One of the things I’ve been practicing since shortly after my stroke is Shivanata (aka Dance of Shiva). It’s less a dance and more a motion-study way of remapping our neural networks using physical movements. People use it for all kinds of reasons. I started because I wanted the pathways in my brain to do an end-run around the dead parts.
It’s fantastic, again for a variety of reasons, but one of the things that keeps me coming back is I can feel my brain healing. Coming out of the fog a little. Doing it in a group with a teacher is an amazing experience, but you can do it anywhere. Luckily, living in Portland, I know quite a few people who practice, and we get together sometimes for practice sessions because it can be hard to keep the momentum of a daily practice by yourself.
On Wednesday, Larisa came up with the idea of a 40-day challenge, where Shivanuts all over the world could try to commit to doing even a short daily practice, and check in with each other for support and questions and whatnot. The idea being to stimulate her own practice, and inviting people to play along working on their own daily dancing.
Larisa and I exchanged a few emails on Thursday and she came over today for a brainstorming session, which was possibly the most fun I’ve had being incredibly productive, building a blog side-by-side (typing madly on two Macs on the same desk), laughing and playing, and just cranking like crazy to create a simple place where people doing the 40-day thing could check in, share, and compare notes. In less than two hours, we’d built a site. If that isn’t motion in action, I don’t know what is!
It’s here. Check it out.
What a great recap of our expedition! I absolutely *loved* typing madly side by side with you. Totally motion in action.
Oh wow. I guess I was signed in to the ShivaNuts blog when I commented. Well, it’s me, Larisa. Just in case you wondered. Hee.