Basic Positions

The first part of the Dance of Shiva is learning the positions. These are derived from two basic movements. The first is a continuous horizontal spiral where the hands are kept constantly upright. The second is a vertical spiral where the hands are kept facing outwards. The positions are simply four clearly defined points on each of these spiral paths. They are shown below, with the four horizontal positions labelled with numbers and the four vertical ones labelled with letters.

Notice the position of the palms, upright or outright. Also notice the height of the hands relative to the top of the head or the belly, (use the belly button as a reference). Also notice the direction the fingers point, outwards or inwards, forwards or backwards. Further, particularly for the vertical positions, notice the direction the elbow points in.

The positions can be difficult. Focus in turn on palms and fingers, forearms, and shoulders. You may also find it helpful to focus on your spine and ribcage, bending both to facilitate the hand positions.

After practicing one hand at a time, you can practice doing the same positions with both hands at the same time.

It can be helpful to do these in front of a mirror. See if you can make both sides symmetrical.

Take the time to learn the names of the positions. Know without thinking which position is represented by the letter C. Know without thinking the position represented by the number 4.

Use the video as a guide to practicing the arm positions.

Double Arm Positions

When using both arms at the same time, arm positions are represented with a two digit alpha-numeric code. Unless specified otherwise, the digit on the left represents the position of the left arm, that on the right the position of the right arm.

All images are mirrored so that the position of my right arm shows the desired position of your left arm.