after another 30 minutes of spinning to some of my favorite spinmusic (Prodigy: Breath, Fighting Cocks misc, various Burning Man DJ set rips), I have both integrated the weave, both directions, and had some good practice moving into and out of it from other places.
I can truly say this is the most natural move I've ever assimilated. After the first few "watch the video" disasters, I gave up on it, and then "voila!" at the beach, it simply materialised out of thin air, and now its like second nature.
I hope that all moves come so easily in the future!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Celebration! Got my Weave oN!
It happened completely naturally, the day after thanksgiving. I was just playing outside, with two moves that make me feel good: the double crossover figure 8, and the left right swing where both poi stay exactly shoulder width apart in horizontal alignment while doing large figure 8s across the front of the body. Then just out of instinct, when the poi swung left, I did the left weave on them. It worked, and I could feel the energy pulse! Yay! So I got it so I could do one hadn "over under out" come back to the paralell, wait 3 beats, then do the left "over under out" again.
Within 15 minutes, I was in the middle of the yard, and through some complete chaos that my body understood fully but my mind failed to comprehend, I did the weave on both sides, without interruption, for several beats. I then thought "what the hell is going on?" about which time the poi smashed into my thighs.
I was able to repeat this three more times and each time the energy ripped right up and down my spine, like I was unlocking a new piece of the tummy-knot puzzle that is my life, the string unravelling into its naturally relaxed and untangled state. New energy pathways opened, I nearly yelped with joy and celebration.
Where none of those videos (Scales of Poi, Art of Poi, Pele's Poi Spinning Basics, Glowsticking) had gotten me to unlock it, continuing natural movement, and following the natural rhythmn of the poi, led me right into it.
Notably, after those three sucesses, I tried to mentally grok what the hell was going on, and that wrecked my practice for the next three days.
So today I went ever so slowly back into it, repeating the practices and techniques that had got me there in the first place, and again and again kept tangling on the right side. Then suddently something happened, and Just as "New Day" by Donna and the Buffalo came on, I got into the cycle and weaved for a straight 3 minutes uninterrupted.
At that point I concentrated on two things: 1) ignoring mentally what was going on, and 2) straightening my posture (I found I was hunched over the weave).
Anyways, I got it! Yay me! Let the energy pathways pulse with freedom!
Within 15 minutes, I was in the middle of the yard, and through some complete chaos that my body understood fully but my mind failed to comprehend, I did the weave on both sides, without interruption, for several beats. I then thought "what the hell is going on?" about which time the poi smashed into my thighs. I was able to repeat this three more times and each time the energy ripped right up and down my spine, like I was unlocking a new piece of the tummy-knot puzzle that is my life, the string unravelling into its naturally relaxed and untangled state. New energy pathways opened, I nearly yelped with joy and celebration.
Where none of those videos (Scales of Poi, Art of Poi, Pele's Poi Spinning Basics, Glowsticking) had gotten me to unlock it, continuing natural movement, and following the natural rhythmn of the poi, led me right into it.
Notably, after those three sucesses, I tried to mentally grok what the hell was going on, and that wrecked my practice for the next three days.
So today I went ever so slowly back into it, repeating the practices and techniques that had got me there in the first place, and again and again kept tangling on the right side. Then suddently something happened, and Just as "New Day" by Donna and the Buffalo came on, I got into the cycle and weaved for a straight 3 minutes uninterrupted.
At that point I concentrated on two things: 1) ignoring mentally what was going on, and 2) straightening my posture (I found I was hunched over the weave).
Anyways, I got it! Yay me! Let the energy pathways pulse with freedom!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Hoops as Portals
I am really blowing my own mind considering the hoop as a portal into other dimensional choices. As I am finding out in my playtime, walking / stepping / wiggling / moving through hoops with other hoopers is a journey of consciousness. It feels almost as powerful as a DMT trip, and that is saying a LOT.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
hoop thoughts evolving
i hadn't hoooped much in the past month because I saw it as a really one-dimensional practice as opposed to poi, which are naturally multi-planar and dynamic.
then i saw Hadria Beth's video with my daughter, and we were INSPIRED, and i thought, OK, time to upgrade my skillz. but i also stubbornly wanted the skills to evolve naturally from the core gyrations, as opposed to "studying a trick and trying to emulate it through trial and error." so i put on some good music and every time i wanted to get up and spin, i forced myself to grab a hoop (and go counterclock) instead.
the first thing i realised is: poi has quick recovery from "bops"... hoop recoveries suck, cause the thang drops all the way to the ground. here are the things i thought i could naturally pick up with the practice still being "fun" without too much technical intrusion:
1. hooping to the rhytmn -- this is proving far more difficult than i could imagine. the dang hoop has a mind of its own!
2. clock to counterclock and back again, smooth direction changes
3. DONE - pirouette in same direction as the hoop, so that the relationship between hoop and hooper stays static (the hoop "sticks" to your body in this mode, its pure centrifigal force that keeps it on your body.
4. control the hoop's altitude on the body, i.e. upper chest, belly, lower hips, etc.
5. hoop while running (thanks for the AWESOME visual, carolyn!)
