What is Shakti Dance®?
Shakti Dance® is ‘The Yoga of Dance‘, a yogic system with a distinctive Self-empowering method and practice, created by Sara Avtar. It combines in Eight Phases a series of innovative practices and techniques, each embodying the active ingredient of harmonic resonance, “Swara Rasa®“.
As a form of yoga, Shakti Dance® fuses breath, organic motion, sound and mindfulness, to align in harmony and merge with Source. Its flowing, rhythmic practice meditatively coordinates mind, body and spirit, returning us to the sacredness of our natural state. It tunes our body as an instrument to express our essence, with original creativity and authenticity.
How Shakti Dance® Works
The system of Shakti Dance® embodies the ‘Principles of Harmonious Movement’. Learning to move organically in waves and spirals, with relaxed aware flow, we attune to our inner cyclic harmony, igniting the ‘Spirit of Shakti’ and awakening our Creative Self. This harmonic flow of prana-shakti unravels our entanglement and illumines our shadows, releasing us into healing and awakening. We are led into a radiant state of relaxed Presence and heightened sensitivity, thereby opening us up to our core vibration and cascading into free dance – for the full expression of our potential. As we step into wholeness, we can harmonise and heal the world.
The Benefits of Shakti Dance®
Shakti Dance® practice cultivates free, organic and creative expression of inner Being. It massages and liberates the body and mind from deep blockages and conditioning, relaxing stress, for healing and self-renewal – opening out into a peaceful, aware state and a gracefully flowing life.
Shakti Dance® is the unique and harmonious blend of:
Flowing Asanas, Rhythmic Breathing, Energising Dance Exercises, Free Dance, Relaxation, Mantra Movement Meditations, and Still Meditation.
Shakti Dance® embodies insights drawn from:
Yogic Philosophy, Kundalini Yoga, Sikhism Sufism, Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Tai Chi and Different Dance & Movement Styles.
“The soul is reflected and expressed through our dance when we are in most intimate contact with that Being that animates us.”
~ Sara Avtar
A SHAKTI DANCE® CLASS
The system of Shakti Dance® has a unique and distinctive methodic development through 8 Phases that can be found in a Regular Class. These Phases, specific to Shakti Dance®, combine energetically to activate the ‘Creative Spirit of Shakti’, opening out into a peaceful state of aware Presence and Yogic Union.
A Session of Shakti Dance® Flows through, and is Characterised by these 8 Phases:
1. TUNING IN
Connecting with the Creative Source and Inner Guidance
A class starts with an opening mantra, accompanied by a sequence of hand movements (mudras). This opens the space, connecting with the creative source and the luminous presence of the inner teacher to receive the teachings and inner guidance.
See: Video of Celestial Communication for Tune-In
2. SHAKTI FLOWING ASANAS ~ Swara Rasa® Asana
Opening Pranic Currents with Flowing Yoga Asanas
3. STANDING EXERCISES ~ Swara Rasa® Charan
Charging the Magnetic Field with Repetitive Standing Exercises
After opening up the pranic-flow, the class moves into energising, breath-related standing exercises that open the chakras, rebalance the 5 elements and charge the pranic body with increased vitality. The energy released in the previous phase is now intensified and distributed throughout body, using rhythmic standing movements and repetitive dance steps from different dance genres to different styles of music and tempo – mostly accompanied by yogic mantras. These standing exercises work with the body’s natural geometry and mechanics, adhering to principles of harmonious movement, e.g. the rebound force, surrendering to gravity, giving impulse from the navel, lifting through the bhandas and reaching through lines of stretch.
4. FREE DANCE
Spontaneous Movement Meditation
Having calmed the mind and accumulated charge, the practitioner is now quite literally propelled into free dance by the inner currents of prana-shakti: “It’s a very relaxed feeling when you come into the flow. There is no fear that something has to be in one way or another way, or that it could go wrong. It’s just whatever comes.” (Sara Avtar, Aug 09). In this stage, the innate creativity of each individual is given free reign. When the dancer surrenders completely, the dance becomes an expression of the innermost being, prompting natural healing and intuitive insight.
5. RELAXATION
Lying in Shavasana (corpse pose), the phase of relaxation calms, harmonizes and consolidates the stimulation of different qualities of energy in the previous phases. Here, the rhythmic pulsations of body, mind and spirit are given space to integrate while releasing residual tension and old energy.
6. CELESTIAL COMMUNICATION / MANTRIC CHOREOGRAPHY ~ Swara Rasa® Yantra
Mantra Synchronized with Meditative Movement
A Celestial Communication (Swara Rasa® Akash) or Mantric Choreography (Swara Rasa® Lila) are forms of mandala movement meditation that realign and balance the energy field. They may be done sitting or standing, and are practiced to a mantra – generally in Gurmukhi or Sanskrit. The repeated symmetrical movement sequence becomes a focus that stills the mind, creating sacred geometry with harmonising wave-patterns within the aura. These meditations can be very profound, are enjoyable to learn, and create a powerful group matrix when practiced in a mandala constellation.
7. STILL MEDITATION
Space is now given to return to the stillness within (Shakti merges back into Shiva), to enjoy the fulfilment of emptiness, following the satisfaction of self-expression. This is the opportunity to bathe in the regenerative spaciousness of Source within.
8. CLOSING
A simple and specific mantra, combined with mudra movements is chanted at the end of the session, bringing inner and outer worlds into balance, centering and grounding, while creating a protective auric shield around each participant.