ANTARIKA New - February 2021

Dear Friends

I trust that 2021 is treating you very well. Lots to share, so I'll just dive into it!

UPCOMING EVENT:
First things first - after the successful & much-appreciated online seminar by Zen Master Gil Alon, I am delighted to announce a second seminar on Sat 20 Mar by Master Gil, and this one is on the topic: Zen Buddhism & the importance of the Arts. For details and to register, please click on the image below:

THE PAST MONTH: 
February has been a busy month for ANTARIKA, and I thought I should take time out to give you a little update. 

So here goes....

• Movement Rhythm & Expression: We launched the 12-session online module on Sat 13 Feb. The interest in this series has been really heartening, with participants keenly exploring the body and its movement. As we gradually move into the aspects of rhythm and expression in the coming weeks, I have been receiving queries on whether I'll be offering a second round of this module, possibly in-person. I'm chewing on it and will keep you posted, for sure!

• Exploring Bharatanatyam, a personalised 1-on-1 programme for beginners as well as for more advanced practitioners of the Indian classical dance form, also kicked off on Feb 13. Participants have the option to learn either online or in-person (for folks living in Singapore). In-person classes are held in the vibrant and charming setting of Pearl’s Hill Terrace.

Our “Exploring Bharatanatyam” classes are conducted at Pearl’s Hill Terrace AND online via Zoom

Our personalised online ANTARIKA® Breath & Movement programmes continue to nurture clients on the path of wellbeing through conscious breathing & moving. Also our unique Movement & Chanting module that centres children with special needs, has been running for close to 8 months now. It is truly a privilege to have the opportunity to serve our clients (who currently range from the ages of 13 to 80) in these various ways.

You are always welcome to experience our offerings that are centred on wellness, artistic development and transformation. Do subscribe to our mailing list (scroll down to the end) so that you are kept in the loop of our goings on.

There's more to come ... do stay tuned!

Warm regards
Nirmala Seshadri

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ANTARIKA News - January 2021

Dear Friends,

I trust you are keeping safe and well, and that 2021 has opened for you on a note of hope. 

In the past few months, we have extended our services to include group movement therapy programmes for children with special needs, which are being well-received. In addition, I am happy to announce the launch of two new dance programmes: 

• Movement Rhythm & Expression will commence on Sat 13 Feb. In this course that will be conducted live to a maximum of 10 participants via Zoom, I bring to you what I have learnt from my years of innovation in Indian dance, making it accessible to everyone. No prior movement training is required. If you've ever wanted to explore the body and its movement, its capacity for expression, and relationship to its history and environment...then this is for you! More details HERE. Do sign up latest by 1st February to enjoy the Early Bird offer.

• Exploring Bharatanatyam is a personalised 1-on-1 programme for beginners as well as for more advanced practitioners of the Indian classical dance form. In this course, we provide training in the practical aspects of the dance form while also introducing its theoretical, historical and socio-cultural dimensions. Please submit your interest to: nirmala@antarikahealing.com.

At ANTARIKA, we continue to serve our clientele online through our personalised ANTARIKA® Breath & Movement programmes.

We are indeed heartened by the positive and encouraging feedback for our various programmes. From the other end of the world, a client under lockdown tells us: "Nirmala worked with me to help soothe anxiety, connect more to my family and friends, and most importantly helped me “unfreeze” myself and get moving again in a multitude of positive ways."
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It was truly our pleasure to host the online seminar on 'The Importance of Zen Riddles & Zen Stories' in December, by Zen Master Gil Alon. Our heartfelt gratitude to Master Gil, and to each and every participant.

There are more new offerings in the pipeline, which we look forward to unveiling in the months to come. So do stay tuned.

In the meantime, I wish you a healthy and fulfilling year ahead!

Warm regards
Nirmala Seshadri

The Separation-from-Phone Ritual

Nirmala Seshadri

5 September, 2020

It's hard to imagine life without the mobile phone. 

