Review: Dance of Shiva Starter Kit

As you may have read, I am beginning to work as a coach. It may be a while before I have my own courses to share with you, but in the meantime I wanted to share some of what has really helped me. So, occasionally I’ll be writing product reviews. I promise I will only share what I love and what works.

The Dance of Shiva Starter Kit was the very first product I ordered from Havi Brooks.

I am an unusual mix of computer nerd and tree-hugging hippy, so when she described Dance of Shiva as “wacky yoga brain training”, I got all excited. Yoga! For my brain!

When she promised epiphanies, I knew I had to try it.

This was over 7 months ago, before my blog even existed. And I still do Dance of Shiva regularly. Bare minimum, three times per week.

Let’s talk results

I’m sure a lot of you may be asking if doing Dance of Shiva really works and is worth the effort.

In a word, YES.

Slow and steady

Some of the changes have been gradual – more like shifts than epiphanies. In the last seven months…

• I wanted a blog but was afraid to start one
• I started a blog for my business, but didn’t really know what that business would be
• I got on Twitter and put myself out there enough to meet tons of really cool people
• I’ve developed a regular meditation practice
• I came to terms with what I wanted and declared it publicly
• I started coaching clients
• I’m getting ready to start an advance discount list for my Right People

I’d say that’s pretty significant for seven months, wouldn’t you?

But what about the epiphanies?

I wrote a while back about my pattern of using illness as self-protection. A few hours after practicing Dance of Shiva one day, I suddenly became conscious of the connection between my back problems and disliking certain parts of my life.

The realization has allowed me to acknowledge that my body (or whatever part of me) thinks it’s helping, but also to explain (gently) to it that the cost of the pain outweighs the benefit of the protection.

Without that epiphany, I wouldn’t be at the point of being able to interact with the pain. I’d still be wondering why, why, why.

Creativity

I use Dance of Shiva all the time before I sit down to write. It helps me feel more open and creative.

I’ve also used it countless times when I found I was stuck on a problem at my day job (database programming). It takes me from staring at my monitor like a zombie to finding new approaches to a problem.

Lately I’ve begun to notice that I’m remembering information better. Like phone numbers, or bits of code that normally I would need to look up.

I also make a point to do a few minutes of Shiva Nata before I work with my coaching clients, because I want my brain (and my heart) to be as open and creative as possible.

Helping people see connections and patterns is how I help them to shift and have some significant a-ha moments of their own.

So what’s it like to do Dance of Shiva?

Very difficult. But so worth it.

When I first started, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I was just flailing around, trying to keep up with the movements on the DVD. Now, after seven months, I’m starting to use Havi’s tips to make the practice harder.

Usually within 5-10 minutes, my brain feels full – like it’s been completely spent.

At that point, I lie down in relaxation pose, and I always feel a pleasant buzzing sensation. Not an audible buzzing, though. This is more of a physical sensation, like I can feel the air (or maybe the energy?) around me.

Depending on how much time I have available to me, I meditate after spending a few minutes just relaxing.

Meditation is always much easier and more fulfilling for me when I do it after a few minutes of Dance of Shiva.

That full-brain-buzzy sensation seems to help keep distracting thoughts from creeping in. As though my brain is so tired it’s more willing to cooperate with my desire to meditate.

What’s in the Kit

The kit comes with the DVD, two e-books, a cheat sheet, and an mp3 audio of a class to help you start, re-start, or maintain your practice.

The DVD

This is not one of those 60-minute-practice-and-that’s-it yoga DVDs.  There are three different levels of practice to follow along with, and lots of theory.

How many yoga DVDs have you purchased where the music was cheesy or the instructor was annoying in some way? By the third viewing you’ve memorized all the stupid phrases and you hear the crappy music in your head all day after you’ve watched. It doesn’t take long before you can’t stomach using it anymore.

That won’t happen with this DVD. There’s no music and the only talking is Andrey Lappa telling you what position is next in the pattern.

The E-Books (aka Special Reports)

Yes, the DVD is essential, but the Special Reports are what make the practice enjoyable, and help you understand and appreciate what it is you are getting into.

I can’t imagine starting this practice without her Getting Started report. The DVD doesn’t make it clear that you’re only doing the practice right if you’re doing it wrong. The Getting Started report shows you the best way to – er – get started, so that you don’t tear your hair out and give up.

It may take a while, but you will reach a point where it starts to get easy and you won’t be getting it wrong.  But Havi’s How-To Articles report takes care of that by teaching you ways that allow you to keep messing up so the epiphanies continue.

There is so much good material in the books and on the DVD, in seven months I don’t think I’ve digested even half of it.

There’s more?!?

The kit also includes a recording of an excellent teleclass about how to get back to your practice in a guilt-free way if you’ve been avoiding it. And how to bring the challenge back so you can break through a plateau. There’s also tip sheets detailing the positions and a sheet to track your progress so you remember all the epiphanies you start getting.

Final word

I could gush about Dance of Shiva for hours, but since I’m nice, I’ll cut it to two three more sentences. Probably the most amazing thing about it is that even five minutes of practice truly is enough. It’s really the perfect thing to help make changes in your life when you’re not sure where to start. With this practice, you’ll start shifting without even realizing it.