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I am in a world-wide semi-secret club of people who practice the Dance of Shiva, a little-known yogic mind-body-training practice that is called a dance and looks like martial arts.
It is by far the best single thing that’s ever happened to my brain + body.
I now never start work without it (if I can help it, that is).
It dovetails into, augments and intensifies HipGnosis perfectly.
If I could convince every single one of my HipGnosis clients to have a regular Shiva Nata practice, I would.
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There are questions, which are frequently asked.
+ What the heck is Shiva Nata?
Dance of Shiva is a mind-body practice that can improve mental clarity, emotional balance, physical coordination, and spiritual connection – in as little as 5 minutes a day!
World-renowned yoga teacher and PhD-trained engineer Andrey Lappa revived this ancient dance for the modern world. It combines the philosophical engagement of yoga with the complex beauty of mathematics.
Shiva Nata uses an ever-changing series of arm and leg patterns to challenge the brain to build new neural connections, while also strengthening the shoulders, back, and abdominal muscles.
Shiva Nata engages both sides of the body and brain, activating the remarkable capacity of neuroplasticity. The increasingly complex level system developed by Andrey Lappa constantly challenges the brain, engaging it with a variety of novel stimulation while also regularly reinforcing familiar information.
By helping the brain retain its adaptive flexibility, Shiva Nata leads to “hot, buttered ephiphanies” – a flood of insights about everything in life, from how you brush your teeth to the plan for of your dissertation. Over time, these understandings can lead to what Lappa calls “conscious liberation” – the ultimate stage of spiritual development.
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+ Why should I do Shiva Nata?
You don’t have to.
But this is why I do it. Because it’s the simplest and fastest way out of Stucksville and into Epiphany City.
Kali offers more detailed, elegant explanations:
- Physical: Improved coordination, balance, and core body strength.
- Emotional: Elevated mood and release of dysfunctional patterns.
- Intellectual: Increased clarity, synthesis of information, and flow in written communications.
- Spiritual: Greater detachment from mundane difficulties and alignment with higher purpose.
+ How did you get into this?
I first learned about it through Havi Brooks, who is a beloved teacher and mentor of all things related to compassionate and mindful interaction with one’s various internal selves. Havi also happens to be the world’s #2 expert in Shiva Nata and, after some self-practice with Andrey’s DVD, I even had a chance to flail with her in Portland which was the best thing ever!
And then I nestled cozily in to a crazy awesome network of hidden Shivanauts all around! You should join us.
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+ How is Shiva Nata to HipGnosis as chocolate fudge is to ice cream* **?
*(Chocolate fudge and ice cream are both completely fabulous and stand on their own. But, put together, it’s like whoa-holy-mother-goddesses!)
**(actually, people don’t ask this but I wish they would!)
A simple(-ish) explanation: There aren’t very many shortcuts in the world.
Sad, but true. So I relish and treasure them when I do find one. The reason I love hipgnosis so much is because it’s a wonderful, tragically little-known shortcut. When we bypass the usual block between our surface consciousness and the remaining 98% of our minds, change and insight can happen in ludicrously fast and efficient ways.
Shiva Nata does that. Amidst the confusion and chaos of arms moving in one direction, legs in another, and numbers and words swirling around in your brain, it instantly calms the chatter of the monkey-mind. It kicks you out of your stuck mental loop. It scrambles up the order of everything you thought you knew. It re-arranges energy in and around your body to a new state of uninhibited flow.
One of my hipgnosis tools is something called bi-hemispheric stimulation. You move your hands in different, alternating directions. This simple movement dissolves anxiety because anxiety is stuck on one side of the brain, and engaging both of your hands differently engages both sides of the brain, forcing them to communicate. When the brain does this, the anxiety can’t keep itself together and unravels. Well, Shiva Nata is like that, multiplied by a trillion.
Another thing: I say that being in a hypnotic trance is like accessing the benefit of deep meditation without having to do the work. Well, a post-flail body is ripe for the most delicious, physical-mental-spiritual-emotional trance ever.
So yeah. Shiva Nata is an elegant and energetic form of self-hypnosis with your body. I can’t think of anything that is cooler than that.
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I already said I want to convince every single one of my clients to do Shiva Nata. I want to convince everybody else in the world who is a student of consciousness or simply wants a shortcut to peace, zen and insight.
So, this is me trying to convince you.
You should flail.
For the insta-zen. For the brain scramble. For the insights.
To jump, skip, glide, leap over the boundaries of your surface consciousness.
Because, as Havi says, it’s the best thing that will ever have happened to your brain.
How you can start learning now:
There are many ways to start.
If you’re in the New York City area, check out the class I offer.
Explanations of the basic principles and arm positions as well as a whole bunch of other really useful information is found in Neil Keleher’s page.
there are free instructional videos available at Shiva Monster. Because Beth is awesome.
If you want to jump into it for real, check out Kali Nata’s page here for product recommendations.
Shiva Nata resources I recommend on the interwebs:
Havi Brooks: The world’s #2 expert and guru of the Flail. You can get your starter kit here and learn a lot.
The iPhone app: Absolutely indispensable, may be a tad confusing if you’ve never taken a class or seen the DVD.
The Dance of Shiva: Neil Keleher has developed an incredibly thoughtful, detailed and thorough series of Shiva Nata teachings on his website. With pictures!
Kali Nata: Workshops in the mid-atlantic U.S., with an amazingly extensive resource page.
Shiva Monster: free instruction videos, private Skype classes and lots of other goodies!
(Pssst! This is a baby list and if you have a fantastic Shiva Nata resource and it’s not listed here, it’s probably because I haven’t run into it yet, not because I don’t think you’re great! Please let me know, for the love of flailing.)
And finally, see Havi demonstrate the crazy, beautiful brain-breakiness of the Flail.