For those of us who spent our childhood and teenage years without it, there were challenges. Receiving calls from friends wasn't as easy - the house phone would ring and anyone in the family could answer it, and there would be no privacy while speaking. Later cordless phones stepped in, which helped a little.There was no text messaging until pagers became a thing and I think I was already in my later 20s by then. 

So however new and unfamiliar the mobile phone was initially, for most of us it was a welcome entrant into our lives. And it totally changed the game. It began to follow us everywhere, out of the house and into loo too. The constant companion. We started realising that we could live without a human companion, but not without the little phone! It has become the essential presence. 

It has also become intrusive. 

Systems of surveillance aside, I find the phone can prevent us from finishing things - a word, a thought, an action. It is impossible to think of focussing for an hour or two on something without the interruption from WhatsApp or that urge to check Facebook. And for some of us, both these platforms are on our desktops as well. Ping, Ping, Post, Post, Video, Photo, News, Terrible News, Joke, HAHA. Oh someones saying something on the chat group... should I respond now? Later? and now, someone else has texted. 

A total overstimulation in terms of information and communication on multiple levels. And yet, it also cuts us off from the immediate space. As adults, we meet friends or family for a meal but constantly look at our phones. And what does it mean when children who step out for a meal can only engage with their iPads? I have seen couples in restaurants who are sitting across one another but looking at their respective phones. Not a word exchanged, not a glance. 

I do worry about where we're all headed. Especially given that this Covid situation is demanding that we engage with our screens even more. 

Is it possible to put the phones away and set some timings for picking them up? And no cheating with the desktop... computers are for longer stretch work only, and not for checking WhatsApp messages. But what about the emails? How about we not look at those constantly? Maybe every 2 hours? 

I don't know if this can be resolved. I do realise it can't be a one size fits all solution. But maybe it's just time to become aware of how detrimental these devices can be, even as they have their benefits. Research shows that being glued to our phones can affect affect the brain as well as our sleep. Perhaps what is needed is a mindful approach to all of this. 

It may benefit us to give ourselves digital detox time everyday. Perhaps we can punctuate the day with brief moments of respite eg: 

1) step out for a little walk without any gadget

2) definitely do not take them into the bathroom (treat shower time as detox time)

3) keep them out of the kitchen and enjoy food preparation time (unless we need to refer to a recipe)

3) at meal time, keep  them far away from the dining table to keep focussed on food, the act of eating and conversation with people who might be present

4) practice a sport or recreational activity, keeping the phone out of the activity 

5) practice yoga or any mind-body activity that helps draw the awareness inward 

And finally here's the night time separation-from-phone ritual that has worked for me: 

1. Firstly, I bought myself a 'no tick tock' alarm clock from IKEA. (I remember watching Simon Sinek's video some time ago on this)

2. I set my phone to "Do Not Disturb" from 11pm to 7am. 

3. Then I selected some Favourites in my phone contact list - people who I know will reach out to me in case of an emergency and whose calls will come through 

4. I say Good Night to my phone and place it outside my bedroom or in a drawer in my bedroom. 

And that's it. This separation-from-phone ritual provides me a nice long 7 to 8 hour break from it. 

I'm sure each of us will have our own unique ways of keeping the gadgets out, but a first step would be to feel the need for this time away. The rest will follow. 

Thinking about Evening Rituals

Nirmala Seshadri

August 17, 2020

At a time like this when all of the world has been plunged into change and unpredictability,  it could help to anchor oneself through some daily rituals. 

At a recent Microsoft event, Ambica Saxena (executive coach & head of YSC Southeast Asia)  spoke on the need for rituals in the current work-from-home scenario. “Boundaries, specific times at which you start and end work - it’s all in the rituals.” Saxena stressed on the role of rituals in signalling clearly to oneself and others, the opening and closing of the work day. She highlighted additional rituals that have been helping those in business, such as ensuring there are breaks from interaction as well as scheduling “walking meetings” to make sure one isn’t glued to the chair all day!

