Days 1-7 of the 40-Day Shiva Nata Expedition (plus practice variations)

A week! Done. Already. It’s going so freaking fast!

First, the recap of this past week:

As you may recall from the initial 40-Day Challenge post, Week 1 was all about crisp, precise movements (in Phase 4). And, about noticing whether or not I was able to remain relaxed while practicing clear, exact movements.

The most interesting thing that emerged from this week’s practice was a dream. In the dream I was being attacked. Instead of fighting, fleeing or desperately resisting the attack, I stayed completely calm and relaxed.

In the dream I didn’t try to relax. I simply was relaxed. From this place of calm, I could see the truth of the situation – how much my attacker was himself hurting and I was able to respond to that – versus to the attack itself.

It was surreal and amazing. I want that sense of clarity and relaxation in the face of conflict in my waking life as well!

Also, in week 1, Casey and I made a thing!

A ShivaNuts Unite! blog – where you can share your stories, cheer for others and be a part of a community of people supporting each other in deepening their personal daily practices – whatever they may be.

And, yes, you are welcome to read and/or comment whether you are committing to the 40-day thing or not. We like you just as you are. 🙂

Week 2 starts tomorrow.

The overall focus for my practice will remain the same: Relaxation.

How I practice will change. I’m going to shift from Phase 4 into Phase 5 Movements. Again, Phase 4 is all about being very clear, crisp and precise.

Phase 5, on the other hand, is all about flow – the smooth blending of one movement into the next and then the next and so on.

It’s about not really being able to differentiate where one movement (or hand position) ends and the next begins.

It’s about beginning to blur the line between me and the dance.

I’m expecting this Phase will be a bit challenging for me as I’m currently quite accustomed to being fairly precise with my movements – mostly because that seems to be the easiest way to demonstrate and teach the positions.

So, yay for mixing it up. 🙂

I’ve spoken about weekly variations. Here are a few possible *daily* practice variations I’ll be playing with as well:

Using new and exciting words for enhanced confusion. Like…

• Different Qualities: I love choosing 4 qualities I want more of my life and using them in my practice. For instance, here are four I’ve played with a lot: sweetness, trust, safety, surrender.
• Using sounds vs actual words: ooh, ah, oh, ow (for instance). Elizabeth and I used sounds one morning and oh my, what fun!
• Mixing things up through things like combining qualities with numbers or sounds with colors, etc.

Using a wide variety of music. If you have any musical suggestions, I’d love to here them!

Interspersing Silence regularly: allowing for practice sessions without music or words. Allowing time and space for inward focus and concentration.

And, of course, there will be variations in Speed.

What about you?

Any noticings or themes emerge from your Week 1? Or, any musical suggestions or other practice variations you’d like to share?

And, if you aren’t participating, your thoughts, comments, etc are still most welcome. Most welcome indeed!