Shiva Nata: the Dance of Shiva
Shiva Nata workshops in Berlin: questions?
We’ve been getting a ton of questions about the Berlin Shiva Nata workshops in September and October.
So … maybe I can help. At least, I hope I can!
And whatever I can’t help with I’ll forward to my wonderful workshop coordinator.
Signing up. How/where can we sign up?
Good question.
Most of the events that I do are set up through my business (The Fluent Self), but the programs I’m teaching in Germany this year are through yoga studios and art studios.
That means that you’re going to have to sign up through them. And … apologies on my part for the extra hassle.
So, for example, contacting Home Yoga to sign up for the workshops there (which I would do sooner rather than later because they did fill up like mad last year).
How do you know which workshops to go to?
Who are the Shivanata workshops addressed to, meaning which level should people have to attend each workshop?
Should people working on Level 1 be attending workshop 1, people on Level 2 attending workshop 2, etc.?
I am (currently) at level 1, doing fine with arms and legs, but without rotating in space, and my friend is (currently) a bloody beginner concerning Shivanata, but already an experienced yogini. Neither of us can make it to the Introduction workshop. :( Please advise.
Ah, I see. That is a good question!
So … I know this sounds kind of weird but the levels aren’t important at all. Not for these workshops, at least.
I mean, it can take years for people to advance levels, so it would be pretty unfair of me to expect people to master a new level in time for the next workshop.
So I will be mixing levels and doing my best to make sure that everyone is equally confused. And I will be giving extra challenges to those people who are already working with the higher levels.
It’s absolutely okay if you miss the introductory class!
I promise that everyone will be fabulously lost and confused (see the FAQ)
So I’m going to say … come to whichever ones you can make it too, and it will be amazing. Selma and I will be completely happy to see you there. :)
What are the Dance & Paint workshops?
Do you have any closer description of what will be done at the “Dance and Paint” workshops? Are there any prerequisites to be fulfilled by the people who want to join? Is it a sequence of workshops to be attended one after another, or is it more or less the same workshop being offered several times?
The Dance and Paint workshops are something that got started last year.
Andreas teaches design at the at the Design Akademie Berlin and is also a long-time Shivanaut (three years? four years?).
Last year he asked me to join him in a series of fun art-therapy-ish workshops that he had planned. We did movement meditations on themes of space, color, chakras, movement. And we did Dance of Shiva. And visualizations/perception exercises.
And a TON of drawing and painting. And it was nothing short of incredible.
Seriously. The results people had (artists and non-artists alike) were spectacular.
Breakthrough city. There was a guy who had been dealing with a two year block around painting, and this brought him back into a regular painting practice. It was so cool we could hardly stand it.
So we decided to do more of them this year.
We have a different curriculum for each one.
And they can build on each other or be taken separately. So you are more than welcome to take them as a series or to just come to one or two of them.
Hope that helps
Will try to answer more questions as they come in as well as updating the general page about Berlin workshops as we get more information (just heard about two more classes I’m apparently teaching and will have someone put them up!)
So looking forward to seeing some of you in Berlin!
*jumps up and down*
I’ve been reading here and at Fluent Self for a couple of months, and I finally got off the fence and ordered the Shiva Nata Starter Kit.
(And wow! Would I love to be in those Dance and Paint workshops in Berlin. Or any other of the workshops for that matter. Alas, it’s not to be this year. Maybe later.)
As I was saying, I am totally new (as in, my dvd arrived yesterday) to Shiva Nata, but I am already enjoying just listening to Andrey. And I can see that Level 1 arms will keep me busy for a long, long time. When I had a moment of “Oh, these horizontals kind of make sense,” he switched to verticals, and I am certain I appeared to be having a seizure.
Oh yea! I’m doing it wrong! That means I’m getting it right! How many other things can you say that about?
Havi, thanks for all the work you’ve put into this. I’m looking forward to a scrambled brain for many years to come.
Twitter: _i_n_g_e_
Thank you!
I managed to get a cheapo train ticket to Berlin and a place to stay so I can come to one of the workshops! Fingers crossed that there is still a spot left…
Twitter: havi
Whooo!
@Inge – that is marvelous! I’m so glad. Can’t wait to see you in Berlin. And if you like, I can put you in contact with Andreas & Lars, if you have other questions that maybe they can help you with?
@Paige – awesome. I love it. And I know we’ll get to meet in person one day and it will be brilliant.
Have fun messing up the verticals (ow ow ow) and enjoy!
Twitter: kimianak
Those Dance & Paint workshops sound great! I’m so not a visual artist, but I would love to be able to lift some blocks in that area and be able to just have fun playing with art stuff!
Hmm, Berlin next year could be a possibility… :)
Managed to get a reservation for one of the paint&dance and one of the Shivanata Workshops in Berlin. Am SO happy about that – can’t wait. I’ll be the person who’ll be so absolutely right then. As I can’t get it done at all yet…am SOOOO excited!
I ordered the Shiva Nata DVD a week and a half before moving to Germany, and I’ve just begun the dance. I don’t know if I’ll make it to Berlin (or into the classes), but I hope so.
I’ve only practiced a few times so far, but I’m reading a book on brain plasticity that has a chapter on how your brain can learn new motor skills just by visualizing them. So, I worked through the arm motions in my head as I fell asleep last night, just swirling away. I don’t usually fall asleep easily, but I drifted off right away, and then woke up at 3 am with my mind abuzz with things that I needed to work through that were really bugging me about the events of the day.
Huh. Looks like I can already do Shiva Nata in my sleep! =)
(Though I think I’ll probably work on that at naptime in future…3 am is a little early to be getting urgent requests from a disgruntled mind!)
Twitter: annabarnett
Havi, are you teaching throughout October as well? I’d like to go ahead and book a trip in October, but not if it might fall on a weekend when you’re not teaching. To make sure I’m safe, do I need to wait for Oct dates to appear on the all-things-Berlin page?
Thanks!