Watching the interview on twitter got me thinking about daily rituals in general. We have all been engaged in rituals in some form or the other (consciously or unconsciously), right from childhood. Brushing teeth is the first thing that comes to mind. Without ending up becoming robotic, what would it mean to punctuate the day with activities that meaningfully lead us into the next phase of the day? 

 Most people I talk to tell me that they find it much easier to develop a morning routine. Here I am referring to my work of introducing conscious breathing and moving into people’s daily lives. It’s the nights that become challenging. “If only I could get to bed early….I’m really ill disciplined at night” etc etc etc. 

By the evening, the weight of the day seems to hang over us. Something presses us down to become those inert, immobile objects on the couch! Perhaps it is the unfinished business of the day that makes us feel it isn't time yet to retire. Or could it be a natural sense of gloom that creeps in with the evening as the natural light starts to recede? 

I am aware that various cultures usher in the evening with special spiritual ceremonies. The elaborate sunset and also sunrise Arati ceremonies are performed everyday by the banks of the Ganges River in India. The sun has been worshipped for centuries around the world in Egypt, Greece, Persia, Middle East and Asia. In Native American culture too, the sun is considered a life force and some tribes perform a Sun Dance every year in celebration. 

 For people who enjoy experiencing the setting sun, engaging in or even devising some form of a ritual around it might be one way of welcoming the close of day. Nature has its own way of showing up to provide a sense of structure. How powerful it is to harmonise oneself with these daily natural events. 

The dinner time ritual is probably one which can also mark the beginning of the night. Whether we are living with people or not, it could be helpful to create a ritual around this act of eating - right from preparing a good nutritious meal, to turning on some music, softening the lighting, lighting a candle, and sitting down to eat in a relaxed way ….. This entire process could signal the transition into the space of night. This makes me think of what it might have been like in pre-electricity times - oil lamps, kerosene lamps and all, that might have been turned on just long enough to get some activities done and then I’m imagining one would just retire to bed. 

I personally have found that it’s the post-dinner activity that determines what time I make it into my bedroom. Reading, chatting with a friend or going for a short stroll are short and sweet activities that ensure I get to bed at a decent hour. Binging on Netflix or opening the laptop to work on something that didn't get done during the day, these just kill the night. There is a time to get to the bedroom. When we were young, we would be told to “go to bed!”. And also, in those days there were no mobile phones. I think the phones are doing us in. Keeping us connected to the world and disconnected from ourselves, and endlessly. (I’ll focus on mobile phones in another post). Perhaps turning on some soft music in the bedroom, reading in bed or any other bedroom centric ritual would be helpful. 

As I speak about the need for rituals, I also keep in mind Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti who talked about the stagnation that could arise from getting trapped in habits & routines. Understanding the distinction between a habit, routine and ritual, could help in holding up the meaning, purpose and mindful engagement associated with a ritual.

So here's my suggestion for a set of night time rituals and ones that have worked for me:

1. At sunset, step out for a walk in nature or if indoors, stand/sit by a window to have a glimpse of the outdoors. Either way, inhale the energy of the sun, exhale gratitude (I mean yes, for being able to walk in the first place, having a window to gaze out from, and all else)

2. Breathing exercises and some relaxing stretches 

3. Prepare a healthy dinner and sit down comfortably to eat it. Lighting the candle on my dining table and playing some soft music before I start eating, always calms me down

4. Have an after-dinner conversation or stroll with someone whose company I enjoy, or watch one episode of something light-hearted on tv

5. Get to the bedroom at a decent time. Turn on soft lighting, maybe light an aromatherapy candle. Play some soft chants. Do some gentle stretches in bed. Do a nighttime meditation.

