Expanding Your Senses with Shiva Nata
According to studies conducted years ago by the Menninger Foundation, the average person uses about 10% of their available brain cells. More recent studies suggest it’s now closer to 5%.
Einstein, by the way, was using a whopping 15% of his. That’s the difference a few more active brain cells can make!
Now, get this: a group of indigenous Australians were found who used 60% of their available brain cells.
How did this affect their daily lives? Well, most of them could communicate without words, were highly clairvoyant, and could communicate complex information simply through eye contact and shared dreams.
What’s the difference between them and us?
The main difference is that they are some of the last true hunter-gatherers on this planet and are thus completely dependent on the natural world for survival. In short, “they lived their lives in a state of deep awareness of their surroundings on all levels.” -Jon Young*
What does this have to do with you?
Increasing your awareness of your surroundings and thus increasing the amount of brain cells you are using requires:
- getting into your senses (your Owl Eyes, your Deer Ears, your felt sense), and
- using your brains in new ways (enter Shiva Nata!).
New experiences create new neural pathways.
That is exactly what we will be doing over the next 4 weeks: blending nature-based sensing games, Ortho-Bionomy body-sensing skills, and Shiva Nata.
The sensing games and exercises will deepen our ability to connect with ourselves and the natural world around us.
The madness that is Shiva Nata will allow our bodies and brains to fully integrate our new skills into our daily lives.
We will exit the 4 weeks more fully embodied and with a new appreciation for our bodies and for all the support, self (and other) awareness, and healing our senses have to offer.
The Schedule:
- Week 1: Shiva Nata theory plus learning/reviewing the basic arm positions. Note: If everyone is already familiar with the positions, we’ll jump directly into Owl Eyes and go from there!
- Week 2: Owl Eyes – how Owl Eyes helps us get out of our heads and into our senses (and therefore our bodies). We will explore how Owl Eyes can be used as a tool for deepening our connection to self and for helping us cope with anxiety, stress and overwhelm.
- Week 3: Deer Ears – learning how to listen… to ourselves, to each other, to our bodies.
- Week 4: Felt Sense – getting in touch with the sensations in our bodies. Learning how to speak Sensation.
“Shiva Nata is HARD and yet I really love where it takes me. In just a few weeks, a pattern of overworking that I’d been trying to change for years completely shifted for me.
I credit it all to Larisa’s approach to self-care and Shiva Nata.” – Emily D.
All the Details:
- What is it? A 4-week series of 1.5-hr Shiva Nata sessions.
- When? Tuesdays May 17 – June 7, 10:30-11:45/noon
- How much? $60
- Where? At Peninsula Park in Portland, OR (N Ainsworth and N Albina).
- How do I register? Contact me and let me know you want to attend. I’ll email you back with an address for where to send your $60.
Want more information about Shiva Nata? Keep reading. :)
Shiva Nata (or Crazy Monkey Dancing as per my boyfriend) is this amazing system for training your brain and your body. Using only 8 arm/hand positions, the challenge lies in connecting these 8 positions through following increasingly complicated spiraling patterns.
The point? To use our body to challenge our brains so that new neural pathways are formed.
The point of that? Over time, you will find yourself reacting quicker physically and processing (thinking) faster and more clearly. Plus, it is amazing for increasing physical coordination and making it easier to learn new things – physical or otherwise.
In short, Shiva Nata improves:
- Mental concentration and focus,
- Reaction speed, dexterity, coordination and balance, and… our
- Ability to learn about ourselves and to notice our patterns*.
*To learn a bit more about Shiva Nata and the importance of noticing patterns, read this post.
Shiva Nata is performed standing. After learning the basic positions, you simply attempt to mirror my lead. After a while, your brain will get tired of trying to figure out the patterns and your mind will become quiet.
At this point, we will do some writing. I’ll pose some open-ended questions and give you time to write.
It’s really amazing what can come out of writing in this way. It’s as if we are able to tap into a deeper, wiser part of ourselves and see our patterns and what is important more clearly.
Worth Noting:
- You are welcome to attend whether you are a total beginner or already an actively practicing ShivaNut. I’m expecting a full range of abilities to be present and, rest assured, all brains will be melted. :)
- So yes, absolutely no previous experience with Shiva Nata is expected or required. If you have some, great. If not, you will be in fantastic company.
- Bring a notebook and pen and wear comfortable, work-out-ish type clothes.
- That is all. :)
Oh! I’m so in!
Great! I’ll see you in the park. :)
*thanks to Jon Young and the Kamana II training program for this information and quote.
