Prancing: The 9th Limb of Yoga
(Bear with me.)
You've heard that there are 8 limbs of yoga. They are serious and useful: poses, breath work, self study, focus, meditation, external observances, internal observances, and bliss.
The 9th limb, I propose, is prancing.
Here's why: 'yoga' means 'union.' Simply, yoga unites you with your highest self, which feels like bliss and peace. Therefore any activity which leads to self-peace is a kind of yoga.
The holy grail of yoga is knowing all is well, and feeling deep peace. I want to tell you that you can get all that goodness from prancing, too.
Prancing, I've found, slows down my mind just like in a yoga class. It gives me the same self-awareness and simple joy as all the other 8 limbs. This time, it's fun!
(Prancing Photo by Matt Walker atop Skywalk Trail in Whistler.)
So, what is Prancing?
Like yoga, prancing is a tool for simple self-peace – but this time it's all about unregulated movement.
Prancing is Free Movement. It's a committment to move in unlimited freedom! You might start slow and loosy-goosey, then move fast and erratic. Sometimes prancing might be flowy like skipping, and other times robotic or stiff. Sometimes it’s all of those things; sometimes it’s not moving at all.
Simply put, Prancing or Free Movement asks you to do exactly what your body wants to do, even though your mind kinda thinks you shouldn’t.
You move beyond unconscious rules and habitual ambulating to express physically the fact that you are free to do whatever you want. (Because you are!)
However you do it, prancing ex-presses pent-up everything, resulting in surprising stillness and total freedom. Bliss. Samadhi. Yoga.
Yogis rejoice! You may be surprised how you choose to move when you realize that the barriers around you exist only in your mind. Like cattle freed from cages, prancing is a natural expression of your freedom.
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I host prancing and free movement classes all over the world. Are you game? Sign up for my newsletter for upcoming prancing tutorials, or follow me on Facebook to hear about the next one.
