Illuminating Indian Classical Dances Through Yoga

Dance and Yoga are two sides of the same coin. United in their origins, while dispersing and expressing energy, both are wholesome practices for the body and mind. Lord Shiva, the Lord of Dance, also considered to be the Supreme Yogi in Indian culture, is known as the first Guru or the Adi Guru as well as the Adi Yogi. His realisation had resulted in ecstatic dances which had bouts of stillness, reminiscent of yoga, along with hectic movements that have seen manifestations in many Indian classical dances.

This humble effort of highlighting the commonalities between Indian classical dance and yoga comes from decades of experience of a classical dancer and a yoga enthusiast. This book endeavours to search and examine the 'asanas' and 'mudras' that are practiced in these pursuits. Like a prism that separates the light passing through into different colours, so has been the effort of analysing the postures and hand movements frequently utilised in Indian classical dance. These are especially seen through Patanjali's `ashtanga yoga'(othe eight-fold path of Yoga). This maiden joint exercise seeks to share the appreciation of such aspects of these two integral pursuits of Indian life.

It is only recently that art and science are emerging as disciplines independent of the divine. Dance and Yoga however continue to have strong spiritual association.