The Dance of Shiva: A Clear and Concise Guide for Learning All Basic Movements of The Dance of Shiva

Shiva as the Cosmic Dancer is the embodiment and manifestation of eternal energy in its 'five activities' panch-kriya 1. Creation sristi -the pouring forth or unfolding 2. Maintenance sthiti — the duration 3. Destruction samhara -the taking back or reabsorption 4. Concealment tiro-bhava -the veiling of True Being behind the masks and garbs of apparitions, aloofness, display of Maya, 5.

Favor anugraha -acceptance of the devotee, acknowledgment of the pious endeavor of the yogi, bestowal of peace. And we deciphered this symbolic relationship as eloquent of the paradox of Eternity and Time: This wonderful lesson can be read also in the figure of Shiva-Nataraja, where the incessant, triumphant motion of the swaying limbs is in significant contrast to the balance of the head and immobility of the mask-like countenance.

As Nataraja, King of Dancers, his gestures, wild and full of grace, precipitate the cosmic illusion; his flying arms and legs and the swaying of his torso produce- indeed, they are-the continuous creation-destruction of the universe, death exactly balancing birth, annihilation the end of every coming- forth. In the medieval bronze figurines, not merely a single phase or movement, but cyclic rhythm, flowing on and non in the unswayable, irreversible round of the Mahayugas, or Great Eons, is marked by the beating and stamping of the Master's heel.

But the face remains, meanwhile, in sovereign calm. The Lord Shiva is the personification of the Absolute, particularly in its dissolution of the universe. He is the embodiment of Super-Death. The Lord Shiva is apparently two opposite things, archetypal ascetic, and archetypal dancer. On one hand , he is Total Tranquility — inward calm absorbed in itself, absorbed in the void of the Absolute, where all distinctions merge and dissolve, and all tensions are at rest. But on the other hand, he is Total Activity — life's energy, frantic, aimless, and playful.

The Rg Veda describes the power of multiple deities such as Agni, the god of fire and the centrality of sacrifice in religious ritual. The religious ideas of the Vedas form an important thread in Hindu belief and tradition. Hindu priests still perform many rituals by chanting the Sanskrit verses of the Vedas. Between and CE, a new understanding of Shiva emerged from texts called the Puranas, which recount the adventures and challenges of the gods. The Shiva Parana describes Shiva as performing two critical and interconnecting roles as the destroyer and the creator, periodically destroying the universe so that it can be remade again.

These texts also contain stories of Shiva as a yogi, dweller in cremation grounds, husband to the goddess Parvati Uma , and father to the gods Ganesha and Skanda. Around the ninth century, a school of thought emerged around Shiva that described the deity as having two distinct aspects. In one, Shiva is supreme and without form. In the other, Shiva takes form and can be embodied, seen, and interacted with on Earth. Portable bronze images were seen as vehicles for Shiva's divine power and physical presence to be shared with his devotees. It is important to note that Shiva must be ritualistically invited to descend to Earth from his formless, supreme state into the physical form of a ritual bronze.

Following that ritual, puja can be performed for the deity. When puja is over, the "sending away" ritual is performed and Shiva may depart. Lord Shiva in Poetry Tamil poet-saints of the seventh through ninth centuries CE offer an important perspective on the south Indian worship of key Hindu deities.

Their devotional perspective is known as bhakti. These saints and devotional poets wrote numerous hymns dedicated to Hindu gods, especially Shiva and Vishnu. Written in Tamil — as opposed to Sanskrit, the language used in Brahmanic Hindu ritual — the poems were performed throughout the region, generating deep devotion and even inspiring the construction of temples.

A number of poet- saints were from the lower classes. Without access to temple worship, poems — suffused with affection and awe for the deities — were their primary way to express devotion and establish personal relationships with the divine. Rich in visual imagery, these hymns were later used by the Cholas to inform sculptures of Shiva and Vishnu. An excerpt from a devotional poem to Shiva by Saint Appar — a poet-saint of seventh-century Tamil Nadu — includes the visual attributes that would become characteristic of Shiva Nataraja in the Chola period: If you could see the arch of his brow the budding smile 22 on lips red as the kovvai fruit cool matted hair, the milk-white ash on coral skin, and the sweet golden foot raised up in dance, then even human birth on this wide earth would be a thing worth having.

