Flissy - The Om Chantress

It's been a while since I've posted a sequence! I've been using variations of this sequence as conditioning to prepare for performing floorwork for bellydance. It's also a great sequence to help prepare for big yoga poses like Eka Pada Rajakapotasana or Urdvha Danurasana,

It might seem odd to start with the Yin, because standard fitness advice warns against "stretching cold." However, it is a good way to check in with what your natural range of motion is like at the beginning of a practice, and it is perfectly safe and healthy to gently stress your joints without any "warm-up." That being said, it is only safe and healthy provided that you do not strain yourself. Be sure to use props and support as needed so that you can relax as much as possible as you're approaching these deep stretches. It's normal to feel a little stiff and vulnerable coming out of yin poses, so please take your time and move slowly as you proceed to the Yang portion. The Yang portion will help tone your quads and core, create flexibility in the spine, and warm up your whole body for whatever movement you want to follow it with!

Yin

• Butterfly. 5 minutes
• Dragon. 2-3 minutes low (elbows on floor or block), 2-3 minutes high (hands on blocks or on thigh).

Transistion

• Downward-facing Dog. Pedal feet slowly a few times.
• Chakravakasana. Inhale to hands and knees, exhale child's pose, inhale hands and knees, exhale down dog. Repeat five or more times.

Yang

• Core Plank. From Down dog, inhale right leg high, exhale knee to chest. On exhale, bring shoulders over wrists and lift hips high to engage core. Repeat five or more times.
• Fists of Fire Step right foot all the way forward into a lunge. Exhale and round up to a high lunge. Inhale arms reach high, exhale back knee bends, curl fists in to sides and look into belly, getting round as possible to engage core. Repeat five or more times.
• Take a vinyasa and repeat Core Plank and Fists of Fire to the other side.
• Mega Plank. Lower to belly and slide elbows forward. Keeping knees down, lift hips, lift waist, waking up the psoas and deep core muscles. Hold 5-10 breaths.
• Salambasana (Locust) with bind. With elbows bent, clasp hands behind back. Scoop tailbone into floor. Squeeze elbows together, and with an inhale, lift chest and lengthen hands towards heels. Keep your gaze towards the front of your mat. Hold 5-10 breaths. Repeat or go for Danurasana on the next round.
• Slowly press back to child's pose and breathe for a few moments.

  Proceed with your practice, and close with 5-10 minutes of Yin-style forward folds and savasana.

Several months ago, I had an uplifting and exciting conversation with two of my yoga colleagues. All of us had found our way to master yoga teachers whose teachings are more and more about meditation and emphasizing greater purpose beyond the asana practice. One of my colleagues is a student of Rod Stryker, and at the time, she was deep in her studies, working with a yet-unpublished manuscript of Rod Stryker’s new book, The Four Desires. What she had to say about his teachings really resonated with me, so I picked up a copy of The Four Desires as soon as it came out.

The Four Desires, as Rod Stryker outlines, are dharma (life’s purpose), kama (pleasure), artha (resources), and moksha (spirituality). At different times in our life, one desire my dominate over the others, and ultimately, we are striving for the contentment found by living out our life’s purpose. The book is all about uncovering the heart’s desires and how to achieve sankalpa (short term goals) that will lead you to fulfill your Dharma Code (your life’s purpose).

What I loved about this book is that it offered explicit exercises for self-study as well as complimentary guided meditation practices. I strongly recommend getting the CD that goes with the book, because it’s necessary to do the meditations as directed to get the full benefit of the exercises, and besides, the meditations are really lovely and will be useful even after going through the whole book.

Some of the exercises came easily, and felt good to do. Some were difficult and I encountered resistance. I’m really curious about the experience other yogis had with this book, so I’m going to go ahead and share the results of my work. If you consider that a spoiler, I guess you can come back and read this next part later! Also, I think it’s interesting to talk about what actually goes on in meditation, because otherwise it can be such a solitary practice. Something is happening in there though! I wish people would talk about that part more. Maybe I just don’t know the right people.

