Once I started bellydancing, my music collection started to explode. SInce I use music in my yoga classes, as well as for dance practice and classes, I had to get my library under control. Here's how to gain control over a sprawling library so that you can easily use it for practice or in a class setting.

I used to make playlists for every yoga class, but now teaching multiple, distinct classes over the week, that just takes way too much time! Now everything yoga-appropriate is tagged "yoga" in the comment field, and I use a smart playlist of 4- or 5-star yoga songs shuffling through class. I make sure not rate anything too raucous in the 4 or 5 stars so as not to have any jarring moments in savasana, and it works great.

Managing bellydance music is a little more complicated, but the work is totally worth it:

• Step 1: Listen to your music and rate it. This part is unavoidable. You have to know your own music. For me, a 5-star rating means it is perfect for drilling and/or dance performance. At this point, you also need to ask yourself questions about your music so you have an idea of how you need to categorize things.
• Step 2: Use the comments tag. You can download a BPM counter to automatically tag your music, but you still have to listen to it. In ATS, for example, we might use slow moves for a song that is dramatic but actually has a fast tempo. I use "fast" "slow" and "tempochange" for my dance tunes. I also have the tags "ats," "vintage," "odd", and "zill," as well as tags for "kallisti" and "verve" for songs that we have or might perform to.
• Step 3: Use this information to make Smart Playlists. This is where it gets easy! Now that everything is tagged in a useful way, you can sort it as needed. You can enlarge the attached image and see my playlists. Using smart playlists also makes it way easier to pull songs for classes or practice if you want to put together something specific.
• Step 4: Maintain! Anything I can possibly bellydance to is tagged "belly." Even if I don't have time to listen through something right when I load it, I tag it all "belly" or "yoga" so I can find it to revisit it, rate it, and sort it.
  

I've decided that I'm going to participate in YogaDork's Sirsasana Challenge! The Sirsasana Challenge is inpsired by Cora Wen, a yogi who has started "tagging" various places she visits by doing a headstand and taking a photo of it. This seems just so random and fun to me, that I had to join in.

I went over and above the "take a photo of yourself in headstand" and made a short video blog post about it. I got it in my system that I was going to do this thing, and couldn't figure out how to push the button on my iSight camera and get in headstand in three seconds or less. So video it is!

TADA! I hope you thrilled by that 20 seconds of headstand in front of an old TV and Super Nintento! Hopefully my future sirsasna pursuits will be more exciting.

Be sure to share with me your headstands and other random public yoga poses!

Recently I have treated myself by attending a few classes. It started when I was on vacation in Florida, where I dropped in on a Power Vinyasa class at M Body in Jacksonville Beach. It was wonderful getting some magical adjustments that I know I needed and couldn't give myself. YUM. Since I've been back, I've dropped in on my colleague's Fluid Strength class (a fun fusion of dance and yoga), another AcroYoga workshop, and, with my dance partner, took a private lesson with Belladonna.

I love that I can get fresh insight into my own practice just by experiencing how other teachers present their material. This is why I never mind going to a beginner's yoga or dance class! I can always get a little (or big!) bit of information that can shed new light into a pose or movement. It's also so nice to just show up for a class, without having to plan for it and without having to be "on" for my students. I can just be present and go with the flow. Even when I am at home practicing, I get caught up thinking about how I might incorporate what I'm doing into a class, and so that opportunity to let go and be with my own practice also helps me refuel as a teacher. So, for once, I've got my lesson plans for the week completed EARLY! I should really keep this up!

In the new year we often find ourselves reevaluating our place in life, searching for new perspectives, and setting new goals. It's strange that we do this by the calendar year, because these coldest, darkest days can be the most difficult time to find motivation to do anything at all!

Amy put in a request over the holidays for energizing sequences to beat the post-holiay meal slump. Here's a heat-building sequence with lots of twists to freshen your spirit as you warm your body up! Twists are also great for those of us who tried to eat our weight in chocolate chip cookies over the holidays, as they help regulate digestion by giving all your organs a nice squeeze.

Yoga for the Winter Blahs

• Start with at least three rounds of Sun Saluations (Classical or Version A)
• Next round, Low Lunge Twist: Step the left foot back into a lunge and release the right knee to the floor. Bring your hands to anjali mudra. Inhale and get tall, exhale and twist to the right, catching your left arm to the outside of your right leg. Five breaths like this: inhale and lengthen the spine, exhale and twist. Inhale and lengthen to come back to neutral. Take a vinyasa (downdog, plank, chatturanga, cobra/updog, downdog), and repeat on the other side.
• Sun Salutations, Version B, Two or three.
• Utkatasana Twist From uttanasana, bend your knees deeply, sitting back into a chair, getting as low as you can. Scoop the tailbone under and lift the heart up. Hands come to anjali mudra Inhale lengthen the spine, exhale and twist to the right, catching your left arm to the outside of your right leg. Keep squaring your hips forward. Five breaths on each side. You can do it!

