The Meridians and the Dance of Shiva
The Dance of Shiva is an exercise that involves moving the arms in various spiral patterns.
These patterns can be used to improve coordination and concentration, body awareness, balance (from side to side) and range of motion.
They can also be used to affect the meridians of the upper body.
The twelve normal meridians are all associated with the organs of the body.
Three of these meridians run down the front of each arm, three up the back of the arm and neck, then three more down the front back and side of the body.
The final three run up the inner thigh and through the torso.
The arm movements of the dance of shiva can affect the meridians that run up and down the fronts of the arms and neck.
If spine movements are combined with these arms movements then the dance of shiva can also affect the meridians where they run up and down the torso.
Finally, if done while standing and while shifting from one leg to the other, the Dance of Shiva can also be used to affect the meridians where they run up and down the legs.
Since I currently focus on Dance of Shiva for the upper body and arms, I'll restrict myself to talking about how the positions and movements of the dance of shiva can affect the meridians of the upper body.
The Meridians First of all, a brief description of those meridians.
There are three meridians that run down the front of each arm.
These are the lung meridian, pericardium and heart meridian.
If you stand with your arms down by your sides and your palms facing forwards, these three meridians run in three roughly parallel lines down the front of the arm.
The lung meridian runs down the outer line, the pericardium down the center line, and the heart meridian down the inner line (closest to the body.
) The three meridians that run up the back of the arms are the large intestine, triple heater and small intestine meridian.
The large intestine runs up the outer line, the triple heater up the middle line and the small intestine up the inner line (closest to the body.
) These meridians also run up the sides of the neck to the face.
From the head there are three meridians that then run down the neck, body and legs.
These are the stomach, bladder and gall bladder meridians.
The stomach meridian runs down the front of the neck body and legs.
The bladder down the back.
The gall bladder meridian runs down the side of the body.
From the feet the three meridians that run up the inner thigh are the spleen (front line), liver (middle) and kidney (back line.
) The Basic Positions of the Dance of Shiva There are actually 8 positions for each arm in the dance of shiva.
When using both arms together this gives a total of 64 possible positions.
The simple goal of the dance of shiva is to learn how to connect all of these positions to each other.
It's an exercise in practicing possibility.
One explanation as to why you might want to do this is that once you've learned all of these movements you can move among or between all the positions freely.
For ease of understanding I'll restrict myself to talking about one arm at a time.
With eight positions, there are 8 basic movements that can be used to connect one position to every other position including itself.
(One of these movements is a zero move.
In real life terms you can translate this to mean that we always have the choice of doing nothing or resting.
Another way of looking at the zero move is that it is the potential for doing all other moves.
) Four of the positions are called 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In these positions the palm faces horizontally upwards.
The other four positions are called a, b, c and d.
In these positions the palm faces vertically outwards.
The Horizontal Positions and How They Affect the Meridians
If you keep your fingers straight, the meridians can also be affected at the hands and fingers.
Dance of shiva isn't a static practice.
Instead you practice moving between these positions.
The act of moving the arms opens and closes or if your prefer, stretches and relaxes the meridians resulting in rhythmic pumping or pulling effect which can be used to both stretch these meridians and energize them.
The Vertical Positions.
So that you do affect the meridians with these positions and with the movements between them, you have move slowly and smoothly.
Feel your body and position it as you do the movements.
Relax as much as possible given what you are trying to do.
Feel Your Body and the Movements You are Doing The nice thing about the Dance of Shiva is that the positions and movements are very easy to define and do.
You can then focus on doing them and feeling your body while you are doing them.
If you put your awareness into feeling your body then that awareness helps to move energy through your body.
The meridians then simply help to channel and direct it.
These patterns can be used to improve coordination and concentration, body awareness, balance (from side to side) and range of motion.
They can also be used to affect the meridians of the upper body.
The twelve normal meridians are all associated with the organs of the body.
Three of these meridians run down the front of each arm, three up the back of the arm and neck, then three more down the front back and side of the body.
The final three run up the inner thigh and through the torso.
The arm movements of the dance of shiva can affect the meridians that run up and down the fronts of the arms and neck.
If spine movements are combined with these arms movements then the dance of shiva can also affect the meridians where they run up and down the torso.
Finally, if done while standing and while shifting from one leg to the other, the Dance of Shiva can also be used to affect the meridians where they run up and down the legs.
Since I currently focus on Dance of Shiva for the upper body and arms, I'll restrict myself to talking about how the positions and movements of the dance of shiva can affect the meridians of the upper body.
