Going to the gym, to these classes, means so much more to me than just a physical workout. It's a gift to myself. This time to be totally me, to stretch myself in more ways than one, to push the limits of my physical self, release my mind, and if the music is just right, I push past these boundaries...where the soul, spirit and body are one. Reminds me of this quote I had hanging on my wall back in college:
"At the root of all the various manifestations of dancing lies the common impulse to resort to movement to externalize emotional states which we cannot externalize by rational means." (Jamake Highwater)
Dance is just pure movement, embodied by this oneness of soul & spirit as well, to me. Today I danced. In Body Combat, it was the dance of a fearless warrior, so intent on defeating my imaginary opponent that I was more fiercely focused than I've been all week. And in Body Flow, it's pure flowing, magical movement. Graceful, flowing Tai Chi moves, mixed in with core-tightening pilates and balance-challenging yoga. Better than dance class where a physical, external criteria is in place, and dancers face the brightly lit scrutiny of the teacher and the competition of other dancers. Here there is no judgement, lights are dimmed, just the safe guiding suggestions of the instructor to improve our bodies while setting the spirit free to move, to sing its own song.
And that's where I must stop for tonight. My warrior dance has left my legs stiff & sore from endless "esquiva" lunges, a type of defense move from capoeira, that we did in Body Combat today. Hopefully I shall finish this tomorrow.
goodnight!!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz huh? you're still there?zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ok i'm back......
Body Combat class. Thurs. 11/14/13.
Late again. Run to my spot, am just catching onto the fight sequence he's doing when he throws in a silly little joke that no one else thinks is funny but of course it just gets me in the funny bone for some reason and i totally lose my focus. We're doing this repeater-knee move, a warm-up to our later muay thai track, and he's telling us to "imagine you're pulling your opponent's head down to your knee and as it strikes, he goes.." and the music goes at that second, "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" So of course I'm practically rolling in hysterics while nobody else even cracks a grin, and worst part is I'm still laughing even when he starts a new sequence and then i'm laughing at the pure awkwardness of the fact that i'm still laughing which makes it even funnier and then i'm laughing out of pure embarrassment and does anyone else ever have this problem? hate it when that happens. How many times do I have to pretend I'm scratching my nose to hide my goofy grin? And it was only because I wasn't completely in THE ZONE yet. The fighter zone, where the beast in me is unleashed, with a nose for blood and a thrill for the kill. (wow, i'm scaring myself with these words!) :-) Because later in the class he tries slipping in more silly jokes and i don't even bat an eye. even when he uses that little London accent of his. because i am there. well, until he brings up the old joke about this one song that sounds like the singer is singing "making the waffles". why is it the dumbest things make me laugh? and what if...what if I didn't have to hide these outbursts? what if I just burst out laughing and giggling like an idiot every time something hit me as funny?
but seriously, here's what I liked best in class today: the Muay Thai track. I even found it on youtube so you can check it out, if you want. The instructor in the video is Tommy Damani, he does some good kicks. It's to a dance-ish version of Carmina Burana (sp?) and has a neat sequence of ascending and descending elbow strikes which Instructor Robb calls "Elbow Heaven". It also has this really cool kick move, where first you shove with your arms, then kick, then creep back like a little animal. "Like a cat!!!" yells Robb. "Like a Jaguar!!!!" he yells again. 'LIKE A COUGAR!!!!' he roars as we shove, kick and creep back like wicked little cats in the rain forest. Let's watch Tommy Damani's take on it: (copy/paste link if needed)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIn20OX_0O8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
So that's it for now. I'll leave you with a few more dance and art quotes which used to hang on my wall on pretty little art collages I was inspired to make back then:
(and by the way, the word "fight" could be used synomynously with the word dance; it is all pure movement embodied with full emotion, whether it be love or rage.)
" ...this spontaneous link between mentality, feeling, and movement is called dance - a direct, non-verbal, unreasoned assertion of sentience (the mergence of thought and feeling) in universal forms of pure physical assertion." --Jamake HIghwater
"If we are indifferent to the art of dancing, we have failed to understand not merely the supreme manifestation of physical life, but also the supreme symbol of spiritual life." --Havelock Ellis
"I am unable to distinguish between the feeling I have for life and my way of expressing it." --Henri Matisse
"It may easily be gathered that exercise accompanied by feelings of joy results in the best possible of reactions. This joy the psychiatrist can never explain, psychologically nor physiologically." --Dr. Eugene Matthias
"Art is a communication of ecstasy." --Ouspenski
"To dance is to take part in the cosmic control of the world." --Havelock Ellis
"Let them praise His name in the dance." --Psalm 149:3
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