6. If I'm not sleepy yet, reading meditation! Read a chapter and let the book get me relaxed and to sleep

7. Practice breathing exercises for 5 minutes or so 

8. Remember to put the phone outside on the dining table - this is the separation-from-phone ritual :)

SLEEP

Nirmala Seshadri is a breath & movement expert, dance artist and researcher. She is the creator of the ANTARIKA® therapeutic movement system.

It's all about breathing right

Nirmala Seshadri

August 8, 2020

Over a decade ago, I went through a 7-day bout of insomnia. Confession - it was Sudoku-driven; I would play till very late at night and my brain remained alert and active through the days and the nights. By the 7th night, I felt it was time to pull myself out of that zone. I wasn’t keen on medication and as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I decided to practice a breathing technique my yoga teacher had taught me. Instead of the usual one cycle, what if I practice as many cycles as required to get my body-mind into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation? It worked… I finally had a good night’s rest and (touch wood) have never experienced that sort of insomnia again. I also stopped playing Sudoku at night! (I will talk about night time rituals in a separate post)

After that episode, I started working consciously to calm my body-mind through breathwork. While I became aware of the effects of the practice on my mental and emotional states, what I didn’t realise immediately was the physiological effect on my body. It was my doctor in Chennai who drew the correlation between my breath-centric yoga practice and the positive impact on my asthmatic condition that she had been treating for years. She then asked if I would teach it to her patients! (The rest, as they say, is history).

Breath control is an integral aspect of yoga. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and who also practices yoga and meditation says, “There is a very direct relationship between breath rate, mood state, and autonomic nervous system state.” We all are aware of the change in the rate of our breathing when we are anxious or angry. And we know that at those moments, slowing down and deepening our breathing gets us past those states. The focus of breathwork is to reverse this, that is, to allow the breath to steer the mental-emotional states and not vice-versa. This became even more tangible to me when I attended an actors workshop some years back where we were introduced to the breathing techniques of Kudiyattam, a traditional theatre form of Kerala in India. It is an entire system whereby breath is utilised carefully to produce different emotional expressions. While trying one of the techniques adopted to produce the expression of fear, I suddenly found myself screaming and crying involuntarily! It was a mind-blowing experience and one that really underscored for me that connection between the breath and our emotions.

Coming back to relaxation, research points clearly to the fact that the breathing exercises of yoga can enhance parasympathetic and decrease sympathetic (excitatory) nervous activity. Studies show that this helps in managing the heart rate, blood pressure and can lower the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

Breathe is the word that I use most often when I facilitate breathwork. However I’ve found that not everyone feels calmed down by being told to breathe! For some, the word can initially cause anxiety. And that's where other interventions become necessary to gradually lead the individual to more effective breathing.

The benefits of breathwork are manifold, but like anything else it takes committed practice. Having said that, most people feel some difference within themselves, even after just 5 to 10 minutes of focused breathing. So I must say I do believe in the something is better than nothing principle. Getting into the practice of proper breathing can lead to so many positive outcomes including improved sleep patterns, heightened energy levels, improved concentration, reduced stress and anxiety levels, a sense of peace, calm and relaxation, and a greater ability to manage anger and depression.

Breath becomes that constant companion, leading us gently into that immense space within, while also serving as an effective link to the outer environment. As I write this, I am thinking of some of my clients who have had to deal with challenging home and work environments; for them, the practice has been both a refuge as well as a means of engaging with their outer worlds on their own terms.

Breathwork nourishes us in so many ways. And along with other forms of nourishment, can be important in helping us cope with the present challenges.

Time to change the way we live and to practice deep care

Nirmala Seshadri

July 16, 2020

Who would ever have thought we would spend 2020 confined to our homes and struggling to just exist? The suffering all over the world is unimaginable, with many denied the privilege of being safely ensconced within the four walls called home. Covid-19 is forcing into the spotlight the ills and injustices of many countries. It is pushing us to recognise that the world as we have known it is flawed. Moreover, it is a world we will not be able to return to. 

