not only the dance itself that creates new muscle, it is the intertwined flow of Asana and music that magically massages subtle body levels. It is in joining with others to create momentary community, for how can we possibly step into dance and not have the stranger beside us grow warm and fuzzy? We do not have barn raisings, nor do we sit together at births, or sing over coffins. We have few excuses for celebrational ties. Sadly we rarely create them anymore, we go to them as observer, not a participant. Perhaps dancing and singing together in the old way is lost to us, but there are new dances, new songs, deeper breaths, more resilient muscle to move us onward, through these rocky times.
*Redux– from Fr. Reducere- to bring back, specifically indicating a return to health after disease.
Asana: Take three basic poses and glue them together in new patterns. Manipulate them by flowing through, diving under, twisting into different shapes and directions. Nothing is sacred, and all is sacred. Be deliciously mindful of each Asana’s correct form before creating new pathways. Notice where your body wants to go, and where it holds back. Choose favorite songs in which to cultivate this mindfulness so that it calls you back to your mat time and again.
Health Notes: Greater creativity and pleasure stimulate the heart. Satisfaction and peace feed liver, spleen, and gall bladder. Operating as the Solar-powered being we were meant to be means less anti-depressants, Tums, sleeping pills… you name, we don’t need it when working with our bliss.
Astrology Notes: Sailing the dark water’s of Pluto’s Scorpionic territory, we desire to merge, to carry the previous Libran social connections to a more intense level. The nature of union through profound emotional relationships is an important requirement of Scorpio’s journey. This energy can be used as a natural psychiatrist who destroys other’s emotional blocks, and destructive habits, to redirect them into creative outlets.
Ayurvedic Notes: Following nature is the Ayurvedic mantra for good health. This establishes balance and regulates internal clocks to the environment. Late fall, early winter is usually the move from Vata to Kapha imbalances, ushering in cooler bodies, inertia, with less energy. We are more prone to depression. Pay attention to what creates happiness and energy, like warm oil massage. These help prevent headaches, reduce excess Vata, improve sounder sleep, greater blood circulation, and slows balding, or hair graying.
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