Good news: I got a reply about Level 4.

Bad news: It wasn’t anything Sari hadn’t already told me (thanks, Sari).

Good news: It included info about legs.

Bad news: It just said they go higher or I can make stuff up.

Good news: I can proceed with Level 4 without worrying that I’m missing something.

Bad news: It’s not that hard.

Good news: I think I’m ready for Level 5 now.

Bad news: I don’t have any info on that.

Good news: I can email Havi again.

Bad news: That involves guilt, but only if I’m in Havi’s stuff rather than my own.

Good news: If I stay in my stuff I can just ask and see what she says.

Bad news: Now I have to wait for an answer again.

Other news

In other news, we finally put the floor down in the front room (aka my room) so that I have a space for yoga/pilates/Shiva Nata where I won’t get splinters and can hide away when feeling bashful.  To celebrate, I inflated the fitball I’d bought recently (think big bouncy inflated rubber ball, like a space hopper but spherical) and bounced away without fearing I would burst it in minutes.

Having played with one at the pilates studio, I knew how to get up to kneeling on the ball so I did Level 1 arms whilst kneeling on a fitball!  Great fun and I was most pleased to make it all the way through whilst wobbling horribly (i.e. lots of challenge) but without falling off and hurting myself or the furniture (the piano’s in here too, so I need to be a little careful).

The absolute minimum that you need to get started with Shiva Nata (also known as Dance of Shiva) is just two things:

• A space in which you can move your arms around
• The rules in which to move your arms

However, for those of us with a less ascetic bent, you can be a whole lot easier on yourself.  In fact, I’d totally recommend that you are because that way you can spend more time and effort on getting into your practice rather than worrying about what the heck you’re supposed to be doing.

If you’re a software geek (or you’ve just used enough software to recognise the difference between “I want to smash this stupid program through a wall” and “I didn’t even notice the program I was using”), think of it like a well-designed interface.  It makes it all about getting the job done rather than learning how to work the piece of software itself.  But I’d best not go on or I’ll start a rant about software interface design, and I have my other blog for that.

Second: The easy route to starting Shiva Nata

So, if you prefer the easier route then here’s 4 seriously easy steps to get you on your way:

1. Check out my review of the Shiva Nata Starter Kit from Havi – then go buy it!
2. Find a space where you can move your arms about without whacking furniture, light fittings or walls – or you can be like me and learn the hard way
3. [The trickiest for some.]  Make sure you have some time when you can do this on your own (or with others who are doing this with you).  Believe me, you will feel silly when you first start doing this.  It doesn’t take too long to get into it, but until you’re used to the movement you want to avoid anything putting you off practicing whenever you can.
4. Grab some paper and a pen.  You will want this to capture your thoughts and ideas.  Seriously.  Keep this with you at all times.  Or again, learn the hard way

Third: The extremely structured guide to starting Shiva Nata

Some of you may prefer a very structured approach (so not my style) so here’s a more structured version of the easy guide:

1. Check out my review of the Shiva Nata Starter Kit from Havi – then go buy it!
2. Set a time that you will work on this for 20 minutes every day.
3. Find a space with room to move your arms around where you can be alone.
4. Get a notebook or journal to record your thoughts (a quick guide is also included in the starter kit).

Have you any other tips for the shiva-curious?  Or are you shiva-curious yourself with a question?  Shout out in the comments section, I’d love to know what else has helped/would help.