Understanding, Limits and Freedom

In The Dance of Shiva, having an intent for the hands is what makes the exercise so powerful. Knowing that we are trying to keep our hands horizontal, we can sense the position our hands are in. Sensing that they are horizontal we can keep them that way. If they aren't horizontal then we can respond to what we sense by making them horizontal.
As we get more and more practice at this we get better at keeping our hands horizontal. Our hands can do the motion "by themselves." Then we can work at doing the action while reducing the energy we take to do it. We can make the movement smoother, more efficient, more fluid.
To exercise consciousness further we can take the simple arm movements that we started with and break these movements down into four parts. These parts connect at four positions. In the horizontal spiral we label these points 1, 2, 3 and 4 while in the vertical plane we label them a, b, c and d. Now we have a new intent for the Dance of Shiva, that of learning the movements necessary to connect each point to every other point.
Sticking to points in the same plane we already have the movements necessary to connect adjacent points. In either case we can move Forwards to connect 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and back to 1. Likewise in the vertical plane we can do a Forwards move and connect a to b to c to d and back to a. Moving Backwards we can connect points in the opposite way. We connect 1 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. Likewise we connect a to d to c to b to a.
In each case a movement is what connects any two points. So from 1 to 2 is a move. Likewise from 2 to 1 is another move.
Now if our goal is to be able to connect each point to every other point, how do we connect non-adjacent positions in the same plane? Say we want to connect 1 to 3 and 3 to 1, what move do we use? We have to invent a new move. That move is called a Transquarter.
Using a transquarter we skip points 2 and 4 to connect 1 directly to 3 and 3 directly to 1. Or we skip points 1 and 3 and correctly 2 directly to 4 and 4 directly to 2.
This new move is different than the Forwards or Backwards spiral. While using a Forwards move we connect 1 to 2 and a Backwards move connects 2 to 1 in the case of a Transquarter the same move connects two positions in either direction. So from 1 to 3 we use a Transquarter and likewise from 3 to 1 we use a Transquarter. Because Transquarters can only be used to connect the same two points there is no need to specify a Forwards Transquarter or a Backwards Transquarter. We know that from 1 a Transquarter takes us to 3 and likewise from 3 a Transquarter takes us to 1.
However a Forwards move from 1 takes us to 2 and then another Forwards move from 2 takes us to 3. If we want to move back to 1 from position 2 we need to use a Backwards move... or we do a Forwards move four times.
Where prior to breaking each spiral down into four parts, we became conscious by sensing the position of our hand and responding by modifying if we need to, now with our eight stopping positions we apply consciousness by knowing that from position 1 a Forwards move takes us to 2. Meanwhile a Backwards move takes us to 4 and a Transquarter takes us to 3. Knowing that we want to move from 1 to 2 we use a Forwards move to take us there, while at the same time keeping our hand horizontal as we do the movement. We become conscious by understanding or knowing what move takes us from 1 to 2 and by understanding what positions any of the movements connect.
Using two hands at the same time we exercise our consciousness even more.
With two hands each hand has the option of eight different moves, the seven moves needed to connect the position the hand is in to any of the other positions and the option of the hand staying where it is. With each hand having eight options there are a total of 64 movement possibilities for both hands together. Being conscious we are aware of those possibilities. If we are moving according to some pre-planned movement sequence then being conscious we know where we are in that sequence and we know exactly what the left hand has to do to move from 1 to 2 and we know what the right hand has to do to move from 3 to b. We then move both hands at the same time.
As we get more and more practice at these "complex" moves, we get better at monitoring the action of both hands as well as doing the movement for each hand correctly we can also get better at unifying the body in what we are doing and we also get better at making the movement smooth while using less effort at the same time.
Practicing moving from one position to the next we begin to think not in terms of what we can't do but rather in terms of what we can do. Knowing that from any one position of the hands we can move to any of the other positions we become free. We are then also free to limit ourselves. If we want to do some set sequence of moves we can do the sequence. And then we can choose another sequence if we feel like it.
Conscious of the possibilities we can choose from among them. Conscious of the limits we can move within them. Being able to choose limits and being able to sense them we become free. Being able to create limits or define them we become even more free.

Simple, Efficient and Effective

Basic Principles for Life

Ultimate Simplicity and Efficiency is about a set of Basic Principles that can be applied to any aspect of life so that we can simplify it and get on with living it. These principles can be applied to any aspect of life whether leading, teaching, learning or working as part of a team or company or being a part of a family. They can be applied when doing something physical whether it is riding a bike, doing yoga, running or whether doing something more cerebral such as writing a book. They can also be applied to enjoying life. They can be used to help us to balance our lives as well as get things done. They can also be used to help us to do things well.These are simple ideas for the things we do and the problems we have to solve. They are also efficient. Rather than wasting life we can live life and experience it. Learn more...

Exercising Consciousness

Spirals, Transquarters and Change

Spirals, Transquarters and Changes are the three basic categories of movement in the Dance of Shiva. There are two types of Spirals movements and four types of Changes. In this book we learn four of these movements and how they can be put together to form 14 different movement combinations. We also learn how all 64 movement combinations of the dance of shiva are derived from two simple spiral movements.
Focusing on these basic moves we learn how it is possible to exercise possibility by sensing limits and moving within them. We also see how it is possible to create the limits that we wish to move within. The movements learned in this book can form the foundation for more advanced Dance of Shiva practices as well as a foundation for living more consciously. Learn more...

Practicing Possibility

Formulae for Freedom

In Formulae for Freedom we work with the basic movement combinations of the Dance of Shiva, showing you how they can be combined to create movement algorithms made up of four, eight, sixteen moves or more. Using movement algorithms, we have a mental challenge as well as a physical one.
To make the process of learning easier, we learn smaller algorithms first. We then put these smaller algorithms together to form the longer algorithms of eight and sixteen moves, each of which repeat four times. It is also possible to create an algorithm of 32 moves from these smaller elements. The interesting thing is that even in this 32 movement algorithm, very few of the moves repeat. Thus we have a chance to practice nearly half of all the movements of the Dance of Shiva in one little package. Learn more...