Some requested I keep going with this dance sequence. So here is the next one I practice regularly, before active ceremonial practices.
I should emphasise, these are only warm-up procedures, before you launch into some purposeful dance activity of your preference. However you can always take a lot longer at any point along the way, exploring the many variations that are possible.
1. Begin sitting cross-legged. Meditate for a while before doing some stretches - methods of looking behind are good twists.
2. When ready to move to the next level, shift to kneeling position. Kneeling upright in the Christian way first, then down like Japanese meditators, heels and knees together, sitting on the back of the lower legs . This position can also be a starting posture, if you are able to hold it for long periods.
3. Next level is the Hanuman posture. Not the yoga Hanuman posture which is extreme, but the sitting one. Sitting on one leg in the previous posture, with the other knee up and foot flat on the ground. Say the right leg is underneath and the left up; then the left arm rests on the left knee, and the right hand is held in a palm facing forward position (the ‘boon-granting’ posture), on level with the chest. Then switch sides.
These are just preliminaries of escalation.
4. Next phase: the squat. Squatting, place hands to the ground in front, between the knees. If possible, shift your weight forward and balance on the hands, feet off the ground and knees resting on elbows.
5. Bounce, and shift weight left and right. There comes a moment, if we wait patiently, when a surge occurs inside, and we ride it to full standing. This is a critical moment, as it heralds a shift in mood - we begin vertical action at this point.
6. Twist side to side swinging the arms, then begin walking on-the-spot. You can even try jogging on-the-spot, if you’re clever enough. Swing the hips wide in the walk.
Lean your side against a wall - feet out as far as possible, side of your trunk along the wall. Place the wall side forearm horizontally across, above the hip. Stretch the hip to the wall beneath the arm. Switch sides.
7. Next phase: shift balance to the left leg. Move the right foot outwards. Balancing on the left leg, rotate the hips around the standing leg. Move down, bending at the knee, then up to full height. Rotate one way, then change to it’s opposite direction. Shift to the right leg, left foot out for steadying, and repeat the process.
You can now go on to various figure-eights, as your skill and body allow. Eights on a single leg, and between both hips, attending carefully to reversing direction.
I want to mention one extension of this phase: moving the hips side to side. Begin slowly, then increase the speed. Practice is important to get the hips smoothly and fluently swaying from side to side. Try to develop the same rhythm in this lateral motion as you do in the walking-in-place motion. The reason I emphasise this aspect, is because it leads directly into the next phase: the power thrust.
8. The power thrust is well known to golfers and martial arts exponents. Essentially it is using the body as a whip. Just in the same way you crack a whip, so the body employs this movement of reversing the hips just before the arms reach their final extent, creating a whiplash effect.
To get the correct effect, begin by standing just short of arms length in front of a wall. Adopt the ‘karate’ foot stance, of left foot forward and right behind, bending at the knees slightly - as if ready to do a karate punch. Look forward and extend the left arm straight out in front. Then, look behind and extend the right arm straight back to the wall. Now, using the right hand against the wall as an anchor point, tuck in the tummy, expand the chest and swivelling the hips and abdomen, turn your face to the front looking directly in line with the left arm. Swivel the hips back and forth, as if you are about to thrust the right arm forward. Feel the swivelling motion in the hips, as this is what the power thrust is all about. Then switch sides.
9. Stand clear of the wall. Adopt the karate stance, right leg back, left arm out front and right level at the side like you are about to throw a punch. Now we are not interested in punching, so change your image to one of pulling energy back with the left hand, and thrusting it forward with right. It is hard to explain, but you need to do this movement with style and grace - not awkwardness. If you have never done any form of martial arts, this movement is not easy to describe, so best watch someone do it, to get the idea.
10. The important aspect is the whip effect produced by snapping the hips back in the opposite direction at the very last moment. Once you have grasped this movement, stand facing the front with feet just wider than hip-width apart, pointing forward. Then do the previous whip-thrust the left, twisting appropriately to thrust the right arm fully to the left. Turn and do the same to the opposite direction - to the right - with the left arm thrusting. Switch back and forth, thrusting power with one arm while pulling it back with the other - to the left, then the right, swivelling back and forth.
There are some variations which are optional, like striking from arm extended fully up above and to the side, down to the centre, while the other arm moves in opposite.
