Namaste,
One of the excellent features of the Dance of Shiva is that with just four positions in each pattern it is still possible to create many variations to continue expanding our coordination and focus. The idea of transquarters is to learn to ‘skip’ one of the positions, so that instead of going 1-2-3-4, you can go from 1 to 3, 2 to 4, 3 to 1 and 4 to 2. This can be applied to both the Horizontal and Vertical patterns.
The pattern is:
When this is simple enough you may explore going faster.
In this video you can see an example of the Transquarter pattern applied to the horizontal and the vertical patterns.
One of the things you may notice as you practice is that there may be a running commentary in your head. Just try to practice and focus on the sensations and on saying the numbers of the positions as you move. I hope that you enjoy this practice.
If you like this practice, there is a very complete DVD on the Theory and Practice of the Dance of Shiva by Andrey Lappa on Pranamaya.com.
Peace,
rubén
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