You should be getting warm now!

Onward to some standing poses! (or skip ahead to seated if you prefer)

• Uttitha Parsvakonasana(Extended Side Angle) to Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle)
• Uttitha Trikonasana(Triangle) To Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon)
• Parivrtta Trikonasana(Revolved Triangle) to Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon)
• If you're an overachiever or if you just like a nice sweaty vinyasa practice, throw down some vinyasa between those standing poses.

Seated poses to finish

• Janu Sirsasana Emphasize the twist before even thinking about folding!
• Marichyasana III
• Bring it on down a nice supine twist before savasana
  

Thank you, Amanda Palmer, for summing up my entire philosophy of ART (capital letters) using my most favorite instrument, the ukulele.

"Art is great that way, you can do anything."

I'll tie this one in to tribal bellydance. I'll wholeheartedly admit to being a "tribal curmudgeon." I love American Tribal Style in is purest form. I love watching it, and I love dancing it. I am satisfied digging as deep as I can into the nuances of the format and giving an entertaining performance. I've reached a point in my creative path where I enjoy simplicity to the point of minimalism and easy communication with the audience. I got all my hard-core analyzing out being an art history and theory major. Now is my time for enjoying the process.

It's nice to have this approach validated by another artist. I often feel that ATS is being increasingly pushed out of the picture by fusion dancers who are going nuts bringing in personal or popular influences into the dance. It was a humbling relief listening to Amanda Palmer's song and being reminded that fusion dancers who challenge the tradition of classical bellydance and tribal style have space for their voice as well. Art is great that way, you can do anything!

Why is it that working on lesson plans always ends with me watching ever increasingly ridiculous YouTube videos?

In case you missed my relentless spamming of Tribe and all the other bellydance hangouts or you're just reading this via my feed, I want to give you a heads up that I'm teaching American Tribal Style bellydance classes in Baltimore!

It seems like the Baltimore area has been hurting for some pure ATS classes for quite some time and I'm really excited about the opportunity to share this dance that I love so much!

I have been working hard the past few days knocking out lesson plans for a new class! It is completely different than the way I usually teach so it's been already has been an interesting learning experience for me. Maybe I've clocked in too many hours of asana this weekend, but I thought this video was hilarious!

Courtesy of Yoga Dawg

Sometimes I am amazed by how everything in my life is so connected. Unintentionally (or maybe subconsciously?) I've spun a web wherein all my passions are intertwined, and I can float along on all of this creative goodness no matter what I'm doing.

Friday night I went to an AcroYoga workshop. It was seriously the most fun I've had in an asana practice, maybe ever. I could not stop smiling the entire time I was there! So fun!

Acroyoga blends the practice of yoga with acrobatics (obviously) as well as Thai massage. For the workshop, we did a brief warm up both individually and then working with partners, then we jumped right in to working on inversions with a partner. Working with a spotter on my inversions was really helpful to me for identifying some alignment issues I need to work out. After the inversions, we went flying! The basic flying practice consists of a "base" a flyer, and a spotter. The base lays on his/her back with legs and hands up. For the sequence we did, the "flyer" has his/her hips on the base's feet to move through postures. To close the practice, we did some very basic Thai massage on each other. Yummy!

The reason the flying part of Acroyoga "works" is bone-stacking. This is something that works for an individual asana practice, too! When our skeleton is stacked in alignment, the bones are doing the work of supporting our weight, and the muscles are just assisting in stability. With a bone-stacked foundation, I can lift and hold a person bigger than me with virtually no additional effort. It's yoga magic!

The real magic of Acroyoga is not just the yoga stunts, it's the connection with your fellow practitioners. It's fun to smile and share energy with a yoga friend, building trust in addition to the physical and spiritual connection. This is lila in action!

The full practice of acroyoga, includes improvisation with your partner, and in the case of this beautiful video of the founders, partnered, non-verbal improv to live music. Is it any wonder I'm in love?

Last night, I went to my one of my favorite local bellydance events, DC's Tribal Cafe.

My mind was blown by a jaw-dropping performance by Frank Farinaro. He was the first male bellydancer to perform at Tribal Cafe and he brought the house down! Amazing! As if his precise technique wasn't enough, he has fantastic expression, and this amazing, wild energy. I love it! Overall an inspiring evening!