6. hoop while standing on one leg (this direct from my tree yoga practice, see below)
finally, i have foresworn shirts for hooping. the sticktion of hoop to flesh is unparalelled (well, i haven't tried latex yet...)... AND, i LOVE the feeling of that hoop rubbing on my (perpetually sore and cracked) ribs through thin layer of flesh.... better than many massages i'd had!
then i saw Hadria Beth's video with my daughter, and we were INSPIRED, and i thought, OK, time to upgrade my skillz. but i also stubbornly wanted the skills to evolve naturally from the core gyrations, as opposed to "studying a trick and trying to emulate it through trial and error." so i put on some good music and every time i wanted to get up and spin, i forced myself to grab a hoop (and go counterclock) instead.
the first thing i realised is: poi has quick recovery from "bops"... hoop recoveries suck, cause the thang drops all the way to the ground. here are the things i thought i could naturally pick up with the practice still being "fun" without too much technical intrusion:
1. hooping to the rhytmn -- this is proving far more difficult than i could imagine. the dang hoop has a mind of its own!
2. clock to counterclock and back again, smooth direction changes
3. DONE - pirouette in same direction as the hoop, so that the relationship between hoop and hooper stays static (the hoop "sticks" to your body in this mode, its pure centrifigal force that keeps it on your body.
4. control the hoop's altitude on the body, i.e. upper chest, belly, lower hips, etc.
5. hoop while running (thanks for the AWESOME visual, carolyn!)
6. hoop while standing on one leg (this direct from my tree yoga practice, see below)
finally, i have foresworn shirts for hooping. the sticktion of hoop to flesh is unparalelled (well, i haven't tried latex yet...)... AND, i LOVE the feeling of that hoop rubbing on my (perpetually sore and cracked) ribs through thin layer of flesh.... better than many massages i'd had!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Yoga 101 - Flow Yoga
I did my first formal yoga class today.
It was great! A full two hours of "flow yoga", which is basically constant movement through the asanas (poses), even when the legs are in a stable base, generally we are moving our hands and torsos in rhytmuc motion syncced with breathing. It was so so so natural... it was also curious that I was one of only 3 men in the class. At times I was shaking with the exertion, and I knew it was good when I lost hearing in my left ear due to bloodflow / oxygen issues. Thats what happens when I get into extreme workout positions, but rarely happens in the gym because of the 1 minute set breaks. I really really enjoyed it and also was pleasantly surprised at how well both my book training and my two burn classes had prepared me for this. The corpse pose at the end rocked my world, i completely relaxed and went into lala land. It was so quiet. Of interest is that many of my free thoughts wandered around Disney and the future of Epcot. I came back into consciousness mere seconds before the soft voice of the instructor came through. Perfect.
Sandy, our teacher, had asked us to set intention with a mudra at the beginning of practice. We then came back to visit that intention again at the end of class and were asked to look at how it might have changed or been manifested. Mine +definitely+ changed. I felt so much more grounded and ready for compassion and green 4th chakra by the end, I felt stable.
She said about 2/3 way through practice that yoga isn't about twisting your body into pretzels, its about learning to stand strong on two feet. I LOVE that thought! That is why I practice.
PS - Tree pose ROCKS!
It was great! A full two hours of "flow yoga", which is basically constant movement through the asanas (poses), even when the legs are in a stable base, generally we are moving our hands and torsos in rhytmuc motion syncced with breathing. It was so so so natural... it was also curious that I was one of only 3 men in the class. At times I was shaking with the exertion, and I knew it was good when I lost hearing in my left ear due to bloodflow / oxygen issues. Thats what happens when I get into extreme workout positions, but rarely happens in the gym because of the 1 minute set breaks. I really really enjoyed it and also was pleasantly surprised at how well both my book training and my two burn classes had prepared me for this. The corpse pose at the end rocked my world, i completely relaxed and went into lala land. It was so quiet. Of interest is that many of my free thoughts wandered around Disney and the future of Epcot. I came back into consciousness mere seconds before the soft voice of the instructor came through. Perfect.
Sandy, our teacher, had asked us to set intention with a mudra at the beginning of practice. We then came back to visit that intention again at the end of class and were asked to look at how it might have changed or been manifested. Mine +definitely+ changed. I felt so much more grounded and ready for compassion and green 4th chakra by the end, I felt stable.
She said about 2/3 way through practice that yoga isn't about twisting your body into pretzels, its about learning to stand strong on two feet. I LOVE that thought! That is why I practice.
PS - Tree pose ROCKS!
Friday, October 26, 2007
brains in hands
watching scales of poi, one of the most profound things i heard nick say (and there are many), is that many poi routines are similar to the meditation of "patting your belly while rubbing your head" (or vice versa).
Particularly I have been interested in starting each hand going in a different direction (i.e. same time, opposite direction), and then stalling both simultaneously and smoothly, then performing a double reverse immediately post stall. A stall, however, requires a great deal of feedback between the hand and the poi tension, to pull it off while maintaining perfect string tension... in fact, i often feel my whole body reacting to the stall, stretching and moving to let that ball find its "place", so to do it in two different directions at once presents a good solid challenge, and new learning space, for my body and my brain.
Fun! :)
Particularly I have been interested in starting each hand going in a different direction (i.e. same time, opposite direction), and then stalling both simultaneously and smoothly, then performing a double reverse immediately post stall. A stall, however, requires a great deal of feedback between the hand and the poi tension, to pull it off while maintaining perfect string tension... in fact, i often feel my whole body reacting to the stall, stretching and moving to let that ball find its "place", so to do it in two different directions at once presents a good solid challenge, and new learning space, for my body and my brain.
Fun! :)
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