The Meridians First of all, a brief description of those meridians.
There are three meridians that run down the front of each arm.
These are the lung meridian, pericardium and heart meridian.
If you stand with your arms down by your sides and your palms facing forwards, these three meridians run in three roughly parallel lines down the front of the arm.
The lung meridian runs down the outer line, the pericardium down the center line, and the heart meridian down the inner line (closest to the body.
) The three meridians that run up the back of the arms are the large intestine, triple heater and small intestine meridian.
The large intestine runs up the outer line, the triple heater up the middle line and the small intestine up the inner line (closest to the body.
) These meridians also run up the sides of the neck to the face.
From the head there are three meridians that then run down the neck, body and legs.
These are the stomach, bladder and gall bladder meridians.
The stomach meridian runs down the front of the neck body and legs.
The bladder down the back.
The gall bladder meridian runs down the side of the body.
From the feet the three meridians that run up the inner thigh are the spleen (front line), liver (middle) and kidney (back line.
) The Basic Positions of the Dance of Shiva There are actually 8 positions for each arm in the dance of shiva.
When using both arms together this gives a total of 64 possible positions.
The simple goal of the dance of shiva is to learn how to connect all of these positions to each other.
It's an exercise in practicing possibility.
One explanation as to why you might want to do this is that once you've learned all of these movements you can move among or between all the positions freely.
For ease of understanding I'll restrict myself to talking about one arm at a time.
With eight positions, there are 8 basic movements that can be used to connect one position to every other position including itself.
(One of these movements is a zero move.
In real life terms you can translate this to mean that we always have the choice of doing nothing or resting.
Another way of looking at the zero move is that it is the potential for doing all other moves.
) Four of the positions are called 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In these positions the palm faces horizontally upwards.
The other four positions are called a, b, c and d.
In these positions the palm faces vertically outwards.
The Horizontal Positions and How They Affect the Meridians
- In position 1, the hand is held at the level of the top of the head.
The fingers point out and the elbow is bent 90 degrees.
So that the palm faces upwards in this position you have to externally rotate your upper arm.
This opens the meridians at the front of the shoulder, (lung, pericardium and heart.
) - In position 2, the hand is held at belly button height with the fingers pointing inwards.
(This is like rubbing your belly but your palm faces upwards.
) Your elbow is bent.
In this position the upper arm rolls inwards opening up the meridians at the back of the shoulder (large intestine, triple heater, small intestine) Also the forearm rotates externally.
This can affect the meridians at the front and back of the forearm. - In position 3, the hand is again at belly height but the fingers point outwards.
It's like doing a "behind the back low five.
" Here again the upper arm rotates forwards to open up the meridians at the back of the shoulders.
The forearm rotates internally in this position again affecting the meridians the front and back of the forearm. - In position 4 the hand is held over the head with the fingers pointing inwards (towards the opposite side of the body.
) You might be inclined to say "ole" as you look to the side.
Here the upper arm can rotate externally opening the front of shoulder and the meridians there.
The fore arm rotates internally.
If you keep your fingers straight, the meridians can also be affected at the hands and fingers.
Dance of shiva isn't a static practice.
Instead you practice moving between these positions.
The act of moving the arms opens and closes or if your prefer, stretches and relaxes the meridians resulting in rhythmic pumping or pulling effect which can be used to both stretch these meridians and energize them.
The Vertical Positions.
- In position a the arm reaches forwards with the elbow straight.
The arm is rotated inwards so that the elbow points out. - In position c the arm is in the same position but is rotated outwards so that the elbow points inwards (and down.
) The a position opens the back of the shoulder and the meridians there while the c position opens the front of the shoulder. - In positions b and d the arms are positioned so that the fingers point backwards.
(In a and c the fingers point forwards.
) - In position b the elbows are bent and reach forwards, The forearm and fingers point back towards the heart.
This stretches the meridians at the back of the elbow.
It also opens them at the back of the shoulder. - In d position the arm reaches back behind your body with the palm facing inwards and the point of the elbow inwards.
This opens up the front of the shoulder.
So that you do affect the meridians with these positions and with the movements between them, you have move slowly and smoothly.
Feel your body and position it as you do the movements.
Relax as much as possible given what you are trying to do.
Feel Your Body and the Movements You are Doing The nice thing about the Dance of Shiva is that the positions and movements are very easy to define and do.
You can then focus on doing them and feeling your body while you are doing them.
If you put your awareness into feeling your body then that awareness helps to move energy through your body.
The meridians then simply help to channel and direct it.