Princeton University Press, , Later in the poem, Appar writes of Shiva's dance in the Chidambaram forest described as the "hall of TillaT: The very foot he raised to dance the dance in the little hall of Tillai — it claimed me as a slave. Gopal Iyer and Francois Gros, eds. Hymnes Sivaites du pays Tamoul, vol. Institute Francais d'Indologie, , 8. Translation by Vidya Dehejia. Saint Sundarar, who lived in the eighth century, also produced hymns to Shiva replete with similarly vivid imagery: The Lord who holds fire and bears the broad river on his head dances, trailing strands of fire-red matted hair.

Shiva's Sacred Dance As a fleeting art form in which the human body is the medium, dance of the past can only be understood through images, written accounts, oral histories, and information gleaned from dance and movement today. Understanding Shiva Nataraja and the temple culture of the Cholas offers useful perspectives on dance in that period. The significance of dance in the image and narrative of Shiva Nataraja relates to his cosmic power, which is represented in a dynamic pose that appears to radiate energy.

It recalls the narrative of Shiva's victorious "dance of bliss" ananda tandava in the forest near Chidambaram. In addition, it links Shiva to the Chola tradition of triumphant warrior dances. So important was the dance of Shiva to the Cholas that Rajaraja I r. These women lived in the temple towns of the Cholas, and were considered married to the temple deity. Under Rajaraja I, the Bhrihadishvara temple in ThanjavurTanjore was believed to have employed up to four hundred temple dancers. Regarded with suspicion by British rulers, temple dance was banned in the early twentieth century.

Full text of "The Cosmic Dance of the Lord Shiva"

However, a group of artists recreated the dance into a stage art known today as Bharata natyam. In fact, Bharata natyam is based on the positions of Shiva's dance of triumph, which are described in the Natya Shasta ca. Images of these positions — karanas — still exist on temples of Tamil Nadu today. Shiva's Image of the Cosmic Dance The visual qualities of a Chola-dynasty bronze sculpture of Shiva Nataraja depended on a number of factors, particularly the skill and experience of the artist.

Chola artists did create religious sculptures with distinctive variations. However, the sacred importance of Shiva Nataraja required sculptors to follow guidelines from key religious and artistic texts. During the Chola period, a series of texts called the Agamas described appropriate temple rituals and iconography related to Shiva.

These texts also described the aniconic, or non-representational, image of Shiva, in the form of a pillar, or lingam as we have already discussed. Many Chola temples held linga, along with other movable bronze representations of Shiva for processional purposes. To achieve the perfect anatomical proportions for the sculpture, Chola artists would have consulted the shilpa shastras. These texts recommend flora and fauna and material objects as models for parts of the human body.

For instance, a male torso must trace the outline of a bull's face viewed frontally, giving it a narrow waist. A female torso would emulate the hourglass-shaped damaru drum and her arms would evoke bamboo stems. The goal of the shilpa shastras was not to communicate how to achieve a realistic human form but the idealized, divine body prized in Indian art. Bronze Casting for Sacredness Every bronze in a south Indian temple is unique. Each is created using the lost- wax cire perdue process, in which molten metal is poured into a hand- fashioned clay mold that is later broken apart to yield the final work of art.

Nataraja's significance has expanded beyond the Cholas' religious, political, and cultural understandings of the deity. It is now layered with many more meanings, including Tamil identity, the origins of Indian dance, and — more broadly — India Itself. Shiva as "Lord of the Dance" evokes the same powerful devotion for many Hindus today as he did during the Chola period, and he is still honored in and around south Indian temples with rituals similar to those of the medieval period. Now, however, worshippers can experience darshan — the ability to attain blessings by seeing and being seen by the deity — through a temple poster or online Over the years, Shiva Nataraja has become a general symbol for dance, as well as the inspiration for Bharata natyam, a reconstructed stage form of south Indian temple dance.

In Bharata natyam, an image of Shiva Nataraja is often placed on the stage to honor the deity. This symbolism is echoed in the large, brightly lit silhouette of Nataraja that dominates the stage on the Indian television show Nach Baliye L Similar to the U. Even the program's logo and trophy honor Nataraja, depicting silhouettes of two dancers surrounded by a ring that recalls his cosmic flames.

Lord Shiva through the Ages and Cultures In the twenty-first century, the image of Shiva Nataraja has become popularized and repurposed across the globe. The work, titled Where Each is Both, explores the confluences of these three figures as dancers and as boundary-crossers, creating and destroying on cosmic and human scales. Shiva, the auspicious one, is manifest here as the Lord of the Dance, a form he has taken not to entertain but perform cosmic work. Shiva Nataraja is crushing ignorance, presented by the sculptor as a demon under his feet who looks up benevolently at the god, even as his own ruin is in progress.

