Bliss And Conversation » Enthusiasms

Ballroom Dancing

Eduardo — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 02:58:07 +0000

Those who think they need a partner to learn this delicious activity are wrong. In fact, it may be an advantage to go on your own to a class where you can practice with many different partners. The gutsy show up at a dance and hope they’ll find a kind person who’ll show them a thing or two on the dance floor. The smart start with a series of ballroom classes.

Ballroom comes from the Latin word ballare, meaning “to dance”. Partner dancing became popular in the 18th century with the minuet, advanced through the 19th century polka and waltz and burst into glorious diversity with the 20th century foxtrot, jive, swing and popular Latin dances.

In the mid-1960s, it all came to a screeching halt with the advent of the Twist. Like African dancing, people danced individually. There was no touching. It may have had something to do with the alienation detailed in psychiatric literature of the period.

It took John Travolta to bring us together again when the Hustle, a partner dance based on the mambo which originated in Hispanic communities, was popularized in his 1977 film, “Saturday Night Fever.” The diversity and delights of ballroom have been growing ever since.

The five most popular American ballroom dances are the foxtrot, waltz, rhumba, cha-cha and swing. They will take you anywhere. The Foxtrot is the step used when “dancing cheek to cheek”. The beautiful Waltz, a particular favorite at weddings, sweeps and circles around the floor. The sensuous Rhumba, danced in one spot, expresses its rhythms through body movement. The playful Cha-Cha-Cha, which originated in the Cuban mambo, is a syncopated dance. Who doesn’t know our own American swing, born in the 1920s when African-Americans danced the Charleston and Lindy Hop to jazz music?

Also wildly popular today is the Salsa. Similar to the mambo, it was born from French folk-dancing which crossed the Atlantic and was fertilized by African and Cuban rhythms.

The unique and beautiful Tango is taught in two styles, American and Argentine. It’s the subject of a separate article.

Dance Vision International Dance Association is an organization of professional teachers who pass standard tests to qualify. Their syllabus breaks down each level of study into specific movements. Beginning at the Bronze level, students move as far up as they wish, culminating in the Silver and Gold levels.

$ Financial Values:
Group classes are the best bargain. Scout the internet or yellow pages, visit a few, pick the teacher you want to dance like.

O Personal Values:
Grace, exercise, balance and a whole new network of friends.

Yoga

Eduardo — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 02:55:35 +0000

The practice of Yoga is over 5000 years old and as new as tomorrow. Although commonly misconstrued as a Hindu practice, it actually predates Hinduism.

There are many different types of yoga, of which Hatha Yoga is the most common. “Stretch and relax the mind, stretch and relax the body” is frequently used to describe yoga. Spinoza’s phrase “Mind and body are one” was incorporated into teachings of yoga instructors who popularized yoga in the US in the 1960s.

Asanas (physical poses) stretch and relax the body. Any dancer will tell you they improve balance. Anyone who spends hours on the computer or the phone will attest to the value of breaking every few hours to do The Prayer to the Sun which stretches every muscle in the body.

Pranayana (breathing exercises) focuses on deep breathing from the pit of the stomach. Western military culture and the dictates of fashion exhort us to hold in the stomach. When those muscles.are relaxed, changes in attitude and outlook may occur.

Those who take yoga one step beyond use breathing as a gateway to meditation. This is a subject unto itself, whether pursued as a spiritual path or as a practical means of healing everyday stress. It takes as many forms as repeating a mantra (word or phrase with spiritual significance), watching a candle flame while following the breath, or practicing meditation in action, which begins with mindfulness.

$ Financial Values:
On line, visit The American Yoga Association web site, among others, for information about classes in your neighborhood Most health clubs have them. The Esalen Institute in California’s Big Sur was founded by Stanford graduate Michael Murphy after a stay in India at the ashram of Aurobindo for the purpose of combining the beliefs and paths of the East with their Western counterparts in psychology and spirituality.

Best source for yoga books are such specialized shops as the The Bodhi Tree on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Your local library or bookstore also has a selection. “The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life” with a commentary by C. G. Jung is recommended for its insights on breathing, psychological integration and the style of the Richard Wilhelm translation. Videos are available for those who want to practice at home.

O Personal Values:
“What is the sound of one hand clapping?” The purpose of this famous Zen Koan is to circumvent the habit of conscious thought and violate logic, thus shocking the mind into new insights. It is an exercise for the mind which can be used as a spiritual pathway.

Beaches

Eduardo — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:25:41 +0000

“Who will speak for Earth?” You can and for Water, too. Most of us like to go to the beach but how many of us answer when the beach calls to us? Joining the Ocean Conservancy is worth more than the few dollars a minimum membership costs. It includes a beautiful calendar with pictures of the varied and amazing forms of sea life in the waters that grace our planet. It includes a magazine with information about what’s happening to the waters on our planet and what we can do to preserve their purity. And, once a year, it includes its own kind of party.

The annual International Coastal Cleanup takes place every September. For more information, call 1-800-262-BEACH. Join other ocean-lovers for a day out-of-doors by the water giving back to the environment that’s given so much to us.

$ Financial Values:
Membership start at $15.00.

O Personal Values:
Spending a day with kindred spirits spent helping to keep the beach the way we love it.