I’m nervously standing toward the back of the main studio at The Yoga Barn in Ubud, Bali, waiting for the ecstatic dance class to start. I have no idea what to expect, but have been told it could very well be the most ecstatic experience of my life. I’m sold—and stand in line a whopping three hours before the 7:30 Friday night start time to secure a ticket for this event, which is one of the most popular classes here each week.
Kaj je vse ekstatični ples
Pregledam sobo in tiho velikosti svoje kolege ekstatične plesalce. Porjavi, dolgodlak pred mano je brez rokavov in oblečen v obrezane tajske ribiške hlače; V prvi vrsti je deklica v športnem nedrčku v bikramu v jogi in obrezanih kratkih hlačah, ki nosijo tudi komolce in kolenske blazinice; Tam je 50-letna ženska v dolgi, cvetni obleki tik ob 20-nič s perjem v njenih laseh in bleščečega modrčka, ki prikazuje veliko stranskega prsa. To je moja prva lekcija o tem, za kaj gre za ekstatični ples: karkoli gre.
The music starts and we move slowly at first, breathing deeply and warming up our necks, arms, shoulders, backs, and legs. In ecstatic dance, there’s some guidance from the instructor at the very start of class, but then no talking—and definitely no directives on how to dance. There are no cues, and no instructor asking you to follow his choreography. Just music—loud, beautiful music—that starts off slow and then builds to a faster pace. It’s a mix between what you’d hear at a trendy vinyasa flow class and a new-age hippy rave, and it definitely looks like the latter—despite being a drug- and alcohol-free event.
Glej tudi Ples na preprogi
Počutim se kot zunanji sodelavec
Sprva se počutim kot zunanji sodelavec, kljub temu, da nosim svoj najboljši kombinezon harem hlač, da se vsaj poskušam prilegati na modni fronti. Samo, da so vsi okoli mene videti tako udobno in navdušeni - kot so to storili že milijonkrat prej in vem Ta ekstaza čaka. Ko začnem plesati, se sprašujem, Kaj si bodo vsi mislili, ko bodo videli moje poteze ? Kako se lahko moj ples primerja z dekletom z bleščečim modrčkom, ki je videti, kot da je rojen do ekstatičnega plesa?
Then, something awesome happens. Maybe it’s the music, which feels almost trance-like at times. Or perhaps it’s the fact that when I glance around the room, lots of dancers have their eyes closed, which prompts me to close my own eyes and start moving my body however I damn well please. Within minutes of class starting, I start dancing like nobody is watching (because, as it turns out, they aren’t!) and it feels dobro .
Prisoten sem v tem trenutku
My hips start gyrating like I was a Latin dance pro in my last life, and my arms take on lives of their own, swirling around my head and down my body. I jump. I shake. I kick my right leg as high as I can, and then my left. I drop to my knees and lie on my stomach (now I understand the elbow and knee pads!), and stretch my entire body out on the floor before rolling onto my back, undulating up to sit, and then jumping up into the air. I take up more and more space and move to more areas of the room as the class goes on—and as I do that, my thoughts take up less and less space in my brain. I am present in this moment, simply moving as freely as I like, in community with a hundred other people doing the same.
When class is over, I walk down the spiral staircase at the Yoga Barn feeling like I rode an epic wave of collective vibration. My body feels amazing: worked, stretched-out, expressive, and free.
Toda naslednji dan je, ko so stvari postale še bolj zanimive. Za jutranjo vadbo sem razvaljal svojo joga preprogo in ko sem začel delati na soncu, sem opazil, da se počutim manj fidgety, kot sem bil približno eno leto. Pod pasom imam 400 ur usposabljanja učiteljev joge, poleg tega pa imam privilegij sodelovati z nekaterimi najbolj priznanimi svetovnimi učitelji in anatomisti na vsebini za Stylesway VIP. Skupaj z vsem povečanim znanjem, ki sem ga pobral od svojih treningov in teh strokovnjakov, sem se tudi jaz razmišljati - veliko - med držanjem joge. Ali se moje sprednjo stegno vrte navzven, ko se notranje lok sprednjega stopala med Warrior II pritisne v mojo preprogo? Ali se ukvarjam - vendar ne oprijem - moje gluteje v mostu poza? Kakšne prilagoditve lahko naredim, da dvignem roke višje, hkrati pa mehčam rebra s pozdravom navzgor? To so vredni prizadevanja, da se prepričam, včasih pa bi si želel, da bi lahko verjel, da moje telo ve, kaj naj storim, da lahko samo samo tok .
Jutro po ekstatičnem plesu se je točno zgodilo. Premikal sem se skozi te sončne pozdrave - in do konca svoje prakse - z lahkoto. Nisem vrgel vsega svojega znanja o dobri poravnavi, ampak tudi nisem bil tako zelo osredotočen kot običajno. Bil sem zunaj glave in v celoti v telesu.
In zdelo se je naravnost ekstatično.
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