Anyway, here are some highlights of my discoveries:

Dharma Code (life’s purpose):
I share the limitless goodness of Being through my unique perspective on the Divine.

This was surprisingly easy for me to articulate. I don’t really have anything else to add because I’m so clear on my statement, that I feel like it speaks for itself.

Sankalpa (short term goal):
I am radiant! I meditate daily and I have a fulfilling practice that positively affects all aspects of my life.

OK this surprised me. At the meditation that accompanied the exercise for identifying sankalpa, the word mokhsa lit up like a marquee. OK! Moksha it is! I thought my sankalpa would have something to do about filling my dance classes or advancing my yoga career, or some other tangible thing. I even bought a Prosperity Mala from Tiny Devotions because I’ve been wanting to amp up my yoga/dance career. But looking at my Dharma Code, there is nothing about yoga/dance in there. Except that, at present, the way I share the limitless goodness of Being is through teaching yoga and performing dance. But HOW do I get that unique perspective on the Divine? Where does that understanding of WHAT to share come from? Oh yeah, through meditation. I also like how what I thought I wanted was quite easily uprooted by my core desire for LIGHT (I am radiant!) through meditation, that is, by not actually thinking about it.

Vikalpa (the obstacle in the path of your sankalpa)
I must do everything perfectly, or it is not worth doing at all.

Oh Vikalpa, the ugly self-critic, or as Donna Mejia would say, your drunk friend that you need to learn how to ignore. Bleh. I think that the worst part about my ugly drunk friend Vikalpa is that “perfect” is pretty much undefinable and impossible and therefore I am way hard on myself in nearly every aspect of my life (see also Svadyaya and Practice). That nonsense runs DEEP, yo. At least I am aware of this sucky thought pattern and can work on shifting it, shining light on it, and chasing it outta here.

I’m grateful for the fresh perspective this book has helped me shape over the past few months. I’m looking forward to continuing to use the meditation practices, and I’m also looking forward to revisiting the whole process again when I’m ready to pick up a new sankalpa to work on.

Read the book! Do the work and tell me about it!

In April, I’ll be heading to Portland to study and test in the first course of Rachel Brice’s 8 Elements training for bellydancers. This is one part of upping my game in bellydance. In fact, I already blogged about how I planned to intensify my home practice to prepare. Still, I felt the need to go to Belladonna’s Practical Magic Workshop, which was all about creating a home practice. It was a great workshop, and she provided a huge amount of resources and worksheets that are effective tools for building a practice system. Many of the techniques she suggested are things that I have already implemented in my own yoga, dance, and meditation practice at some point. As I sat and wrote down how much time I invested in practice, I started to feel a little sheepish. I actually do not need to learn how to practice more. I practice up to two hours per day Monday through Friday. That does not include the classes I teach and attend, troupe rehearsals, or the time I spend in meditation, reading about yoga/dance, going to performances, or other kinds of enrichment activities. That is way more time than many people who are struggling to squeeze in five or ten minutes after work between classes. I am already at an advantage because the work I do is the area of my passion. I’m incredibly fortunate because I have the time, resources and energy to continue working towards my dreams. Wow, what a realization.

Turns out I need to be nicer to myself. Like, in every way possible. I’ve been working with Rod Stryker’s The Four Desires over the past several months, and through one of the recent exercises, I realized that I have this never-ending underlying dialogue that says, “I must do this perfectly.” This is such a recent discovery for me that I can’t even define what “perfect” could mean, only that it’s a ridiculous and unnecessary non-standard I am imposing on myself. This is one more area of darkness where I need to shine the light this year. One of the things that Bella said in her workshop was “Look at what you’re accomplishing, not at what you’re not doing.” I’ve been looking at the not-doing. I haven’t done ALL of the choreographies on RB’s DVDs! How long have I been holding that one against myself? Since October? Longer? I think it’s time I let that go. Maybe I’ll still do it, maybe not. If I decide it’s important, I will. One of the solutions Bella offered to this issue is to journal your practice. Sounds obvious, perhaps, but it’s something that I haven’t been doing. My practice is an endless to-do list, but I have never taken the time to reflect on my progress or acknowledge day by day my accomplishments. I think applying her suggested journaling techniques will be a huge help, not just for boosting my confidence about my progress and hard work, but also for planning and prioritizing future practices over the short and long term. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted already, and I haven’t even cracked open a fresh journal yet!

