Dance of Shiva Videos

Dance of Shiva Basic Positions and Movements

Basic Positions

Forward and Backward Movements
One arm at a time

In this lesson I cover the forward and backward movements of the dance of shiva using one arm at a time.

I do the Forward movement from 1, 2, 3 and 4 and then the Backward movement from those same positions. Then the I do the Forward movement from a, b, c and d and then again the Backward movement from those same positions. This is, ideally, to make it easier to remember the positions. However, once you are comfortable with positions and movements you can practice the forward movement from all eight starts, and then do the same for the backward movement.

The forward movement connects as follows:

1 to 2
2 to 3
3 to 4
4 to 1
a to b
b to c
c to d
d to a

The backward movement is simply the reverse.

1 to 4
2 to 1
3 to 2
4 to 3
a to d
b to a
c to b
d to c

2:57 Forward 1, 2, 3, 4
6:27 Backward 1, 2, 3, 4
9: 25 Forward a, b, c, d
12:38 Backward a, b, c, d

ChangeForward and Change Backward Movements
One arm at a time

In this lesson I cover the changeforward and changebackward movements of the dance of shiva using one arm at a time.

So that you can learn to do the movements without thinking we repeat each movement four times from each starting position. And we start from all eight positions!

The ChangeForward connects positions as follows:

1 to b
2 to c
3 to d
4 to a
a to 2
b to 3
c to 4
d to 1

the ChangeBackwards does the opposite:

1 to d
2 to a
3 to b
4 to c
a to 4
b to 1
c to 2
d to 3

Transquarter Movement

One arm at a time

This lesson covers the Transquarter movement one arm at a time.

The transquarter movement connects non-adjacent positions in the same plane i.e.

1 to 3
2 to 4
3 to 1
4 to 2
a to c
b to d
c to a
d to b

I demonstrate it from all 8 positions with reminders for lengthening the spine as well as adding tension to the arm.

The idea of adding tension is to make it easier both to feel the arm and control it. You may find that it also makes doing the movements a little bit easier that without the tension.

0:32 from Horizontal Positions
3:30 from Vertical Positions

Change Movement
One arm at a time

This lesson covers the Change movement.

Focusing on one arm at a time it includes movement icons that give you a snapshot of how this movement connects one position to another.

In this case the movement connects "equivalent positions" in the two different planes i.e. from:

1 to a
2 to b
3 to c
4 to d
a to 1
b to 2
c to 3
d to 4

Since the change move is acylcic, repeating it carries the arm between the same two positions i.e. 3 to c to 3 to c to 3...

0:46 from horizontal positions
2:53 from vertical positions

Change Transquarter Movement
One arm at a time

In this lesson I teach the ChangeTransquarter movement which is like doing the change move and transquarter move together .

This video includes movement icons that shows how this movement connects the different positions.

The changetransquarter connects non-adjacent positions in different planes as follows:

1 to c
2 to d
3 to a
4 to b
a to 3
b to 4
c to 1
d to 2

As you can hopefully see, repeating a changetransquarter takes the arm between the same two positions i.e. 1 to c to 1 to c to 1...

0:28 from horizontal positions
2:17 from vertical positions

Learning to Flow using Dance of Shiva
One arm at a time

An introduction to "flowing" with one arm.

So far the lessons have included positions and all single arm movements.

Rather than just keep practicing, the idea here is to test how well you know the positions and movements by moving randomly within ever larger sets of limits.

If you can do any of the movements from any position without having to think you may then find it easier to use those same movements as part of movement combinations and then as part of movement combination sequences.

The following Purchaseable Videos have been designed to make practicing (and learning) the dance of shiva easier:

1a includes combinations of forward and back moves (ff, bb, fb, bf) and combinations of changeforward and changeback moves (cfcf, cbcb, cfcb, cbcf).

2a includes combinations of change and non-change moves e.g. fcf, fcb, bcf, bcf etc

3a includes combinations of cyclic and non-cyclic moves e.g. ft, bt, cfc, cfct, cbc, cbct.

There's also the Dance of Shiva ebook (pdf/mobi or epub)

Some Dance of Shiva Movement Combinations

You can go through these movements in any order you choose, however I've listed them in an order that may make learning a bit easier. The first four movements are combinations where both arms do a change plane movement (changebackward in combination with changebackward, changeforward, changetransquarter and change.). The last three movements are combinations where one arm does a change movement and the other does a same plane movement (changebackward in combination with a forward, backward and transquarter).

CB-CB Movement Combination

In this movement combination, both arms do the Changebackward movement.

CB-CF Movement Combination

In this movement combination, one arm does the Changebackward move. The other does the Changeforward move.

CB-C Movement Combination

In this dance of shiva video, one arm does the Changebackward movement (CB) while the other does a Change movement (C).

In this movement combination, because both arms do a Change movement (CB and C) both arms change plane at the same time.

If both arms start in the same plane (for example 1-1) then both arms stay in the same plane for all subsequent movements: d-a, 3-1, b-a, 11.

If both arms start in different planes (i.e. a-1) then both arms stay in different planes for all subsequent movements: a-1, 4-a, c-1, 2-a, a-1.

Published: 2018 09 29