On a side note…if you get the chance to visit Santa Monica, or, if this exhibit ever comes to your area, please, please go. Make sure you spend at least 1-1/2 hours. The exhibit consists of humans with nature, in a setting I’m sure none of you will ever see. The website does a good job…but the videos and photographs in real life tell much, much more. It’s yoga applied in life’s essence…
Today, we had the honor of sleeping in…and meet after noon. We spent the afternoon working on our own flow practice, based on what feels good in our bodies.
Using the three-part vinyasa technique, we went into our spaces to create. This is the most powerful part of Shiva’s training, creating, using our own bodies, and teaching to ourselves the beauty of yoga. Tomorrow..we get to practice our own flows…
I thought I could communicate the essence of this evening, but the truth is, it is an inner experience, and really can’t be duplicated in writing. But, I can give you some information…
(note on the photo…Ian and I were anxiously awaiting the opening of the door to the studio, and playing with the camera. He’s not in the trance yet…although it may look like it) It begins with a meditative setting, with candles, sage, and spirit. Like an audience who dresses up for a play, we all were there in our dance gear, waiting for Shiva to open the door. As she did, we poured into the room like an anxious audience would. Shiva, dressed in white dance-pants a black top, guided us through the opening of chanting, OMs, and natural breath. She then guided us through some free-form yoga, which felt pretty natural after our training this week. It was at somewhere in this beginning, where I began to get lost within myself. All the while, the music is playing, with lots of bass and treble. It gets louder and louder, as we slowly morph to our feet, and start dancing with ourselves. This was not a dance with a partner…your partner was only your body, being guided by the music, the spirit, and the moment.
The music continued, from all parts of the world, full of beat and soul. Even Zepplin made it’s way in there. The wave moved in and our of every corner, in mostly a oneness, circular fashion. Shiva was everywhere, sharing, moving, and spreading her spirit. Everyone was moving, dancing, spinning, within themselves. At some point, Shiva was in the middle, driving the room with her movements. Like a wave, moving in and out, spinning and swirling, the room moved with her.
2 hours seemed like moments, and before I knew it, we were back on the floor, enjoying beautiful music from Daphne and a regee wonder, who chanted and sang. The room chimed in, and we chanted to this beautiful music and guitar to bring down the energy. We truly could have stayed all night…
If you ever get the chance to experience it, you have to, you must not miss this opportunity. The Shiva Rea Trance Dance is a magical experience…
~Namaste
This morning’s meditation with the SO HUM mantra was delightful. There’s something about coming to the end that makes you more settled, and, with having most of the tools in our bag, we’re now ready to start creating our own personalized classes.
The am class began with Chandra Namaskar, as we are in the beginning of the new moon. While this is a hard practice to begin the day with, I found it perfect for my current state. The 20 minute guided shivasana brought everyone to a dream-like state.
Then, this afternoon, we set off our our own meditative state to create opening meditation and a three-part vinyasa, based on what part of our bodys were feeling it. This was empowering. My partner Karen and I chose Chandra Namaskar as our base, and both created two unique mini-vinyasas for the hips and side bodies.
Tonight…the Yoga Chant Dance…
This part isn’t about Shiva, it’s about my friends Gina Lombardi and her husband Kevin Sizemore, and one year old son, Gunnar. Gina joined me for breakfast Tuesday morning, and then brought her family up to meet me for a nice dinner tonight. What a blessimg to have friends in a foreign turf. Gina and I go all the way back to high school, and I hope to rekindle this relationship. She’s a gem.
This afternoons class felt like it brought it all together even more so than yesterday. Shiva was incredibly spontaneous all afternoon, and began with a body-rolling vinyasa. We literally got into ourselves by rolling around on our back, just being free for 5 minutes. It was beautiful. Then, some chanting, and we were ready to absorb again. I must say, I was getting fatigued, but this mini-free-form vinyasa helped a bunch.
We reviewed all the Dancing Warrier Series (a Shiva original), and how the vinyasas all build upon themselves to a peak pose. She’s giving us all the tools to become our own original. It’s a great style of teaching.
After break, Shiva gave us a little taste of the Yoga Trance Dance tomorrow night. We all jumped up, and free-formed danced to some great drumming music. She brought the wave up and down three times. Three’s a key…
But, the peak 1-1/2 hour vinyasa happened this afternoon in Shiva’s Santa Monica class.