Nataraja is one of the most important, visually thrilling forms of the Hindu god Shiva. Artists in the Tamil region of southern India began to make this form of Shiva in the early tenth century, with the patronage of kings, inspired by poetry written by ardent devotees and using skills in metal craft developed over hundreds of years. Once made and brought to life through ritual, Nataraja lived in the temple, moving out daily and during festivals, gracing his devotees within the temple and in the streets, as he processed through the town with song and ritual.

Appearing more than a thousand years ago, Nataraja's importance has endured as a god and a popular icon. Today he is worshipped in major temples and circulates in public life. Nataraja represents Indian tradition, cosmic principles, Tamil identity, and classical dance. Artists use his image to sell products, critique society, and present philosophical concepts.

Nataraja is truly a god for all time.

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In fact, the cosmic dance of Shiva symbolises the interplay of dynamic and static divine energy flow, containing the five principles of eternal energy - creation, preservation, destruction, illusion and emancipation. His upper right hand holds an hourglass drum or 'dumroo' standing for the male- female vital principle, while the lower gestures us to "Be fearless".

A skull on his head depicts conquest over death. Goddess Ganga, epitomising the holy river, sits on his hairdo. His third eye represents omniscience, insight and enlightenment. Na mrityur na shanka na jatibhedah Pita naibo main naibo mata na janma Na bandhurna mitrang gururnaibo shishyah, Sachchidanandarupa Shivohom Shivohom Na punyong na papong na shaukhyong na dukhong Na mantro na tirtha na vedah na yagah Ahang bhojanang naibo bhojyong na bhokta Chidanandarupah Shivohom Shivohom Translation for pondering: I am beyond death, I am beyond doubts I am beyond divisions.

No one is my father, none my mother, nor was I born Neither brother nor friend, neither teacher nor pupil, I am only truth, ecstasy and consciousness, I am Shiva. I am Shiva Nothing is sin for me, nothing is holy, sadness and happiness are not known to me I don't need chanting, nor holy places, no veda no yagna I am neither food, nor do I eat nor am I the enjoyer of these My abode is always a conscious happiness.

The third aspect of the Supreme Being is the process of dissolution of all creation, a precursor to the fresh beginning of the process of creation. This aspect is represented by Lord Shiva - the third of the Hindu Trinity. He represents darkness or Tamas and is often called the angry God Rudreshwar. As a result, the Linga or phallus is said to be his symbol - the symbol of regeneration.

According to some schools of thought, Shiva represents the entire cosmos. This of course is to be distinguished from the concept of Vishwaroop as described in the section on Vishnu in the sense that while Shiva might represent the cosmos, Vishnu in his Vishwaroop form contains the cosmos and sustains it as well. Shiva or Maheshwara is the Divine Lord and in him are concentrated the three energies of understanding Gyana , the will Ichha and action Kriya - thus forming the fountainhead of all knowledge.

The nature of Shiva as representing the entire cosmos has led to his having names in the various Hindu scriptures extending the Vedic concept of multiple forms of a single divine power. The Vedas do not mention Shiva as the name of the god in question - instead he is named Rudra - the lord of songs, sacrifices, nourishment, the healer of diseases and the provider of property.

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It says that Brahma was initially unsuccessful in his attempts of creation. He meditated for a child, after which a child sprang forth from his forehead and divided itself into a male and female part. The male part started crying inconsolably. On being asked the reason for crying the child said it did not have a name, at which, Brahma named him Rudra - which also means the one who howls.

However Brahma had to give him seven more names - for the seven more times that the child cried, giving Shiva his eight forms: The Shiva Purana then goes on to describe how each of these names is associated with an element - the earth, water, fire, wind, sky, a yogi called Kshetragya, the sun, and the moon respectively.

The female part of the child born from Brahma's forehead is believed to be Parvati - Shiva's eternal consort. There is also a different indication of the origin of another manifestation of Shiva as Ardhanarishwara - where he is depicted as half -male and half-female - the union of substance and energy, the Being and his Shakti force. The right half - depicting the male - is his own form and the left half - depicting the female part - is his consort Parvati. This depiction represents Shiva as Sadashiva, Adishiva or Adipurusha - the primeval Being - as being the unity of existence.

