Rasa Dance Night

(photo of Kamini Desai borrowed from her website HERE)

Last night I attended one of the greatest Yoga workshops I have ever attended in my life!!! It was called Rasa Dance and it was guided by the beautiful, soulful, world renown Kamini Desai. To better understand intellectually what this workshop was about, here is the description listed on the website:

“Rasa means essence. Rasa Dance is a powerful combination of movement and music through which we experientially embody our essential nature. Circumventing the mental patterns that keep us trapped in our own self-consciousness, we use a variety of music from around the globe to awaken the natural rhythms of the body and give way to an exhilarating, heart opening celebration of Self.”

Basically, Rasa Dance combines Yoga postures with dance. In the two hours of this practice, I never felt more at home. Truthfully, I have been unknowingly practicing Rasa Dance ever since I was a child. It was such a great pleasure to break free with other inspiring souls and to have all the energy and space of my beloved Yoga Studio at my service!!! My dear, dear friend Malinda shared this awesome experience with me, and for that, a part of our souls will always keep dancing together!

Our guide for the evening began by discussing how she grew up the daughter of a well known Yogi and spent her childhood emerged in the Yoga Community. It was not until she discovered Rasa Dance did she come into her own and begin to love Yoga. Through Rasa Dance she was able to express her true Self and touch the divine within her. I fully understand.

I have no formal training in dance, per se, other then gym class in high school, a community class in ballroom, a couple college courses in modern dance, and various hot, latin hombres (including my beloved Hansel) that taught me the basics and sparked the fire of latin dancing! As a young child, I used to take my boombox and a few cassettes down into the basement and pretend that I was a professional dancer performing for thousands. In between songs I would run into the storage closet and pretend that I was changing costumes and hurry back on stage! Hours would slip away like sand, and I found great happiness and peace in just dancing.

I think dance naturally takes a person back to their youth when their bodies were so much more expressive, fluid, and let’s face it–young. Just moving around freely, you can’t help but start to laugh and forget all the problems and obstacles that face your everyday life. I don’t care if your a dancer for the Alvin Ailey Company in New York or just like to move your hips while out with your friends on a Friday night. There is something magical about music that can transform your bodies into a vehicle to your Soul. When I get really down and out, or even stressed, I turn on my favorite music, close the door, and let loose. I always feel a million times better–like all the toxins just seeped out of my pores and I crushed them with my dancing feet!!! Even at school, many times I reward my students with an impromptu dance party—and its amazing how much more settled they are afterwards!!

Another fantastic thing I walked away with last night from my workshop in Rasa Dance is how Yoga and spirituality in general doesn’t have to be so SERIOUS! I spent two hours in one of the deepest meditations of my life accompanied by the sounds and music of everything from the Bee Gees, Micheal Jackson, Lynard Skynard, Elvis, and Santana!!!! When I left last night I wanted to hug and kiss everyone there…I wanted to run out into the evening and scream I love you to the universe….I wanted to take the bliss that was inside me and dish it out for dessert on the street corner….last night….I hugged, squeezed, and danced in the essence of my Soul…and I realized one great thing—that essence, that exists in all of us, is purely this: