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.
In Dance, we can express the sacred, the emotional, the sublime. While dancing, we experience the interconnectedness of humans, earth, heaven, and the cosmos. In Dance, we let our body speak where language cannot reach and embody our innate connectedness, the sacredness of being.
Rhythm is at the heart and base of all Classical Indian Dance and Music forms. The mood, flow, and expression - all emerge from the ground of time-cycles.
The main percussion instrument of Odissi Dance is the Pakhawaj, also known as the mridanga. Hindustani (North Indian) classical music uses the tabla and Carnatic (South Indian) classical music, the Pakhawaj. All of these drums are two-headed precision instruments played simultaneously in various ways to produce different kinds of sounds. These sounds are then strung together in sequences to create different rhythm patterns. The vocalizations of the actual sounds produced by the drummer, such as dha, di, naka, thini, dhin, tere, take, gadigane, jhom, dhage, and so on, are called bol.
The bols are combined together to create different rhythm patterns (Taals).
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.
Our hands are a source of tremendous power. With such profound dexterity, sensitivity, and utility the human hands may be one of our most defining features as a species. Playing guitar, delivering a baby, knitting a sweater, building a house, wielding a sword, painting intricate figures: through the use of our hands we create and shape the world we live in. Hands can heal, hands can harm. One touch can convey a wide array of thoughts, feelings or intentions. Hands tell the story of our mood or state of mind. When we feel angry, a clenched fist; when anxious, fidgeting fingers. Even plants and animals respond to the subtle nuances of our touch.
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.
Stocking the fire of passion with the winds of inspiration, overriding logical callings with intuitive whispers... I've been continuously following my gut and heart in my life path choices.
…As much as I learned immensely powerful lessons from my teachers, and perhaps even greater lessons from my connection to spirit, I feel I've learned the most precious gift of all from you, my students; the gift of connection - of uniting in passion, in pain, in joy, and in ecstasy. Of being One in the Cosmic Dance.
Our capacity for love is infinite. We all need more care and attention anyone outside of us could truly give us. When we realize the key is in our own heart, a powerful shift happens. When we wake up to the fact we are love, we release the contraction of pain, relax the belly, drop deeper into our body, and realize it’s a choice, a choice to open up, relax, and allow love to be. Allow connection to heal our pain, and intimate presence to boost our confidence.
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.
What makes a good teacher is not their masterfulness but their presence.
A teacher inspires their students to a greater level of accomplishment by intimately knowing and understanding the student/s’ perspective.
Depth of connection facilitates transmission and receptivity.
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.
As part of my passionate pursuit of health, holistic living, and the cultivation of natural beauty, I make my own, natural to the max, beauty and health products.
Glow Face Cream makes a wonderful gift. It has a lovely pink color that opens the heart and uplifts the spirit, and a delightful bright floral aroma that makes you sigh with joy.
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.
