Blog the Yoga

So yesterday in the throws of hyper-visual cyber saturation I sat transfixed to my computer trawling through Hoopy Award nominations, videos, pics, blogs, astro readings, FaceBook social news and general cyberland happenings. I have reached a rare point in the year where I am pretty much on top of my emails, still avoiding my bookwork, holding a small amount of space to chat online and generally pretty relaxed in week 4 of the annual 6 week sojourn. Life is cruising. Strangely as Yoga O'Clock approached I was hit with an overwhelming urge to blog which essentially requires a clear state of mind, a whole amount of solitary space and good dose of inspiration that had hit my hood. A competing zen bender. I sat in front of my computer tossing up my options noting that after a recent elongated writer's block it may not be the best thing to do to walk away when the flow was calling. On the other hand, I had been on the Yoga train for 5 days running and after a 3 day break it really was TIME to get back on or the momentum would be slowed. A split between the body and the mind - hello the answer should have been obvious. As a Libran I often throw most dilemmas out to the peeps and thank God for the love and support of decisive friends - the collective said DO BOTH and let one filter into the other - i.e "blog the yoga" ... thanks Ms Linguini :) So here I am post yoga mid blog fusing body and mind into one. The integrated whole.

Yoga entered my life when I moved to Sydney 14 years ago. Like writing it had for a long time been sporadic but always invigorating and ultimately soul food that I kept coming back to for more. My dedication and commitment to regular practice reached a turning point when I connected with a wonderful teacher about four years ago. It's an interesting dynamic that between teacher and student and one that deserves some contemplation. What was it about that teacher? It was about an essence. He would say, don't come to class because you think you should, come because you want to. Or, there's no point in giving up your vices in life if you're going to be schizophrenic about it - if you want whatever it is that you reach out for, go for it, until you no longer truly and authentically want it. This dude is a dude, for real. He beamed love and light, he oozed a chill that everyone wanted, he demonstrated an astonishing level of strength, flexibility and balance that one could only dream of and he was simply absolute beauty personified. We all fell in love and then he left the country. Like most things in life you don't gain a full appreciation of what you have right in front of you until it's gone. Aside from his stunning person and that wonderful exotic accent that somehow got me through the stretched out counts of leg-crushing warriors and reality defying twists and balances, he set me and my fellow students up with a solid foundation that catapulted us all I'm sure into a zone of what feels like a regular lifetime practice. He also challenged my attachment to The Teacher and what it is to find self-directed practice.

So I moped around town in search of another pining for the loss and wondering how one can replace such an experience. The reality is I couldn't as it was unique. This has happened before actually. With hooping. Once I had made the decision to dedicate myself to the practice 6 years ago my teacher had already left town. I mentioned this to my beloved yogi once over tea to which he smiled and suggested that perhaps it is simply part of my karma. Oh the simplicity. So as a teacher I am intrigued by what it is that we represent to our students and how we connect or not. He would say, students don't just come for the teaching they come to connect with your energy and your emotional self. He drew my attention to a responsibility that I now hold with a sense of sacredness and grace - as teachers we attract students who want to know more than just the skill set, whether we (and they) choose to acknowledge it or not. Together we create an experience that seems to exceed reason and words - it's a feeling that often effects us at a very profound level. After he left, as a teacher, I accepted the challenge of becoming my own teacher and took on a solitary practice down at StarLand last Summer. But when I returned to the city the physical space to practice in my own home was reduced and all the urban distractions thundered in, leaving me with a very strong desire to get back to class. Lucky my new yoga studio is less than 100 metres away from my home!

In honour of the class, I have to acknowledge its attributes - it's about synergy, a collective raising of energy, inspiration from others, the guidance of a teacher outside of the self, a structured format to follow that locks me into a disciplined time and a beautiful big sacred space that has been shape-shifted specifically for worship. I also experience the luxury of having someone else tell me what to do and when to do it knowing that the end result is a happy and healthy body/mind/spirit. When I'm in a class I don't have the cat running around my feet protesting that I'm pretending to be a dog! I don't have the distraction of phones and computers and fridges and all else that tempts one in the work from home zone. In class I am anonymous, I am silent, I am directed, I am safe, I am one of many, I am reminded that I am a small part of the whole, i am that I am. In class I sing and chant and stand on my head and hands and stretch out and go beyond my limitations just a little bit each time to progress with someone on guard watching, guiding and adjusting my development. I can almost do the splits! It's taken years... maybe this Christmas coming. I can feel this is the year. In class I am allowed to just be. I don't have to think. I don't want to think. I dream in colours and see shooting stars and at times am flooded with light as I feel prana coursing through my entire being. In class I feel alive and so relaxed and strong and balanced. In class I can practice breathing like the ocean and then barely breathe at all. In class I understand the power of the breath.

