How I found Shakti Dance
Forever thankful to a very good friend Anjali who also got me onto the Kundalini yoga, she did her training the year before me. Her passion and excitement were hard to ignore, so I jumped straight into teacher training without ever having done a class and became pregnant during it! For me Shakti dance has offered me a way to connect to the softness and subtlety of life. It has brought much more body awareness to me, it helps me to be more intuitive, to feel into the space around me and to express elements of my deepest self through movement. It has also deeply impacted on the way that I teach Kundalini yoga.
What is Shakti Dance?
If you like to dance and the thought of moving and singing in unity with others excites you then this is a must try practice! Or maybe you would love to connect more deeply to your body and the thought of a yoga that incorporates dance fascinates you....whatever the reason you wont be disappointed.
This practice was brought into being by Sara Avtar Olivier. Dance was always part of her life, she discovered Kundalini Yoga in her teens and began to observe how the two started to interact, the dance became a style of yoga and Shakti dance was born. Although it has a basic structure I have witnessed how it has the capacity to unfold and evolve as Shakti speaks through different individuals and brings even more possibility into manifestation.
It is a complete practice which uses the pranic force, the maha shakti to open up energy channels, relieving the body of tension so that its true nature can be expressed more authentically. It expands consciousness, brings us to a meditative state and allows us to feel into the subtle flows of energy within. It combines flowing asanas, aerobic movement, free dance, relaxation and always ends with a celestial communication or a mantric choreography (moving meditation). Its also a chance to dance in so many different ways; belly dancing, African, Indian, ballet, tai chi, the list of possibilities is endless.
For more info on Shakti Dance go to www.shaktidanceacademy.com
Heres a link to a beautiful flowing asana promotional sequence guided by Sara Avtar, giving an insight into this beautiful practice. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHeYTXtJ1MU