I still remember the unfamiliar feeling of ECSTATIC JOY taking me over as soon as I set foot on the dusty ground of Calcutta’s airport, surrounded by unimaginable chaos and shabby ambassador taxis. I was overjoyed by the availability and tangibility of spiritual experience in everyday life. I felt like a sponge submerged in water for the very first time and soaked it all in. I dove deep into the studies of Yoga, Meditation, Buddhism, natural healing, and spiritual arts. One thing led to another, and when I had the chance to catch a glimpse of Odissi Dance, I felt my soul stir. I knew I had to learn this alluring form! I found in it a natural integration of sensuality and spirituality in a way I hadn't conceived of as yet.
Movement Medicine, created by Revtial Carroll, is a transformative practice that honors the principles of nature and the profound intelligence inherent in our human body. It's an invitation to embrace our sensuality as a path to holistic well-being.
I’ve seen many of my dancers oscillate between exhibiting an inflated sense of confidence, as to say “I got it” only to swing fiercely off the other side of the pendulum, feeling rejected and valueless. We all feel at times “on top of the world” and at other times, in the despair of facing our utmost contractions. These swings are natural and are part of being a living, evolving, shifting, and growing being.
Cultivating awareness of the waves of contraction and expansion, acknowledging these two dynamics at play: one of division, and the other of connection, allows us to release what is no longer serving us and stay present with the complexity of every situation. Finding our sense of humor with it, and nurturing our care, empathy and sincere love to ourselves and to our sisters allow us to embrace jealousy as one strand among many in the fabric of a resilient community.
The goddess, Muse, and her eternal lover, Genius, reside within us. As we tend to their needs and stock the fire of their passion, their love blooms in the fertile soil of our embodied being. Male, Female, both or none, whomever you are, the fruits of your abundant creativity and boundless wisdom are awaiting expression.
The integration of “intellect” and “creativity” into manifesting potential has been a challenging aspect on my journey of self-actualization. I look around and see a world that favors “professionalism”, labels, and narrowing the scope of our research into linear, logical trajectories. Yet, the movement within us swirls in spirals.
When the sweet water becomes saline
Bright light into dark
When life becomes death
Death is in life
Shiva is Shakti and Shakti is Shiva
Blue and red create purple
Woman and man birth life
Black and white encircle infinite possibilities
For the most part, I’ve been deliberately keeping my voice concealed online in regard to political and social justice matters. I find the social media platform overwhelming, somewhat harsh, and unforgiving. Yes, our opinions and views do matter, since they inform our actions, and our actions can do harm (sometimes unintendedly) or do good. I also recognize the tremendous power social media platforms have to amplify ones’ voice and potentially inspire many to think differently, to make a change, to grow and transform.
Yet, a deeper reason I shy away from bold statements online or pouring my heart out in public – is that my views, opinions, and feelings are not fixed, and I don’t always know. Please consider that at any given moment, there are factors we are all simply unaware of and that a huge aspect of why we form certain views and take certain actions has little to do with our “self”, and has much to do with our “programming” – childhood trauma, social conditioning, ancestral values, and so on.
In times of turmoil, in times of peace, in times of hardship, and in times of grace, our body and spirit still yearn to be cared for; self-care is self-love. From time to time, treat yourself to a delicious bath, massage, nature time, and of course, dance! Supporting your health and cultivating your inner radiance prepares you to greet the divine within your body-temple.
Loving ourselves is about listening to our body’s’ whispers (and also its loud shouts!), and engaging our creativity to generate the nectar of pure joy.
Since time immemorial human beings have used communal rituals to cope with their most difficult and terrifying emotions….
…Sacred dance is not only about expressing that which is sacred. It is an approach to dance that honors our need to connect with our community and to remain connected to our inner experience.
Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Now printed on t-shirts and mugs around the globe, I elected to apply this deeply resonating truth into sharing some of my “anti-establishment” practices in the field of health and beauty.
By beautifying ourselves we reflect the worlds beauty, we engage in the capacity to make this world, this moment, this experience - beautiful, and we allow that beauty to flow and nourish our capacity to feel alive, vibrant, exuberant with passion.
A traditional performance begins with Initiation – “auspicious opening of the way”, continuous with rhythmical-technical foundation – “setting the ground”, proceeds to melodious ecstatic expression – “opening the channels of creativity”, then dives into emotional expression – the depth of the heart, and climax with spiritual culmination – liberation.
A creature of love. A mother a wife, a daughter, a seeker, a lover of life, in quest of the way to be true, to be kind, to be dancing with life, to connect and be touched.
There are evidences of dance worship in temples during all of these eras, in particular after the 8th century CE, a unique time period in which Buddhism, Shaktism, Saivism, and Tantrism had become amalgamated into one practice. You can see many evidences of this hybrid in the ancient temples around Odisha. For example, the temple of Vaital in Bhubaneswar combines imagery of Chamunda (the goddess), Bhairava (Shiva), Ardhanadishvara (Tantric Deity half shakti /half shiva), Buddha, Shiva nataraj (the cosmic dancer), and more.
Commitment may have a bit of a negative air for some. It sounds like a chore, an obligation. Yet it could just as well translate as “devotion” and “dedication”. It is an integral ingredient in the formula to success.
The most profound role of a dancer is her ability to touch her audience deeply; her offering of an opportunity to transcend ‘ordinary’ moments into ‘extraordinary'.
Her presence is the center axis between heaven and earth, a pillar of light, connecting above and below, letting all manifestation revolve, rise and fall.
Despite the layers of tradition and ancient views embedded in this carefully structured classical dance form, it is alive and breathing with the movement of time. It is intricate and complex, yet inherently devotional and natural, as it is aiming to connect us with nature and the movement of the cosmos.
The intricacy of subtle movements, performed in unison with complex rhythms, demands heightened awareness and concentration, which can deliver the dancer and audience into a state of unwavering Presence.
Odissi Dance is based in the Tantric-Yogic philosophy originated in East India. It suggests we all come from the same source, and head toward the same goal. Yet, source and the goal are no different, they are one and the same. What is this mysterious source / goal of our existence?
How many of you had had a childhood experience when someone older and supposedly wiser than you, had barked at you mindlessly, “you have no rhythm, you shouldn’t be dancing!” or “singing is not for you!” or “never mind art, you should be focusing on math”. Well, I did…