Beyond the spiritual and sacred nature of yoga, which I admit is its strongest drawcard for me, I am given the opportunity to shape and strengthen my body in a way that no other exercise has ever offered. Often I am amazed at how I need not practice something like the splits in each class but by practicing all the other poses that loosen up my hips I can return to Hanamanasana over time and it magically seems to have come along. It's an integrated form of exercise. Then there's the abs - everyone wants killer abs right so the belief is just bust out those thousand or so situps and get the Pilates classes going on for full effect and it's true such focus is sure to be met with success but with the moderation and holistic foundation that Yoga provides, abs are constantly working in all kinds of poses that at the same time strengthens and tones your back, legs, arms, butt and so on. The integrated whole. On a very personal level, in part I use yoga as an experiment on myself to defy genetics. Both of my parents and some of my siblings experience the pain of arthritis. History and science says I should expect to experience this pain myself. Interestingly I feel like I have defeated an ongoing shoulder / neck issue that plagued me for many years during which time I worked in front of a computer for most of the day and practiced yoga irregularly. As a full time HoopStar I cannot do this job without the support of regular yoga practice. When my practice falls off I can feel it in my back, my neck, my shoulders, my wrists sometimes just everywhere. Hello Dr NeedleHands! Acupuncture, massage, chiropractic treamtment - all wonderful things and essential top ups but with regular yoga I need them less and less. So the challenge is on. I refuse to become arthritic without taking on the challenge and giving it my all. My intuition says yoga is the key to longevity. It's my mantra actually. So an eternal child of the universe it just becomes more and more fun and never a chore to rock it out in class OHMmm!

So I am brought to the notion of self-directed practice which is something I wish to elaborate more on in a range of creative areas of life. I used to think that if I couldn't be my own task master that I was a pussy ^_^ and that until I had my own home practice sorted I was somehow dependent on the other, The Teacher, the guru to kick a butt that I am personally responsible for. It was interesting to watch my approach to my current yoga school which has a whole bunch of teachers. Initially I made sure I shared the love around to avoid said attachment to beloved yogis. But then there is *the energy* that connects us to an individual Teacher that takes us beyond the beyond. It seems hardly a coincidence that at this point in my life where I am living in an open relationship that I have discovered we receive (and give) many things to many people and that you can't *get* everything from one person. It's holographic. It's emotional maturity. It's wild! So Dharmashala you have hit the spot. I give sincere thanks and deep gratitude for this incredible journey, experience, feeling and love that the practice of yoga has to offer. It has changed my life, supports my work, my hooping, my heart, my head, my body, my relationships. It takes life to another level - that of the Divine.

I dedicate this blog to my beloved Yogi who I adore and miss but feel eternally hovering counting those asanas with a cheeky grin making it go oh so slow to elongate the joy and to all my other teachers past present and future who inspire and guide me throughout my practice, including me.

Namaste

Hoopy Awards 2010

The Hoopies 2010 are now open for voting. Support the Hoopaholics and our ever expanding community by casting your votes. We have been nominated for two awards - Pic of the Year (shot by Nick Coppins) and Local Hooping Community of the Year... that's you! This is the third year in a row that The Hoopaholics have been nominated. Visit hooping.org to make your mark. Voting closes Friday 22nd Jan 2010.

Wrapping Up 2009

As the months fly by yet again I am reminded of how fast we tend to live in the land of Hoopaholica where all life spins in line with the hoop. The spiral reaches into realms yet to be explored and those been circled many times before gathering people, momentum, a critical mass and a subculture that just has so many layers to it. The raising of consciousness continues within the paradigm of a progressive civilisation and an ongoing theme of transformation. 2009 - a year of intense creative explosion. 2010 - a year of expanding the multi-layered visions and projects on the boil, releasing and realising them through conscious manifestation, dedication and clarity. The grounding line of flight anchors and bends in ways known and not as the mystery unfolds. Television. Hyper vision. Inner vision. Inter-personal information exchange web. The global hoop community gathers to celebrate the circle. Spaces must be found in which to simply pause, if only for a moment, to shake out all those other limbs of the spiral. Let's not forget that hoopies, apart from being hyper-talented beings, need a whole lot of rest too. It's about balance.

And yet as time flies it also stretches as memory has its say (or not). In our own way we craft stories his and hers of how it happened or how we expect it to be. A spectrum of thoughts shape shift according to the whim of the winds that carry the breeze that expels a vision out into the world making it more than just yours and beyond the now. The personal becomes the collective. Desire becomes service and a shared experience that we participate in or observe as the hologram of life shuffles like a jigsaw of choice. Tales in words and images, moving and still, the resonance of energy as we connect disconnect reconnect learn what those concepts mean to our selves and others and find a place of comfort in the karma that we share. Future and retrospective histories include and highlight herstories which feature another major player sitting by the sidelines watching it all pass by in the meta-story that unfolds as we reflect and project in our obesessions with the microverse - her name is Gaia.

Is it ironic to discover stillness and calm while standing in the eye of the storm or is that just logic? 2009 was a busy year. I believe it was at Hoop Camp, Santa Cruz, at the end of September, possibly one of the funnest hoop events in the world with a jampacked schedule FULL of classes you just don't want to miss, that I stopped. At last. And found stillness. And moments to observe. If you ever feel the need to pull yourself out of a rokn hoopjam to catch a breath or perhaps simply soak it up from outside... i highly recommend having a camera on hand and a blatant stalking technique where you seek them out to let them shine with your own brand of smoke and mirrors.