Covid-19 urges us to pause, rethink and reimagine the world and our place in it. The time has come to radically change the way we live and to practice deep care - for oneself, for others and for the planet.  

How we breathe, eat, think, feel, move, speak and act - each of these has an impact on how we collectively cope with the challenges that face us and our existence. Now more than ever, we must focus on holistic and mindful living so as to fortify ourselves as much as we can against the enemy, the coronavirus. Have we ever been called upon to live this mindfully? From washing our hands conscientiously, ensuring that we adorn ourselves with the mask every time we step out, maintaining social distancing and self-isolating when we travel or experience any symptoms - we are ever alert. 

Internally too, we need to protect our bodies and raise immunity levels through proper nutrition, adequate sleep as well as through mindbody practices. Evidence shows that in addition to helping in managing chronic conditions as well as alleviating stress, pain and mental issues, mindbody practices also help strengthen the immune system and resist infection. 

There is a range of mindbody practices that can be adopted in one’s ritual of self-care. These include Yoga, Meditation, Qi Gong, Tai Qi and here let me introduce Antarika. 

After decades of engagement with the Indian dance form bharatanatyam, yoga, meditation, research, writing, teaching and most recently the Japanese dance theatre form butoh, 2016 saw it all coming together as Antarika - a therapeutic breath and movement system.

A combination of breathwork, mindfulness practices, restorative yoga, conscious breathing techniques, multisensorial stimulation and spontaneous movement exploration, Antarika helps improve emotional, mental and physiological well being. 

"The Vanishing Point?" (2015), Choreography: Nirmala Seshadri for Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Image: Jeff Low

 I have to say the Antarika seed was planted at least 16 years ago years ago when I began to learn the Krishnamacharya style of yoga in Chennai. It was fascinating for me, as a dancer, to begin moving with a total focus on breathing.

Dance and yoga began to converge and my practice, choreography, teaching and performance shifted dramatically.

A few years later I was invited to teach the Asian Mind-Body Practices module at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts here in Singapore, and I realised that a new movement system was emerging. My postgraduate studies in 2012 included fieldwork in butoh, a form that I drew into my movement practice, research and teaching. 

In March 2017, I was invited to conduct a workshop for groups of women in Phuket. It was time to encapsulate the movement system and lifestyle experience in a name. Antarika in Sanskrit means "inward" or "in between". Tari is "dance" in Malay, a language that is also very close to my heart. By August, Antarika received her trademark certification. 

Over these few years, people from diverse ages and backgrounds have been experiencing Antarika. "Confidence", "Respect", "Acceptance", 'Calm", "Present", "Awakening", 'Alignment", "Harmony"... are some of the words they use to describe their experience. One of my clients has called Antarika “the gift that keeps giving”. As for myself, I feel "blessed". It's one thing to have danced for many years, but something else to help nudge others into conscious breathing and moving in a spirit of self-acceptance and ahimsa (non-violence) to the body. 

Today, some of my clients are mature women who have been trained in forms such as bharatanatyam since childhood. It moves me to tears to work with them and watch them rediscover their dance, on their own terms. And there are others who begin by telling me they have “two left feet”. Gradually they begin to discover and embrace their unique movement. Totally absorbed in the moment, they dance ... as if softly, each foot is “kissing the earth" (Thich Nhat Hanh). So powerful. 

I firmly believe that each individual is a very unique creation and has a special contribution to make to society. Each of us needs support to realise and recognise this. The world would be a very different place if we could focus on one another's inclinations and strengths, and help to kindle that unique spark that exists in every individual. 

At this stage, it is CARE in every sense of the word, that we need to integrate into our lives. I welcome to Antarika, every person who would like to tread this path and embrace a new way of being. 

Nirmala Seshadri is a breath & movement expert, dance artist and researcher. She is the creator of the ANTARIKA® therapeutic movement system.