Do you people know about Flying Yogini’s #365Yoga project? It’s been a great year of following other yogis on twitter and through blogs as our practice expands and shifts as we dedicate every day to living our yoga. I love that the theme for this year is #365newbie, because this year I am looking forward to having a new and fresh perspective on life. I made the decision to make this year all about LIGHT.

As some of you may know, my father passed away unexpectedly last March. It has been, undeniably, the most devastating thing I have had to deal with. At the end of the year, I ended up taking a break from my usual routine to make space to be gentle with myself as I dealt with the stress and sadness of the holidays this year. What I realized as I reflected all that has happened over the last year, is that I had been clinging to my grief as an entity of its own. I wasn’t just mourning the loss of my dad (although I certainly was and am still), but I was grieving the loss of the shape of my family, and feeling like every day was taking me further away from the truly amazing and fun adventures I had growing up with my family. In the midst of all this, I was afraid that if I let go of my sadness, my dad would slip out of my life and memory completely. So as the year came to a close, I grieved for my own sadness and made the choice to let it go. It has been exhausting soldiering through every day just trying to get by. It’s not sustainable, and it hasn’t been doing me any good to wallow in the fact that things are never going to be the same again. There are many things I am unable to change about this new situation my family has found ourselves in, but I can change my attitude.

I know there will be times when I am sad, but I refuse to let it consume me anymore. I’ll still make space to feel my feelings to the fullest, and nurture my sprit when needed. But this clinging to my grief is no longer serving me well. The reason why I dance and teach yoga is because I feel that is the best way I can express the joy in the Divine. Aside from the fact that I have created a system where I am stuck in a cycle of sadness, if I’m not letting myself fully experience the goodness in the world, I’m getting in my own way, and not fulfilling my life’s purpose. That is ending now. I’m all about finding the LIGHT in the world, the goodness, the joy, anything and everything that is positive. In fact, I have so much to look forward to this year! I am traveling a ton to study with my sweet teacher, Erich Schiffmann, I’m heading to Portland in April to take the 8 Elements Initiation with Rachel Brice and see my uncles, and this summer, to Yosemite with my husband and his sister and her husband. At home, I have a great life with my husband and sweet kitties, and performances and quality time with my dance sisters. I’m surrounded by goodness.

I am reminded of a song by David Newman, “We are like stars. The deeper the night, the brighter we shine.” I can’t change the fact that the darkness is still hanging around, but I can look within for my own light, the light of God, and shine it. Happy New Year, May you feel the light shine on you, too.

Happy New Year! Holy smokes people! Life is crazy. I just got back from a week in Florida, and I am hitting the ground running with a bunch of dance events! I'll be performing with Kallisti Tribal in Baltimore and in DC.

Saturday, January 21, 2012
8:00pm until 11:00pm
Hamilton Arts Collective HAC Box
5440 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214

Charm City Tribal is back, in a new location with more dancers! And a stage! Tickets are $15. There will be a cash bar.

Belladonna is headlining this all-new show! In addition to Kallisti Tribal, you will see great dancing by Nikki Murphy, Rashelle Celestin, and Naadirah! DJs, The Denton Brothers, will provide fabulous music for the dance party following the stage show.

Details/RSVP at the Facebook Event!

