Trance In Dance Connecting Your Soul
“Yato hasta stato drishti"...
"Yato drishti stato manaha"...
"Yato manaha stato bhava"...
"Yato bhava stato rasa"
Have you ever given a thought, where the hand is, the eyes follow, where the eyes go, the mind follows, where the mind is, there is the feeling and where the feeling is, there emotion is formed!
This is how the power of Indian dance form is introduced infusing the history, thought process, values and culture into one's soul and mind.
Dance is a meditation through its movement in that moment. It's the wellbeing of a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual state. One of the eight dance art forms ‘Kathak’ is blessed with Hindu and Mughal influences. The posture of this dance style is itself in the search of the axis of the body which in turn balances the whole torso in the space around. The alignment of chakras with the toes is essential for exploring the beauty of the art and marks the chakra journey with its first muladhar chakra.
While exploring the techniques of dance that influence our wellbeing, in conversation with kathak artist and also an art motivator Alaknanda, she points out, “the soul is deeper and spiritual. The combinations of movements, footwork, emotions have a great influence with meditation. It enjoys the culmination of all aspects and finds its unison with the supreme taking you to another arena of your own self.
Dance in itself is a complete exercise of the body muscles and so much similar to the yogic kriyas which stimulate the nervous and muscular system. The "tatkaar" which happens to be the first footwork of Kathak for a learner i.e. the beating of the feet, itself stimulates the nerves which are designated to vibrate the sensations from head to toe.
Another aspect of dance, the taal system or the clapping the palms, counting the beats by touching of the fingers repeatedly activates the sensations and the pressing of the fingertips definitely activates different pressure points in our body and balances the five elements that our fingers represent. Also, the mudra "araal" are the meditative positions inducing concentration and motivating the energies to the core of the body. The movement of the wrist in the syllables "ta thei tat tat thei" in amaad helps flexibility of the muscles of the arm along with palm.
Agrees Alaknanda, who teaches her art across the World “It's very important for us to know our own body and understanding grows within the time when you dedicate yourself to this art. It helps us to understand “our body to be a complete "World" within this World - Universe. As the chakra journey within is influenced and controlled with emotions (rasa’s) similarly, the emotional aspect of well-being is also a part of this dance style. Kathak means Katha-Vachan (storytelling) hence depicting the tales of history and mythology, which emotionally churns the artists and makes the seven chakras more stronger and entwined with our inner soul. The happy hormones are always active and that makes the person very optimistic and positive. The mind and body are aligned to angles. The direction of the space around us and using these angles of the spaces enhances the agility of mind and body. The sense of direction as North, South, East and West and the sub-directions south-east or North West again motivates the understanding of space and mobilizing the internal senses.”
She reveals, “Kathak as a devotional presentation, its spiritual wellness is taken care through the performances on stage. It motivates the artists to become the prayer for the Almighty and the trance of the dance in Sufi is the moment of oneness with the supreme leads to spirituality which can be experienced only by the artist and conveyed through energies infused from kalakaar to Rasika creating a synergy of rasas and enlightenment. The rasa is surreal and accomplished moksha. Kathak definitely has defined my identity and personality with an edge in this Universe.
There are many techniques to rejuvenate our mind, body and soul and one such unique feature come across when we talk about wellness with dance.