She commanded a completely free-formed, on-the-spot Thursday evening class that focused on inversions, and backbends. The most fascinating part was that there were absolutely NO CHATARUNGAs. What a relief, and an amazing task. I think we only did one or two downward dogs. And, she ended the class with an amazing shavasana coupled with the gong.
Tomorrow…more…
Clearly, today my mind is taking over, because my body is sending signals of being physically tired. One thing great about having the bike is that I have a freedom to go whenever I want. The one thing not so great, is that I have to push it with my physical body, and my mind-body is telling me I’m tired.
My morning meditation still needs more mind attention. I love the beginning, where we touch and massage our bodies to awaken them. And the chanting opens up our inner organs. I can get through about the first 12 minutes, before I start to peak one eye open, then the other, maybe wiggle my spine, and roll my neck. This was another sign of my mind playing tricks, as it did all morning’s practice. I took all my chataurangas on my knees, so that I can rest that mind (and body) .
We ended with another too-short savasana, and the tidbit that tomorrow, we’ll spend more time in savasana and inversions. Oh boy…
This morning’s meditation was blissful. What a nice transition into our 2 hour morning yoga practice. This morning’s practice brought on my inner heat, all spawned by many sets of dancing warrier series. Savasana proved to be too short…
This afternoon’s practice began with a Vinyasa Krama with special guest Srivasta Ramaswami. With his bare feet, nice slacks, button down shirt, and a white sweater vest, he began with a beautiful chant, and then lead us through dozens of poses for Tadasana. There are over 1000 variations of Tadasana. To close, he took us through the sanscrit alphabet, and then another beautiful chant. What an honor to have him come to our class.
From there, the entire class took a pilgrimage to Lake Shrine, a beautiful ten-acre natural amphitheater that was made public in 1950 by Paramahansa Yogananda. This beautiful meditative spot brought back some dear memories of my mom, purely through the vibrant smells of the lush plantlife and sounds of the birds. I found a nice spot in the sun, and just sat in peace and presence.
This was followed by another beautiful hike into the Santa Monica mountains with the entire class. After that, Shiva fed us all with an Ayuvedic dinner at her lovely house.
I have to stop and say how amazed I am at her pure energy. Tuesday, she lead our class all day, went surfing during our morning break, and then taught another public class after our all day teacher intensive training. Today, she lead our morning class, went home and cooked for over 30 people, went on the hike with us, ate with us, and then showed no fatigue at out 6:30 meditation. I think I have to get onto this Ayevedic diet…
The other part of this journey to LA is to learn as much about the yoga experience as possible. So, I decided to take a class to the Santa Monica ExhaleSpa. To my disbelief, there is Santa Monica Power Yoga Studio…RIGHT NEXT DOOR! Granted, there are different offerings, but, the 6pm class at ExhaleSpa Santa Monica only had 7 participants. Sometime towards the end of the week I will summarize my thoughts on yoga as a business.
Beyond all that, both Exhale Spas studios are gorgeous. One thing that is just beyond my comprehension is that there are no LOCKER ROOMS! The spa has beautiful facilities, but not for just yoga participants. We literally have women in the bathroom, asses to elbows, changing in and out of their gear, sometimes with no showers at all. I’m still floored that owners take the time to develop unbelievably wonderful studio environments, but neglect the before and after experience. No offense to these beautiful studios. I guess the market will bare (literally) no locker rooms in yoga studios. After over 25 years of fitness experience, this still amazes me.
More on day three.
Fortunately, this day started to bring the Shiva practice techniques all together. There were no light outages, I slept, and was ready to start pedaling to the studio at 6am this morning.
We began the practice with 12 minutes of meditation. The goal is to get to 30 minutes. My meditation started with peace for the first, about 5 minutes. But then my hips started to get sore, and I lost my focus. That was where I was today. More tomorrow. Meditation is a practice, and for me it may take the rest of my life.
This morning’s yoga practice was a series of mini-vinyasas, and full vinyases. The Shiva flow is coming together, with the three-part vinyasa technique. Part one: Pulsation Vinyasa – guided or coupled by breath; Part two: Body Vinyasa – using the limbs, torso, legs, and the body to guide the body to it’s proper alignment and awaken prana, Part three: Rhythmic Vinyasa – the art of connecting two or more related asanas in a continuous flow to cultivate the circulation of prana.
All this, is the beauty of Shiva Rae. Yoga becomes a beautiful dance sequence.
This afternoon brought more beauty. Instead of a book, she gave us the tools and guidance to develop our own mini-vinyasas and vinyasa series of our own.
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