Sunday, January 29th, 2012
5pm (doors)
Mellow Mushroom
2436 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
$10

This is one of my favorite monthly events now at a new venue in Adams Morgan! Kallisti Tribal will be sharing the floor with Belladonna and Mavi.

OK, so if you've ever taken a yoga class with me, or if you've even had a conversation about yoga with me, you might have figured out that I have an unconventional approach to the practice.

Here's the thing: I am 100% sold on the transformational power of yoga. Spiritual, mental, physical transformation, it is all available to you on the mat. I'm so confident about it, that I feel freed to do whatever it takes to get that experience, even if it deviates from tradition. Sometimes getting into a pose from a different angle can create a new and fresh perspective, and I want my students to share in that, too.

That philosophy prompted me to submit an article to Teachasana about Creative Modifications so that other teachers can be inspired to look at new ways to move through the practice, and so my students can have a behind-the-scenes look at why I do what I do.

I teach yoga at a local gym. Let me be clear on this point before I proceed: I love teaching yoga at a gym. By and large, my students are total rockstars, and the yoga we do is the real deal. We “OM” and I talk about philosophy and chakras and all that stuff that is allegedly not supposed to happen in gym yoga classes because gym yoga classes are taught by unqualified wackos.

Anyway. I notice that students are totally hung up on how “hard” or “easy” the class is. Recently, I taught a yoga class and I heard some students whispering afterwards, “I thought that class was too easy,” and then, “Yeah it was too easy!” I have also had students come to my classes and bust on another teacher, “Oh, I don’t go to XYZ’s class anymore. It’s way too easy. It’s boring.” On the other side of the coin, I’ve had students come up to me after class and say, “That was awesome... it was SO HARD!”

I want to tell you a secret. It is not me that is making class “easy” or “hard.” Here’s why.

Sthira sukha asanam. Asana is the balance of effort and ease, and guess what? Who is the boss of how much effort YOU are putting into the practice? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not me. If you notice that you’re droopy and unengaged, not putting your heart into a pose or action... and you choose to stay wimpy about it... that is on you, not on me. The beautiful thing about the fundamental asanas is that while you build up familiarity through the practice, they are fresh and new every single moment. There is always new things to explore in even the most basic movements. That is the yoga.

For The “Too Easy” People: If you’re bored, distracted, chewing gum, chitchatting with your neighbor, or texting in class, not only will cause your otherwise serene instructor to have a highly un-yogic flip-out, you’re doing yourself a disservice because completely missing the point of the practice. Part of the discipline of the yoga practice is physically going through the asana practice, and part of it (the more important part of it) is disciplining your mind. You’re bored? Fine. Notice that. Be uncomfortable about it or change your focus to be curious about what is going on in your body and in your attitude. I guarantee you there is work to be done there. Or, you know, you can also take a more “advanced” variation of an asana and revisit that mindfulness stuff some other time.

For The “Too Hard” People: It is OK to rest. It is OK to not do something, or to modify it in a way that will suit your body better. As I like to say, you don’t get a trophy when you touch your toes. Contrary to what Yoga Journal would like you to believe, all poses are not for all bodies at all times. If you can sit and be still and learn something new about your body, your mind, the universe at large... that is YOUR yoga, and that is a beautiful thing. You have a choice to take your attention inwards and not worry about what the person next to you is up to.

Thank you for indulging me in a little bit of yogic ranting. In short: Mind your own bizness. Stay present with your own experience, listen for some inner inspiration, and then challenge yourself or back off as needed.

Also, for the love of Patanjali, put your cell phones away!!!

A few weeks ago, my dance partner, Christina and I had a photoshoot with Carlo & Elise at StereoVision Photography. We did three different "looks" and the other two are very different, so stay tuned for more! I'll add everything to this Flickr set.

