Karma

An overused and misunderstood term. Karma is not inaction, or blind acceptance. It’s so much more than ‘what goes around comes around’. I am coming to understand karma as a beautiful sympbolic concept to help dismantle our understanding of reality, to dissect our reality into conditions so we can create meaningful change. Conditions can be accepted but not agreed with and most certainly many conditions need to be resisted in this world.

Why all this talk of karma, what of it in relation to dance? Well these days, I’m knee deep in yogic practice and philosophy, as a teacher trainee with Karma Teachers. This full time (6 days a week!), month long intensive training is focused on selfless service, community and offering yoga to everyone in the spirit of unconditional love.

It is a diverse group of people, many of which may never have crossed paths were it not for Karma Teachers. And I have so much love for all of them, as well as the fearless and ever curious teachers Emerson and Michael. Find out more about Vancouver-based Karma Teachers here.

I have never studied yoga so intensively before and although I have been practicing on my own for some time and cultivating meditation practices since my teen years, I realize now that I have had only bits and pieces to work with. Yoga has been of interest to me as a wellness tool, a healing modality and a complementary movement to dance. This training has offered me a solid foundation and framework for understanding yoga lineage, practice and philosophies.

With such intense studies happening I have taken August off dance projects and I have to say I am missing my troupemates and dancing each week. I’m asking a lot of my body this month and as much as my mind says dance, after an eight hour day, my body says rest. Oh and I’m on a yogini schedule, wake up at 5:30am to get to the studio for 7:30 and ready to meditate by 8am. Although its messing with my night owl self concept a tad, I am grateful for the opportunity to study pretty much all day, every day for the month of August. Afterward I will continue to study intensively as part of the karma teachers personal practice program. Who knows where this all will lead, there are many ideas brewing as various strands of past and present circumstance, experience and relationship starts to weave together into possibilities.

While visions percolate, I put them aside to continue to study hard as I move into the final stretch of the course with our practicum. My intention is to deepen this practice, share it with others freely in the spirit of unconditional love for the benefit of all. So much more to come…

On a dance note, there are lots of Serpentina shows coming up, so check out the Upcoming Shows section!