It underlines the fact that division in nature between male and female, between material and energy is only superfluous and in reality all is one. Shiva 28 shows himself as being all that is male and all that is female - through this form of being the inseparable unity. The attributes of the Lord Shiva Unclad body smeared with ashes: This form of Lord Shiva symbolizes the transcendental aspect of his nature and indicates that his presence is much higher than this physical phenomenon.

The ashes on the Lord's body is cemetery ash, which points to the philosophy of the life and death and shows that death is the ultimate reality of the life. Most things in the universe reduce to ashes when burned and this aspect of nature is suggested by the ash-smeared appearance of Lord Shiva, who is held to be the God of destruction in Hindu mythology. The Lord is beyond the cycle of birth and death.

The flow of his matted hair represents Shiva as the Lord of Wind or Vayu, who is the subtle form of breath present in all living beings. The river Ganga or Ganges is the most sacred river for pious Hindus. According to a legend, the river Ganga has its source in Shiva and flows from his matted hair. This is symbolically represented by depicting Ganga as a jet of water sprinkling out of the head of the Lord and falling on the ground.

Legend has it that the Lord allowed an outlet to the great river to traverse the earth and bring purifying water to human being. The river Ganga also denotes fertility, one of the creative aspects of the Rudra. It also indicates that Shiva is not only the Lord of destruction but also the bestower of knowledge, purity and peace on the devotees. Hence, he is often referred to as Tryambaka Deva, meaning "three-eyed Lord". The sun is said to be his right eye, the moon the left eye 29 while fire is his third eye.

While his other two eyes indicate his activity in the physical world, his third eye in the center of his forehead looks beyond the obvious. It stands for spiritual knowledge and power, and is thus called the eye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, the powerful gaze of Shiva's third eye can search evil from anywhere and annihilate it completely. This is the reason why evil-doers fear his third eye. The half-open eyes of Lord Shiva convey the idea that the cycle of universe is in process. When the Lord opens His eyes a new cycle of creation begins and when He closes them it signifies the destruction of the universe for creation of the next cycle.

The half-open eyes signify that creation is going through an eternal cyclic process, with no beginning and no end. Lord Shiva is typically pictured as wearing a crescent-shaped ornament on one side of his head. This is why he is often called 'Chandrasekhara' meaning "Having the moon as his crest". The Crescent is actually the moon in its fifth day phase and symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end.

The moon is a measure of time, and thus the Crescent on Lord Shiva's head signifies his control over time. The Lord is the Eternal Reality and He is beyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His ornaments, and not an integral part of Him. The Snake around the neck: Lord Shiva is often shown with a snake curled three times around His neck and looking towards His right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future - time in cycles.

The snake looking in the right direction of Lord Shiva signifies that the Lord's perpetual laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe. The snake is believed to be the Vasuki Naga, a deadly cobra. The Lord wearing the deadly snake like an ornament signifies that He is independent of time and death. It also suggests the dormant energy, called Kundalini Shakti, that resides within him. The three line of ashes drawn on the forehead of the Lord is known as the Vibhuti.

It signifies the Immortality of the Lord and his manifested glory. Hindu mythology states that the tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power and force. Lord Shiva is often shown seated upon or wearing a tiger skin, which emphasizes the fact that he is the master of Shakti and is beyond and above any kind of force. Tiger is also the emblem of lust. The Lord's sitting on Tiger skin indicates that he has conquered lust. Tiger also represents energy. Lord Shiva is the source of the creative energy that remains in potential form during the dissolution state of the universe.

He activates this energy using his own Divine Will to project the universe in endless cycles. The Lord also wears elephant and deer skins. Elephants stand in for pride while deer represent the flickering mind. Wearing elephant and deer skin shows that Lord Shiva has conquered both these vices. He is almost always shown as wearing a necklace having beads made with seeds of the Rudraksha tree. The beads represent the elements used in the creation of the world. The Rudraksha necklace points to the 'Rudra' aspect of the Lord, which is also His other name. The word 'Rudra' means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha means "eye.

It is the small hourglass-shaped drum that the Lord holds in one of his hands in a specific gesture called 'damaru -hasta'. The two sides of the drum separated from each other by a thin neck-like structure represents the two utterly different states of existence, unmanifest and manifest. When a damaru is shaken, it produces Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation. According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is the source of creation.

This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. The trident, or the spear with three prongs, is one of the accessories of the Lord and symbolizes His three fundamental powers iccha will , kriya action and jnana knowledge. It also signifies His power to destroy evil and ignorance.