It was a super awesome experience. Carlo & Elise were fantastic to work with. I'd never done a pro photoshoot before (that is, except for the "glamor shots" I had done when I got my braces off at 14), so I was a little nervous. So, before the shoot, I consulted with a makeup artist, my dance colleagues, and the BHUZ forums for some photo tips. Here are a few things that were really helpful to us:

• Brainstorm poses and moves ahead of time. We had a list of poses that we wanted to use and could refer to that when we were stumped. Verve Tribal, in addition to being smoking-hot bellydancers, are masterminds at organization, so we had all our costumes neatly organized in bundles which streamlined our changes.
• Bring music. This might be obvious, if you're a dancer. We did dance as the photographers worked, and we also held poses, sometimes at our photographers' request, and sometimes by our own choosing. Music also helped me relax and get into the dancing spirit.
• Airspun Translucent Powder. Wait isn't that grandma makeup? Yes. And it is the bomb. I had been using the MUFE HD powder, but the mica makes my face overly glowy in photos. The Airspun looks creamy, sets the rest of my makeup, and can also be piled on under eyes to "catch" eye shadow dropout when we changed looks. Also, most importantly, it's only about $5. Get yourself some!!!
• Pack a snack. This goes without saying if you're me. Turns out swanning around looking fabulous for six hours is hard work! Have some snacks and plenty of water to keep your energy up and refuel when you're done.

But mostly, I have to credit Carlo & Elise for making us look fantastic. They gave helpful feedback the whole time and they made a long day really fun and easy with their sweet, relaxed, and professional attitude. Also they have an adorable pug named Lucille, who totally helped. Overall, it was a great experience and I can't wait to share the rest of our photos!

Transcendence Tribal presents an ATS Mixer! This an open practice for the curious to the experienced in American Tribal Style Bellydance!

Have you taken or observed a few classes, danced from video, or attended Tribal Pura or ATS General Skills workshops? Have you wished there were more opportunities to just play and exchange this dance vocabulary with others? The ATS mixer is a low-key event for dancers to flex their improv muscles outside of class or performance in an relaxed, sharing environment. No pressure, no recital, no judgement, no costumes, just time to mingle and dance with the far flung MD/DC/NoVa community.

Dancers should come prepared to freely improv with others based on their comfort level in American Tribal Style (ATS) as established by Fat Chance Bellydance (FCBD). Beginners are welcome! While we recognize the many beautiful variations created tribal improv, we suggest leading only with ATS moves so that we can dance with the confidence and ease that comes with sharing a single vocabulary.

$5 donation (or what you can) is appreciated to help us run this and future events!

Need to practice? Check out the instructional DVDs at FCBD.com or look up one of our local ATS teachers! (like me!!!)

Anyone want to share what your current practice is like?

Generally, both my yoga and dance practice are pretty freeform. I don't have a set time or routine. Sometimes I do one long practice, sometimes I break it up. Sometimes I do just yoga or just dance. That being said, I have found it very helpful, at various times to create a system and then I can get back to the freeform with a little more inspiration, dedication and direction. It's also easier for me to actually see the progress I'm making.

Right now, my major dance goal is to prepare for Rachel Brice's 8 Elements training in April (!!!!) I know it's going to be pretty intense and so the thing I want to be able to do is get tot he point where I can pick up choreography and be able to absorb material more quickly so I can get the most out of my time there. I think one way I can accomplish this is to drill isolations, footwork, and arm patterns in all kinds of combinations so I have a greater movement vocabulary to pull from and can put it together without having to think so hard about it. I'm going to mainly focusing on Rachel Brice's drills and combos, because it's her training and want to be used to her approach, but I'm also going to create my own drills and work with some of my other DVDs to help me out. Taking classes with Bella is helpful for this, too, because I'm forced to break out of my normal way of moving.

So! Monday thru Friday, my home practice starts at 2pm. My goal is to spend 2-4pm on practice time. It's my time to drill, dance, do some asana, and if I'm totally beat, I can also take time to watch performances, read, listen to music, or do other development. Saturdays and Sundays I teach and are otherwise dedicated to quality time with the hubs. I'll report back with how it's going!