I feel blessed to have mastered the art of unleashing my wild side, and I take great pleasure in facilitating that same opportunity for others.

Twice a week, and sometimes more, I host a class that incorporates the ancient sciences of pranayama (breath exercises), kirtan (call and response chanting) and asana (physical postures) to activate our modern evolution.

What that means for us in this quick paced, modern time, is that we have ancient rituals as resources to awaken our power and ability to manifest our highest potential.

This style and structure of class, called Primal Core Activation, was passed to me by my teacher, Psalm Isadora (Kamakhya Devi), who developed this blend of Yoga, Tantra and Sufism after years of deep study with her teachers from around the world.

For me, facilitating this class is a great pleasure because I bring my specific flavor by incorporating my love for West African music and dance.

There’s something undeniable that happens when we hear the sound of a drum. It reminds us that we all have a unique rhythm tying us into the Universal vibration of life. Our roots run deep into the waters of our ancestors who communicated much more simply than we do nowadays. No iPhones or Facebook, just sound.

In addition to the tribal drum beats, we incorporate lyrics from Mother Medicine, a collaboration of musicians, yoga teachers, performance artists and healers who chant songs to the Divine Feminine.

Mother Medicine is a modern and urban blend of chanting and eclectic world music, and earth based rhythms, reflecting a variety of international cultures to inspire sacred trance dance. As a group, the mission is to bring awareness and healing to women’s issues through devotional experiences of sacred sound and movement.

With Primal Core Activation, we take these ancient and sacred tribal sounds of Mother Medicine chants and link them to our breath and movement, in order to reconnect to our core center, the Manipura Chakra (third energy wheel), and our sense of identity.

Through steady, trance-like core strengthening and warrior flow, this class helps you awaken dormant energy that you never knew existed. Igniting the energy of manifestation allows you to release inhibition and move freely within your body, awakening yourself to allow for deep healing.

The climax of the class draws on the concepts of ritual or spiritual dances that put the participants into a trance-like state. Similar to Samadhi (one-pointed concentration leading to union with the divine), this Primal Core practice of ritual dance with tribal drums is meant to help us find a place of uninhibited movement, free from self-consciousness.

Letting go and finding a non-dualistic state of consciousness results in a sense of liberation and appreciation for our authentic selves.

Are you ready to awaken? Join the tribe.

Gigi Yogini will be teaching at 5:20pm on Friday, April 20th, at the Tadasana International Yoga & Music Festival over Earth Day weekend on the beach in Santa Monica, CA, April 20– 22. Click here to check out the festival website and purchase tickets.

~

Editor: Andrea B.

 ~ Like elephant yoga & elephant culture on Facebook. ~