The theme for July is “Yoga as Dance.” What better time to dance for joy than in the fullness of summer? How do you become aware of the movement of the Divine in your life, and how do you respond to that dance? Thank you to the the Yasodhara Yoga Spokane yoginis – Janet Brown, Swami Yasodananda, Deborah Rose, Sharon Wobker, Francis Becker and Sheila Thomson – who have prepared the following reflections.
VIDEO
In this video Swami Radha talks about sacred dance and her experiences of using the body as a spiritual tool.
AUDIO
Dance is a central focus of the first chakra mantra in the Kundalini System. In this excerpt, Swami Radha asks: Can you make your way of life a dance? Can you move gracefully around obstacles or leap over them?
REFLECTIONS
- “The dance of life consists of steps of fierceness and destruction as well as steps of swiftness, lightness and elegance.” (From the Mating Dance to the Cosmic Dance, p 100).
How is your daily life a dance? Where are you in your dance of life? - Read the section, “Dance is Yoga, Yoga is dance.” (Kundalini Yoga for the West, p 90) Reflect on the meaning for you.
- In the dance of relationships is it possible to change your steps? Make the choice to respond differently and observe the effect.
- “What does it take to move naturally with the ebb and flow of breath, to be moved by the waves of life? To be simple like a child means to be free of ego, open to exploration.” (Inner Life of Asanas, p 137-138.) Do the Child’s Pose, balasana, reflecting on areas in your life that you want to open and explore. Enter in with an open mind. How does awareness of breath help?
- “Grow flowers of a color that is for you symbolic of purity and the Most High. If you desire to unfold like a lotus, grow these plants and when you care of them, think that you are looking after your own development.” (Kundalini Yoga for the West, p 204) Explore how your gardening and flowers can be used in devotion.
- Reflect on the line from the satsang closing prayer, “Om purnam adah, purnam idam” meaning, “That (the Divine) is full, This (the creation) is full”. Take a walk and look at the fullness and growth of summer. How are you interconnected with that fullness?
- If you know the Ashram Prayer Dance*, work with the line, “From Earth to Heaven, I am searching for Thee all over the Universe.”Dance until you feel it. Bring the feeling of searching for something more into your life – connecting heaven and earth within yourself, your humanness and the mystery beyond mind.
- “Finally, don’t take yourself and the world too seriously.” (from Swami Radha’s “Last Message”) Do something playful. Dance free form. Skip, sing, swing, slide, swim, splash. Practice Fish Pose (matsayasana) in the water. Lie on the earth, watching the clouds or looking for shooting stars. How can you bring playfulness into your spiritual practice?*Available on DVD. Contact the Yasodhara Ashram bookstore for more information.
From the Yasodhara Yoga Spokane yoginis – Janet Brown, Swami Yasodananda, Deborah Rose, Sharon Wobker, Francis Becker and Sheila Thomson.
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