As His weapon and instrument of punishment the trident represents Lord Shiva's manner of punishing the evil doers on all the three planes - spiritual, subtle and physical. The water pot Kamandalu often shown adjacent to the Lord is another of his accessories. It is said to be made from a dry pumpkin and containing amrit nectar. Indian Yogis and sages are seen to carry the Kamandalu as an item of basic necessity.

The carrying of the Kamandalu shows the yogic nature of the Lord. But it has a deeper significance. As a ripe pumpkin has been plucked from a plant, its fruit removed and shell cleaned for containing the nectar, an individual too must give up his attachment to the physical world and clean his inner self of egoistic desires to experience the bliss of the Self, symbolized by the nectar in the Kamandalu. The Kundalas refer to the two ear rings, Alakshya meaning "which cannot be shown by any sign" and Niranjan meaning "which cannot be seen by mortal eyes" , worn by the Lord. The ornaments in the ears of the Lord signify that He is beyond ordinary perception.

It is noteworthy that the kundala in the 31 left ear of the Lord is of the type used by women and the one in His right ear is of the type used by men. The dual type of Kundalas represent the Shiva and Shakti male and female principle of creation. Lord Shiva is most often shown to be seated with the beautiful Himalayas serving as his backdrop. Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is said to be His traditional abode. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailasa is said to represent the center of the universe.

Nandi is the Bull of Lord Shiva and is said to be his vehicle. The bull is a symbol both of power and ignorance which suggests that Lord Shiva removes ignorance of his devotees and gives them the power of wisdom. In Sanskrit a bull is called "Vrisha" which also means "righteousness".

The Nandi bull beside Lord Shiva indicates that He is the eternal companion of righteousness. Om Namah Shivaya This mantra has no approximate translation. The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine. Earth, water, fire, air, ether. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place.

A very rough, non-literal translation could be something like, 'Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming. Shiva rests for one "prahar" three hours of the night. This "prahar" is referred to as the Shivratri. Lord Shiva goes into a meditative state.

During that time, the 'Shivtatva' does not accept any tamogun most base of the 3 elements in us - sattva, raja and tama or any halahal venom churned from the ocean coming from the Universe. As a result,the ratio of halahal or the pressure of the negative energies increases.

For protection from this pressure, things like'bilva patra', white flowers, 'rudraksha' beads etcare offered to Lord Shiva. These things attract the 'Shivtatva' from the atmosphere, thus providing protection from the increasing effect of the negative energies. The Earth is a gross object. Gross objects have very low velocities i. Gods on the other hand, are subtle hence they are capable of traversing space within a few seconds. That is why one year on the earth is equivalent to just one day of heaven.

Science in the worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri. The function of the "Shivpindi": Emitting waves of Knowledge, Devotion and renunciation. Predominantly 'sattva' waves of knowledge, 'raja' waves of devotion and 'tama' waves of Renunciation Vairagya are emitted by the 'Shivpindi'.

During Mahashivratri, the emission increases by 30 percent. The "Shivpindi" emits subtle vibrations of chaitanya, bliss and peace. During the Mahashivratri, the emission increases by twenty-five percent. This helps purify the subtle-body of one who worships the Shivpindi on this day. The "sun" or the "moon" channels in the body get activated as per necessity. The capacity to absorb the sattvaguna and chaitanya also increases. Due to the presence of the unmanifest Shiva principle in the Shivpindi and the vibrations of peace emitted, the Shivpindi remains cool and the mind too experiences peace.

Worship of Shivpindi with devotion, activates the dormant Shiva principle. An offering of puffed rice and milk reaches Lord Shiva in the subtle form. Receiving the "tarak or marak tatva element " as required. There is a confluence of the manifest and the unmanifest elements along with the "tarak and marak tatva" in the Shivpindi.

That is how worshipers receive the required element. The temperature of the Shivpindi increases due to the emission of the marak tatva and there one experiences bliss. Similarly, when the tarak tatva is emitted, the temperature drops and one experiences peace and bliss. The best definition of the Lord Shiva worship is to practice it at the Sacred Feast Mahashivratri, but also daily.

The best definition of Shiva worship is to experience it soulfully. While, the best definition of yoga is to live it sincerely. However, the best definition of the God, the Lord Shiva is to love Him, and only Him, unconditionally. By offering bilvapatra to the Shivpindi on Mahashivratri, the manifest Shiva tatva near the stalk of the bilvapatra gets activated.

