For most dance of shiva leg movements you keep your weight balanced on one leg and move the other leg. So for example you could stand on your left leg and start with your right leg next to your right leg with the toes on the ground. I'll call this foot position "Center".
From Center you can move your right foot forwards and touch the toe to the floor about a foot or a foot and a half in front of your left foot. I'll call this position Front. From Front move the leg to the side, again with the toe touching the floor. This foot position is called Side. Then you could move the leg back behind the right foot to the position called Back. Then return the leg to Center. Then shift your weight on to your right foot and move your left foot in the same pattern: Center, Front, Side, Back, Center.
Balancing on One Leg
So that it is easier to stay balanced on one leg focus on keeping your weight centered on your standing foot. Position your weight so that the front of your foot and your heel press down with equal pressure. Shape the inner and outer arches of this foot and press down through the root of your big and little toes.
Feel like you are gripping the floor with your standing foot and make your standing foot, ankle and lower leg feel stable. So that it is easier to touch the toe of your moving leg to the floor stand with your supporting knee slightly bent.
Increasing the Challenge
For more of a challenge you can lift your leg off of the floor in the three non-centered positions. Kicking your leg to the front press through the ball of the foot and point your knee up.
Kicking to the side you could have your knee pointing to the front but then in order to lift your leg higher you'll have to lean your upper body away from your kicking foot. Another option is to point your knee up, with your leg out to the side. Here again press with the ball of your foot. If you want to do the side kick version (knee pointing forwards) then press with the blade of your foot.
Kicking to the back point your knee back and down. Again press through the ball of your foot.
Leg Movements to Accompany the Forward-Forward Arm Movement
One of the simplest Dance of shiva arm movements that you can learn to combine with leg movements is the Forward Forwards. This movement (and all other shiva nata arm movements) has 64 different variations. Of those 64, 16 are done with both hands horizontal, 16 with both hands vertical and the remaining 32 with one hand vertical and the other hand vertical.
Focusing first of the 16 movements with both arms horizontal, you need four starting positions to practice all of these movements as follows:
1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 1-1
1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-1, 1-2
1-3, 2-4, 3-1, 4-2, 1-3
1-4, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 1-4.
When describing foot positions in combination with arm positions I'll write the foot position first. Starting at 1-1 with your foot at Center, this position is written: Center 1-1. Starting at Center 1-1, move your right foot and arms to Front 2-2, then Side 3-3, then Back 4-4 and finish at Center 1-1.
You could repeat the same leg pattern but with the arms starting from position 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1.
Another option is to advance the moving foot with the advancing arm. So for example once you have finished the sequence starting from 1-1, move your left arm to position 2 and move your right foot to the Front position. Then the Leg arm sequence starting from Front 2-1 is: Front 2-1, Side 3-2, Back 4-3, Center 1-4, Front 2-1. Then as you move left arm to position 3 move your foot to the Side. Then from the starting position the leg and arm movements are: Side 3-1, Back 4-2, Center 1-3, Front 2-4, Side 3-1.
Finally move the advancing arm to position 4 and the right leg to Back. The arm leg movements from the start are then: Back 4-1, Center 1-2, Front 2-3, Side 3-4, Back 4-1. Return your leg to center and arms to position 1-1. Rest if you need to and then do the pattern but with your weight on your right leg.
For consistency and balance while doing the other side, advance your right arm with your right leg as follows: Center 1-1, Front 2-2, Side 3-3, Back 4-4, Center 1-1. Then Front 1-2, Side 2-3, Back 3-4, Center 4-1, Front 1-2. Then Side 1-3, Back 2-4, Center 3-1, Front 4-2, Side 1-3. Then Back 1-4, Center 2-1, Front 3-2, Side 4-3, Back 1-4.
Practicing All Possible Shivanata Forward Forward Movements with Leg Movements
The above covers the 16 F-F movements with both arms horizontal. There are 48 more F-F movements. For the first set, with both arms horizontal, you could touch your toe to the floor for each leg position. For the second set, with both arms vertical, you could kick with each leg. You could focus your kicks about a foot off of the floor to begin with though you should note that the back and possibly the side kick will probably be lower. You could then work at making your kicks higher gradually. Kicking high (or low) for the third set of movements you could shift your weight onto the back of your standing leg foot when kicking forwards and on the front of your foot when kicking back. Center your weight when centering the foot or kicking to the side. Then for the final set, shift your weight forwards to the front of your supporting foot when kicking forwards and back on to your heel when kicking back.
In all cases you can make your foot, ankle and lower leg strong, but also focus on feeling your supporting foot as you move your other leg.
When shifting weight on to the front of your foot keep your heel down but shift your weight so that the front of your foot and toes press down into the floor. Likewise when shifting your weight back on to your heel, keep the front of your foot on the floor and feel the weight pressing through the front of your heel.
(If you have your weight to far back on your heel then the front of your foot will lift and it'll be even more difficult to balance.)
If you want more of a challenge then lift your heel when your weight is on the front of your foot. Likewise lift the front of your foot when your weight is on your heel.
Neil Keleher is an Engineer, Artist and yoga teacher who lives in Taiwan. He focuses on teaching people how to feel their body and control it. With the dance of shiva he also teaches how to unify actions with a clear idea of what you are trying to do. Check out more dance of shiva leg movements and arm movements at braintrainingformartialartists.com. You can also view a video of the above shivanata leg movements in combination with arm movements on YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment