sparkling reflections …

With the holidays and a new job, I haven’t had a chance to post here recently. I hope to do a proper post on Thursday after work.

In the meantime, I took a look at last year’s New Year’s post and thought there might be some things you might enjoy from it:

http://roseeliff.blogspot.com/2008/12/om-shanti-peace-and-all-good-for-2009.html

A small sample of thoughts from that post:

• See the Divine in all things.
• Be comfortable with the chaos.
• Practice aparigraha/non-attachment - letting go, releasing, non-clinging, without fear of loss or change. "...the yogi makes his life as simple as possible and trains his mind not to feel the loss or the lack of anything. Then everything he really needs will come to him by itself at the proper time." (B.K.S. Iyengar) Also Matthew 6:25-34.
• Worrying about tomorrow squanders the joy of today.
• Don't give energy to anything that you don't want to manifest in your life.
• Remember that the world sparkles and dances with the Light of the Divine. We all carry that Light within.
• Have a sense of wonder! Be ready to be surprised.

2009 manifested some chaos in my life, with which I learned to live quite comfortably. I learned to let go, to not fear, to not worry or feel loss. To trust in the Divine and believe that I would land where I was supposed to land. I tried not to squander the day, but to manifest joy in each day fully, taking walks each morning, making new friends, spending time in pursuits that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I’d been working. I lived in joy, seeing the sparkle and dancing with the rhythm of each day. I went to Mexico with my family and loved it. I wondered and was surprised. I was in a peaceful, gentle place this past year, and very happy that I’d set the tone in that last blog post of 2009. I hope I continue to carry these lessons moving forward into the new year.

Namaste

receive what you have been given ...

This morning at yoga, I found myself so thankful for my body and all that it has taught and continues to teach me.

In 10 years of ballet, it taught me about perseverance and challenging myself, trying again and again with determination and strength …

In ballroom and salsa dancing, my body taught me how to interact with another closely and cooperatively; one of the greatest joys of being a dancer is when the two of you connect so well that you are both in total harmony with one another, singing the music with your bodies …

When I was pregnant, it taught me about miracles, as I was amazed at this new human life growing and moving within me, connecting not just my heart but my now body to God in His miracle …

When I went through an extended labor, my body taught me that I am connected to all other creatures, sharing in the most primal experience of birth, raw and guttural and painful in its amazing beauty …

When I had cervical cancer, it taught me that I could either be fearful and worried, or I could be strong and accepting – I could receive what I’d been given – releasing any worry and simply taking the steps I needed to take, knowing that we are all only here temporarily and what would be, would be…

When I hug a loved one or a new friend, it teaches me the importance of physical touch, how a physical embrace, heart to heart, arms wrapped around one another, can bring joy in good times and enormous comfort in bad; the same embrace, yet experienced differently when it’s infused with emotional intention …

Through fibromyalgia, my body has taught me to slow down and pay attention to how I’m feeling each day and to make any necessary adjustments, a lesson I use at work and in relationships: slowing down to pay attention and then adjusting accordingly …

My body has taught me that knowledge truly is power; when I found out last year that the back and hip pain I’ve had for many years was due to a transitional vertebrae, scoliosis and spondylolisthesis – and when I saw the x-rays and truly understood how my spine and bones were formed – I was given a beautiful gift; now that I have an “inside view”, I can make the necessary adjustments to manage and even reduce the pain …

This morning in yoga, as I extended my arms up to the heavens in Sun Salutation, I felt the strength and wholeness of the entire length of my body, fingertips to heels.

I leaned forward in Warrior III, balancing on one strong, straight leg and extending the other leg back and up. Heart slightly lifted, I focused my gaze, pressing my hands together at heart center, and held the balance.

Still body, still mind;
still mind, still body.

Thank you, body/self, for serving me so well!

Namaste.

Tango - Oh my!

The incredible precision! The footwork! The lifts! The men! I already knew this would be an amazing performance, but the show exceeded my expectations. I checked for a video of the Tango Buenos Aires dance company, but couldn't find one. If they put out a video, I'd purchase it. I'm going to be calling my former ballroom instructor and get some private lessons in tango; it's not enough to watch, I have to dance this!

The dancing was insane: blurring leg flicks, quick, precise, sharp ... long, slow lunges with the dancers gazing deeply into one another's eyes, an erotic foreplay ... the tease of a long, slender fishnet-clad leg langorously wrapping around the man's waist ... the man lifting the woman into the air, her legs scissoring high overhead as if to cut the very sky into shreds ... the swift promenades across the floor, preceded with a small lift with the woman's legs galloping in the air like a frisky colt. Passion ... longing ... hesitation ... submission ... oh my!

The choreography seemed to take us through the history of tango, from its decadent origins to its acceptance into more polite society (although never losing its steamy attitude!). The musicians were as commanding as the men who danced, compelling, stirring the blood with their music, tugging at emotions of lust and desire. They did several purely instrumental numbers that had the audience shouting "Bravo! BRAVO!"

If you'd like to get a taste of tango, here are two videos; although they are amateurs and not pros - and not nearly the caliber of Tango Buenos Aires - you get a small sense of the heat and passion of tango. Bravo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hixzAMB8tk - Ivan and Allison, dancing to Libertango

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-GEHHWv04 - a compilation

Tango Buenos Aires!

I am so excited for tonight! I'm seeing Tango Buenos Aires at the Orange County Performing Arts Center tonight after work, with a pre-show dance party in the center plaza beforehand.

I've had dance season tickets for nearly 25 years, taking my daughter when she was younger (and couldn't refuse *smile*) and now enjoying the performances with one of my closest friends (who shares my passion for strong, athletic men who can command a dance floor). We've seen ballet companies from all over the world, flamenco dance, Russian - the performances are always highlights of my year, as I watch and become immersed in the dancing, the story, the beauty and athleticism, the power and incredible ability of the human body.

I think this is the first performance we've seen that is purely tango. Tango - sensuous, seductive, passionate, vibrant. It is said that dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire; I think tango may be the most brazenly flagrant expression of that desire. From the press release: The Washington Post describes the dancing of Tango Buenos Aires as “...repeatedly crafted swirling,fast-paced tapestries of movement, laced with proud postures and sensual couplings." Undeniably, that's HOT!

Originating over 200 years ago, the dance traces its roots to African, European and Latin American influences. I've been told it was once popular in Argentine bordellos and was not a dance of polite society. It was dirty, tawdry: a dance of seduction, elegantly rendered through flashing feet and teasing leg flips.



When I first took tango lessons in my ballroom classes, I was a bit uncomfortable (understatement!). Tango requires passion, the bodies held closely together, connected right hip to right hip. And my dance instructor was attractive, seductive and skilled at the dance. It is challenging to be dispassionate and focus on learning the steps and patterns when you are learning tango. An elevated body temperature is not conducive to a dance lesson.

The male tango dancers are as masculine as they come: commanding, controlling, distant - and so sexy. Remember Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman? Hoo-yaaa! The woman submits, following the man's lead, dominated by his decisions and directions. As the Center's article says:

And what could be more macho yet proudly elegant than
a brooding, tango dancing man taking charge and commanding the floor?

Indeed, what could?

If you're interested in reading more, check out the Center's Related Resources (I recommend starting with View Article): http://www.ocpac.org/home/Events/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=581