Due to this, waves of chaitanya as well as Shiva tatva are emitted by the bilvapatra. The bilvapatra attracts twenty percent of the Shiva tatva present in the Shivpindi towards itself. By immersing this bilvapatra in water or by placing it in grains, the Shiva tatva present in the bilvapatra is transmitted to them.

The Shiva tatva in the bilvapatra is activated to a larger extent on Mondays when it transmits ten percent of the Shiva tatva and sattvikta. On other days only one percent of the Shiva tatva is activated in the bilvapatra. Bilvarchan Offering bilvapatra to the Shivpindi and chanting the mantra, with each offering is known as bilvarchan. Continue offering the bilvapatra until the pindi is completely covered.

Offer the bilvapatra from the lower part of the pindi. By starting from the feet of the idol, more benefit is derived and the idol can be covered completely. The word Shiva has been derived by reversing the letters of the word vash. Vash means to enlighten; thus the one who enlightens is Shiva. He remains radiant and also illuminates the universe. He is the auspicious and prosperity-bestowing principle.

But when we meditate we feel that we have the capacity deep within us to see many things while visualising the Lord Shiva, dealing with many things as His personality, the Entity, He now is, welcoming all what is His. When we meditate, we try to expand ourselves, like a bird spreading its wings. We try to expand our personal consciousness and enter into the Collective or Universal Consciousness where there is no fear, jealousy or doubt but only joy, peace and divine power.

Meditation means our conscious growth into the Divine Consciousness. Through concentration we become one-pointed; while through meditation we expand our consciousness into the "Vast" and enter into its consciousness. However in contemplation we grow into the "Vast" itself, and its consciousness becomes our very own. In contemplation we are at once in our deepest concentration and our highest meditation. The truth that we have seen and felt in meditation, we grow into and become totally one with in contemplation.

Contemplation means our conscious oneness with the Lord Shiva and the eternal Absolute or Supreme. If we meditate on the Lord Shiva as a specific divine quality of the Supreme, we find ourselves in the light, peace and bliss of the Supreme. Our mind is calm and quiet in the vastness of Infinity. In contemplation it is not like that. In contemplation through the Lord Shiva as our devotion now goes to Him, we feel that we are holding within ourselves the entire cosmos with all what it contains.

In contemplation there is no thought, form or idea. In contemplation everything is merged into the oneness of the Cosmic or Universal Consciousness. The Lord Shiva, if you are his devotee, is your Master, next to your human guru if you have one. Gratitude is always of paramount importance. If you are a sincere devotee of the Lord Shiva or the Lord Krishna, or any other God or Goddess, you enter in the spiritual boat. The Lord Shiva becomes then the boatman to take you to the Golden Shore. Do not feel you are entering a foreign element or a foreign human or entity, but that you are as such entering into your highest part, your true self.

The beautiful picture of Lord Shiva as God, your God and part of the Supreme, only serves as inspiration. When you meditate on the effigy of the Lord Shiva, whether it is His representation or Lingam, you enter into His Consciousness, and entering in His Consciousness is the highest form of meditation for those who consider themselves His devotees. Dedicated service is another form of meditation as plainly discribed in the Bhagavad Gita.

When you work for the Supreme along the Lord Shiva or any other God or Goddess, the Divine Consciousness enters your consciousness, and you become innerly and spiritually elevated. Never be afraid to come to the Lord Shiva. Physical Attributes Ganga Just as the sun is the focal point of the solar system and the soul that of the body, the focal point of divine consciousness chaitanya in every object and pure particles pavitrakas is ga-aum. Ga-aum flows from Shiva's head. This is called the descent of the Ganga from Shiva's head.

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Since the river Ganga has a fraction of the principle of the spiritual Ganga, no matter how polluted it becomes, its purity is perpetually retained. Therefore, when compared to any other water in the world, the water from the Ganga is the purest. This is realised not only by those who can perceive the subtle dimensionbut also by scientific researchers. Moon Shiva adorns the chandra moon on His forehead. Three challenging yoga poses that I use these techniques in are chaturanga, front splits and side splits. While they might not help you get all the way down into the splits, they'll help you feel stronger, and more integrated as you work towards t.

Active stretching teaches you muscle control to not only improve flexibility but also body awareness. You'll learn how to adjust postures for better feel as well as more control through a broader range of motion. Standing Exercises for Low Back Pain. Standing exercises for low back pain plus anatomy that can affect the low back and how to use that anatomical understanding. Links to yoga poses and yoga pose categories with clear instructions for developing better body awareness, coordination and control.

Barefoot Running Heel Strike. Is it a bad idea to heel strike while barefoot running? What are the possible benefits of heel striking?

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When should you not heel strike? Yoga Poses for Abs. These yoga poses for abs work on the abdominal muscles and hips in both standing positions and seated positions. Ashtanga Standing Pose Vinyassas. Here are the Ashtanga Standing Pose Vinyassas, with inhale movements highlighted in red. In this preparation for compass pose use your arms to pull your leg towards you for a seated hamstring stretch. To modify, use a strap. Single joint hip flexors include iliacus, pectineus, obturators, gemelli and gluteus minimus.

Use them to help improve your forward bends. Sensational Yoga Ebooks and videos. Sensational Yoga ebooks and videos are designed to help you experience your body while focusing on specific poses, actions or parts of the body. Working Towards Wheel Pose.

The working towards wheel pose ebook teaches you basic body first so that you can feel and control your spine, hips and shoulders, so that working towards difficult poses in this case wheel pose is easier. Simple Hip Control Exercises. This set of simple hip control exercises help you to stabilize the hip joint and control it. You may find these exercises help you improve hamstring and hip flexor strength and flexibility.

Muscle Control for Better Flexibility. The Muscle control for better flexibility ebook teaches you simple muscle activation techniques that can make it easier to improve your flexibility. Techniques focus on forward and back bending the hips but can be applied to other movements also.

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Yoga for Beginners 2. Building up on the material for part 1, Yoga for Beginners 2 teaches you how to make your body stable for a slightly different experience of your hips and shoulders. Yoga for Your Shoulders ebook. Yoga for Beginners 1. One approach to learning yoga is to simply practice yoga poses. The approach in Yoga For Beginners 1 is to help you to learn to feel your body while doing yoga poses. Some of the exercises in Balance Basics includes learning to balance on the fronts of your feet as well as on one foot using weight shifting exercises.

It also includes exercises for crow pose. I've included videos based on the balanace exercises in the book on this page. Motor Control for Yoga. Motor control is the ability to control muscle tissue. The compliment to it is sensitivity, the ability to feel tension in muscle and connective tissue.

Both can be learned and improved. Both are functions of the brain. Experiencing your anatomy is for yogi's who want to learn to feel and control their own body and understand what they are feeling and controlling. All Formats Kindle Edition Sort by: Popularity Popularity Featured Price: Low to High Price: If you find yourself thinking about other times and places, like planning your day while you are practicing, you will benefit from spicing up the practice so that your repertoire of movements, your coordination and focus can expand as well.

Learning requires stepping into less familiar territory. This is an indication that we are moving beyond our comfort, which is the pre-requisite to learn. Like with learning anything else, it is a journey of discovery, and messing up, is part of the learning process. As we continue trying, we eventually figure out how to get things to move according to the new pattern. Then we can refine our movements and start playing with different speeds. The video below offers one possible pattern for moving the legs, and whole body, in 3D space while we continue using the already familiar horizontal and vertical arm patterns.

Of course you can make up other combinations of leg movements. There are four leg actions that can match the four positions of the arms to take you around into a complete degree turn. As you repeat the same leg pattern you have a chance to also modify the arm movements, so in the first turn you can go with arms forward , on the second turn you can move your arms backward , the third turn you can have one arm moving forward and the other arm moving backward and for the final turn you can reverse the arms. Of course, you can also explore starting with the left leg.

In this video you can see an example of playing with the leg pattern that turns you around in 3D space. As you probably know you can create all possible variations to help you stay focused while you expand your coordination. Remember to modulate the internal narration and commentary to a minimum. Chair Yoga is an excellent opportunity to practice yoga using a clear support that makes it easier for us to notice the relationships between different parts of our body as well as the actions of our joints. Chair yoga can also make it easier for us to practice when we have limited mobility.

Like in any other physical yoga practice, make sure that there is no strain, no struggle and no self-judgement. Instead, invest your energy on making your breath smooth and continuous and on having a friendly and relaxed attitude. One of the objectives in yoga is to become aware of what we are doing in posture, movement, feeling, thinking and breathing , to clarify if we are actually doing what we think we are doing and also to notice if what we are doing in posture, movement, feeling, thinking and breathing is helpful or not helpful.

