“the intent of this blog is to incrementally build a body of thought that works toward integrating various topics, yoga, fitness, and the arts – it’s a process…”
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My Yoga-to-Dance aha! Moments! – # 2
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last week, when i posted “My First Yoga-to-Dance aha! Moment!” i should have realized right then, it’d be unlikely i wouldn’t have more of these nifty aha! moments
today my wife and i trucked up to clear lake for the morning jazzercise class in a fair amount of coastal fog, knowing from experience it’d be worth the trip
it’s always a brain-smile-pleasure when i’m surprised to learn something i hadn’t expected to, and today, vanessa had choreographed, into the music-mix of fun moves, a plank that moved into a modified warrior 2 – and moved us nicely through both sides! – yes, definitely a pleasant surprise 😉
considering i had just introduced both warrior 1 & 2 to our beginners yoga class in galveston the night before, the synapse-juxtaposition was sharp indeed
granted, our yoga class had “held” warrior 2 for a few breaths within a sun salutation sequence, and our jazzercise class “paused” there within a larger dance-movement routine –
granted, the former was a yin-orientated, strength and stretch, bone enhancing pleasure hold; and the latter was a yang-orientated, cardio, heart hardy pleasure movement –
but the effect and presence in both fitness environments, was equally welcome
yet, this was not my aha! moment of the morning 😉
there’s a move i’ve always favored in jazzercise, [1] a step-ball-change-variation stutter-step forward and back
rather than stepping forward with one foot, usually in a diagonal or to one side (though not necessarily), pressing the ball of the other foot, then changing directions – both feet stutter-step forward in a step-ball-change type move, then stutter-step backward, using the same step movement with both feet
the kick usually associated with the one foot at a time sequence, becomes kinda a kick-forward and up of the torso, esp the hips
my hands usually track my forward movement to the music, flicking upward as i softly arch my lumbar spine opening my chest and heart upward –
tracking the music i’ll then stutter-step backward with both feet, curling my core in a mild distinct crunch, my hands flicking downward as my shoulders and upper back arch forward followed by my neck and head
the knees and legs do a little stutter-giggle to the beat, or maybe it’s just me getting old 😉
but again, last night’s yoga class sprang to mind –
as i enjoyed a series of stutter-step forwards and back, i had a clear sudden impression-memory-joining of upward and downward dog merging with my torso arching then curling rhythmically in the stutter-steps!
aha!
i was feeling a conjoining, a similarity of expansions and contractions the two yoga poses, up and down dog, had offered me in sun salutations, with what i felt, stutter-stepping back and forth to jazzercise’s contemporary music – nice nice nice 😉
please note, i’m not a jazzercise instructor, and though i’ve enjoyed the dance and aerobic moves jazzercise provides for a long time, for more detailed info on this or other jazzercise moves, please feel free to contact a local instructor
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now i realize many others before me, and right now, are experiencing the same fitness-yoga connections, and hopefully articulating [2] better 😉 but to again experience this feeling of fusion between two activities i enjoy so much, well…
there does seem to be a surge in seeing the similarities, and differences, between yoga and other fitness activities
afaa (aerobic and fitness association of america) has numerous chapters in its current “fitness: theory and practice” textbook, exploring various types of comparison
ace (american council on exercise), in their march “certifiednews” issue, has an incredibly important article, “are some yoga poses more harmful than helpful?”
the comments for the above article are equally as interesting
my own comment (with paragraph formatting added for easier reading) to the article is :
“a great reference that ties fitness and yoga together is, Ray Long MD FRCSC is a board certified orthopedic surgeon at http://www.dailybandha.com/ —
“i myself am still learning a lot of all this, and look fwd to continuing that process —
“yoga, for me, is potentially more than fitness, but without the proper foundation in fitness, won’t get you very far to other areas of interest —
“iyengar himself, in an incredible 18 minute dvd “extra” on the dvd “Enlighten Up!” (i rented it from netflix) tells of how, til he was able to stand up in a healthy way in his early 20’s, spiritual concerns weren’t even a consideration —
“is there yogic posture info a lot of fitness professionals don’t know, i think if anyone speaks to a wide range of fitness people, that’s pretty obvious —
“is there fitness posture info a lot of yogic people don’t know, i think that’s equally obvious —
“this just does not seem like an either / or question folks“
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one of my expectations for myself, is that i will continue to find and merge these fun fulfilling aha! moments; and one of my sincere hopes is, i’ll be able to share some of those with others
namaste – con dios – god be with you
footnotes
[1] my wife sheila had already been jazzercising for a decade, when she finally convinced me to go to class with her; it was her birthday request for valentines day (she’s a valentine baby) for what jazzercise calls “sweat-hearts” day 😉
february 14th, valentines day, 2011, i attended my first jazzercise class, and have been a member ever since
[2] eric franklin has written a wide range of dance-fitness books, of which i have a few so far, that i’d started reading when sheila and i first started studying fitness with afaa
immediately, i connected with his use of imagery, and ideas of becoming aware of our bodies, and respecting the daily fluctuations of feeling and capacity we all experience daily –
and since becoming group fitness certified plus becoming a yoga certified teacher (via lex gillan’s teacher training}, i have a much deeper appreciation of what eric has to offer, and articulate 😉
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related:
My First Yoga-to-Dance aha! Moment! – Feb 12, 2011
“‘Heart Beats’ – Happy Valentine’s Day 😉 – Feb 14, 2011
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INTEGRATING YOGA FITNESS AND THE ARTS
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