Hoop Camp Santa Cruz October 2009


The following week saw a return to Harbin Hot Springs, California. What a delight to be back in that magickal part of the world with cold and hot springs to soak up and into with a true sense of release. There is just something about Harbin that galactivates my cells in an extraordinary way. Beyond its geoblissful retreat space the hoop gathering yet again delivers as being the ultimate chill infused expansive space-O-rama post Hoop Camp. Its the let loose and download of all that has been beamed on up during the 3 day Santa Cruz intensive.



Then there was Japan...



The DVD Launch!



Spin Matsuri! The cosmic hoop web expands yet again





The tribe included friends from Sydney, Melbourne, UK, USA and Tokyo. What was so amazing about Spin Matsuri was it drew those who wouldn't ordinarily have found themselves at a Hoop Festival, least of all an international one. But the lure of Planet Japan and the jetsetting hoopies that were onnit was an irresistible combination of bio-cosmic spinning elements. As such the festival had a very interesting flavour to it, what some might call the delicious taste of fresh blood... :) The Spin was held in a stunning little tree filled pocket outside of Tokyo called Chiba - close to the sea and nested in a forest. It was different from the American hoop festivals as it seemed less about obsessed hoopies in an attendance to learn everything and more about the hoop (never a bad thing) but more about friends tuned into a magnetic vibrational spin who were looking to explore something new about themselves in a relatively unknown environment of play. It was my third hoop festival in three weeks so I was ready to shift into a different gear.

The return to Sydney was to land with all systems GO ready for another 8 week teaching term, the launch of the DVD in Sydney and preparation for the XMas / New Year bumper performance season. It rolled so fast there was barely time to document, annotate, centre and celebrate so instead we just kept spinning with the moment and swept up the ideas that sprung from the journey. High levels of productivity and focus were called upon to complete Mission 2009.



And now it is 2010. A blank canvas appears suggestive and glaring. Scripts, book, bookwork, booking, timetabling, visioning, imagineering, mapping, choreographing, organising, synchronising, leaping into the void... I resist for just a few more moments in honour of pause, to be... not even just me... simply to be... on a rock... of a rock... grounded.

Hoop It UP Baby

Over a decade ago ago I was dancing at a nightclub in Melbourne and came across a circus performer spinning many hoops all over her body. I think it was in that moment that a higher energy beamed down and implanted in my being the obsession to hoop! I was transfixed and very intrigued by the power of the hoop and its ability to captivate not only me as a viewer but obviously the beautiful hoopstress herself. Very soon after this initial siting a friend gifted me a hoop which pretty quickly became my new essential accessory - I took it everywhere. Together we attended many a party and dance floor where I would settle into the corner, tune into the music and bliss out on the circular and rhythmic whole body meditation that hooping dancing essentially is. I felt like I was in an invisible bubble and strangely enough (many people refuse to believe me when I say this) it drew me out of my shyness! It wasn't until well into my performance career which started several years later in Sydney and specifically when I added lights and fire to my hoops that the invisible bubble popped and I began to engage with my audience, my self and life with a new level of awareness and the ability to literally light up people's lives. I have stepped into a comfort zone within that feels good to be me - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and energetically.

Hooping has been a channel for so much personal growth and self development. It keeps me fit, pushes me to explore my boundaries, invites me to be playful, sensual and creative, has opened me up to a global community of people who are driven to feel as positive, healthy and happy as possible and has tuned me in to my eternal inner child which is a bubble in itself. It's also radically improved my wardrobe. Life can get way too serious all too often. I love how hooping pretty much overrides this feeling. I see it in my students or in my fellow hoopies when we jam, I see it in videos on the internet, I feel it in my heart - when you spin a ring around your body and start to move your body something magical happens and then keeps on happening as you learn new tricks and ways to play with the hoop.

My greatest wish is to share my love of the hoop with as many people as possible, which in essence is why I made Hooping for Beginners - A Hybrid Hooping Journey. This is my first instructional DVD which focuses on the foundations of a style that incorporates both circus hooping (multiple hoops) and hoop dance (freestyle movement and flow). It is a 90 minute DVD divided into three lessons - on the body, off the body and multiple hoops. We shot it in my favourite place in the world, Central Australia, where the stars shine so bright and the red earth vibrates with a creative dyamism that I'm not quite sure I have experienced before. But of course when you beam three hooping divas out into the Australian desert there is bound to be a touch of Priscilla Queen of the Desert... and beyond. After each lesson you are taken on an Intergalactic Space Babe journey which features hot moves, grooves, costumes and attitude... it gets pretty funky! The soundtrack is a delicious smorgasbord of international beats and melodies that cross world, electronic, classical and indigenous genres. There is also a non-stop 10 minute closing Hoopaholic performance that explores character, costume, lights, fire, visual montage and sound. We wanted to move beyond purely the instructional side and add a visual and auditory feast as an art project as well as a series of lessons that says: get your bling on, get your hoop on, tune into your own personal rhythm and have fun!





Posted on Realize Beauty November 25, 2009