In the process, we end up learning a lot about ourselves and about our reactions to what we discover. It is likely that we may want to stay in a familiar pattern because it is comfortable and also because it gives us a sense of accomplishment. However, in order to expand our choices and abilities it is necessary to move beyond the familiar patterns. This can create a bit of discomfort as we try to navigate new territory, and that is where we get a chance to forge new paths, new connections and new insights.

This is one of the reasons we want to try to move into learning new patterns in the Dance of Shiva. So, if during our practice we notice that we are thinking about other times and places, we are getting a signal that the horizontal and vertical patterns have become familiar enough and that it will be beneficial to explore new territory. For instance, we can try to combine the two patterns by doing one whole pattern first followed by the other pattern.

Dance of Shiva Horizontal pattern position 1. Dance of Shiva Horizontal pattern position 2. Dance of Shiva Horizontal pattern position 3. Dance of Shiva Horizontal pattern position 4. Dance of Shiva Vertical pattern position 4. Dance of Shiva Vertical pattern position 3. Dance of Shiva Vertical pattern position 2. Dance of Shiva Vertical pattern position 1.

In this video you can see an example of playing with these two options in the Dance of Shiva. As with other practices, staying with the practice may show us some of the habits we may have developed, like an attitude to be unwilling to try something new, or the reluctance to let go of what we have already achieved, or perhaps impatience that emerges when it takes us time to learn something, or maybe even our unwillingness to accept that we are not perfect. Whatever the case, can we try this exploration with gentle curiosity, without struggle and choosing not to judge ourselves?

The Dance of Shiva is one way of playing with very simple elements to help us expand possibilities from the seemingly simple and limited. In other words, the practice is a way to re-train our mind-body connections. Like in much learning, once we know the basics we start making changes to keep expanding the options we have. You may review the basic positions and movements.

We can explore deeper focus by varying the initial position from both arms at position 1 to one arm at position 1 and the other arm at position 2. We can follow the 4 movement patterns outlined above from the following 4 starting positions:. To ensure balanced expansion we can also include a mirror reflection of the starting position, thus starting from the following 9 combination of positions:.

Since we know both a horizontal pattern and a vertical pattern we can explore all of these variations of the initial position for both the horizontal as seen above and the vertical pattern as seen below. In this video you can follow the combination of movements with all of the modified initial positions. Like any other mindfulness practice, the Dance of Shiva works best when we try to feel clearly what we are doing and when we notice the effects in breath, body and mind. In addition, engage your emotional being by observing the process with little to no self-judgement.

Consider practicing these simple patterns with consistency until they seem quite easy and can be done slow or fast. As usual, trust that taking small manageable steps will provide benefits. When the practice gets easy enough that you can do them at different speeds. The practice starts with two basic patterns, horizontal and vertical. Each pattern consists of 4 simple arm positions. In the Dance of Shiva the practitioner moves the arms between these four basic positions. Throughout all the movements the palms of the hands try to remain facing up as if holding tea cups and trying not to spill.

Also, each arm-hand avoids crossing the vertical mid-axis of the body. We start with the simplest pattern, Forward pattern, moving from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and then returning to 1. Notice that this creates a horizontal spiraling motion. Just as in learning anything else, we start really slow to clarify all of the movements. For instance, we can try to ensure that the movements of the arms include harmonious movements of the shoulder blades.

Balance Basics: For Yogis Who Want to Know How to Balance and Yoga Teachers Who Want to Teach It

Then we can explore a second pattern, Backward pattern, moving from 1 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. Gradually we can expand to a third pattern where one arm moves in the forward pattern while the other arms moves simultaneously in the backward pattern Notice that this pattern can be done alternating the arms, so that the arm that starts with forward pattern then performs the backward pattern. Throughout all the movements the palms of the hands try to remain facing outward as if pressing against imaginary walls to the sides. Similar to the horizontal pattern, each arm-hand avoids crossing the vertical mid-axis of the body.

Just as we did with the horizontal pattern, we start with the simplest pattern, Forward pattern, moving from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and then returning to 1. Notice that this creates a vertical spiraling motion. We start with slow movements to clarify the pattern, and just as we did with the horizontal movements we favor movements of the arms that include harmonious movements of the shoulder blades. Similar to the horizontal pattern, we can expand to a third pattern where one arm moves in the forward pattern while the other arm moves simultaneously in the backward pattern Here as well the arms can alternate patterns.

In this video you can see examples of the horizontal y vertical patterns combined in the Forward, Backward and Alternate patterns. You may also see an example of a leg movement pattern. As with any other practice, after the practice take a moment to notice its effects.