Prana and Olympic Ice Dancing
By Theresa Shay
Did you see the free dance ice skating performance by the US skating team Chock and Bates? I have watched no Olympics except that performance. The pair’s skating was brought to my attention by a birder Glenn follows, who posted a link in an article on the mating dance of grebes (which I also watched). The ice dance spoke to me as an illustration of what cultivating Prana, cosmic energy, allows us to create.
Chock and Bates, a married couple, may not practice any form of yoga or meditation, but I can see by watching them that they have refined their energy to the point of mastery of their craft.
This is what any yogi hopes to do through their inner work, the difference being that the yogi’s craft is living a radiant life. Whether someone is called to ice dancing, parenting, painting, woodworking, documenting the mating rituals of grebes, or anything else, the amount of energy one has available defines the experience.
I watched Chock and Bates sail around the ice rink. That space looked too small to contain their moves whenever the camera panned out.
The same is true of the human experience. This physical body is too small to contain the presence of the Universe that exists within us. This is why a person animated by prana delivers waves of light through their being, waves of love through their actions, and waves of peace through their vibration.
When we learn to direct the energy of the body, we have learned to direct the energy of the mind, for the subtle reality informs the physical. The result is exquisite: a life that flows, a capacity greater than ever imagined, and a joy that is contagious.
In the ice dance I loved, four characteristics of a life inspired by Prana came through:
1. Harmony: Watch the way two skaters travel together as one, every moment connected. This is the experience of following the inner flow. The movements of life are yoked to a wave greater than your will. The coordination is effortless. You are the actor, fully surrendered, thereby carried in union.
2. Joy: Life is delight! Earth is a playground! You’re doing what you love to do, and the world wants you to do it. You fly from one end of the rink to the other and express yourself in a way that no one else can. This life is your dance, created only for you, and you express it with passion and control, rising above the opposites.
3. Creativity: The abundant cosmic energy wants to flow through you. When your life is inspired by Prana, amidst all your responsibilities and hours of practice, you still have energy to spare – creativity requires this energy. You design your own costume. You skate in an unusually long skirt with confidence. You are bold to make it red. You know you are the best one for this expression, so you let it out. You trust yourself.
4. Sparkle: Prana is not here for splash, and ice dancing is not life. But when you see Madison Chock swirling her skirt to flash red while flipping, turning, gliding, and flying above the ice carried in the hands of Evan Bates, you remember that Prana is not just here for surviving. Prana is here to let you sparkle. Catch that wave and ride it, whether you are the supported one or the supporting one. Everyone is here to shine, and everyone has a role to play.
Live fully and unattached to the results in your dance with the life force. The joy is the dance itself.
Watch Chock and Bates ice dance here.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.