Australian Yoga Journal - May June 2017

28

may/june 2017

yogajournal.com.au

World-renowned yogi Shiva Rea is dedicated to

inspiring students to connect with their ‘inner teachers’

and move with the flow of their breath, their practice,

and their daily routines. She talks to Jessica Humphries

about the evolution of Prana Vinyasa, the power of

ritual, and learning how to read the waves of life.

Shiva’s Dance

AYJ How did your yoga journey begin,

what has been the inspiration for Prana

Vinyasa, and how has it evolved over time?

SHIVA I was born in Hermosa Beach,

California, and the beach was literally my

front yard. So the imprint of the waves as

the flow of life was always part of me. My

father, who was a hardcore surfer at the

time, gave me the name Shiva after the

‘Lord of the Dancing Universe’. 

The yogic aspect of my name

awakened when I was 14 and I started

to practice. I ended up living around the

world from the age of 17 in east and west

Africa, Nepal, Bali and Jamaica where I

was studying movement as meditation,

ritual and its role in cultural change.

I started to teach Ashtanga and then

Vinyasa, as well as travelling to India

annually to go deeper into yoga and

movement meditation forms.

Fast forward and I found myself in

a transformation period of my life: I

had broken my pelvis as a third series

practitioner, my mother was dying of

brain cancer and I was evacuated from

my cabin in Topanga during wild fires —

old structures were falling away. My

allegiance to the inner prana is borne out

of these challenges, which gave me

courage to evolve. I have just returned

from India for the 15th time and feel the

experience of the inner flow of Shakti is

nourished and deepened every time I

return. 

Teaching and deepening my studies

around the globe has given me a global

perspective of the cross-cultural power

of movement. The power of breathing

and moving together brings out the best

in everyone.

AYJ The way you teach encourages the

student to be mindful as you play with

movements that might feel unfamiliar

(compared to a ‘standard’ asana class).

It feels like a ritual. How important is

ritual to you, and how do you integrate it

into your life? 

SHIVA As I travelled around the world,

I started to understand ritual as a

rhythm in life — a vinyasa of natural

opening, sustaining and closing a

process. For a flow class, we create that

with the sequencing of the namaskars.

Within the first 20 minutes of class, you

are in synch with the movement

meditation and, like surfing, that is

where all the joy and skill unfold more

effortlessly. This doesn’t mean less

challenging, just not full of effort. It is

easy to make yoga hard ... intelligent

activation can be integrated with

natural joy.

AYJ A big part of the philosophy and

experience of your teaching is FLOW.

How do you stay in flow when things get

challenging, in practice and in life?

SHIVA Once you become a ‘student of

flow’ in life, being out of synch starts to

feel like a choice, as every part of your

yoga practice on the mat — from the

flow of breathing, movement and

awareness — registers disruptions to

the flow. So, like surfing, yoga has

helped me be present to staying

connected to the flow even when the

waves are choppy. Being a student of

flow is to read the waves of life as they

are unfolding in real time and shift to

the living current. I just try to stay

attuned with my breath flow all day and

let that oscillate my whole body without

feeling inhibited.

AYJ If you could give your beginner yogi

self one piece of advice, what would it be?

SHIVA Remember every outer teacher

you have can only direct you to the inner

teacher — the teacher of the teachers.

From the very first breath you are

connecting to that teacher and that has

nothing to do with your level of practice

but how receptive we are to a direct

relationship to life.

AYJ What is the origin of the Prana Flow

Pranam that you are offering in this issue? 

SHIVA When I was 21, I spent some time

in Bodh Gaya on the prostration boards

that face the Bodhi Tree where the

Buddha sat for his awakening. It is a

board with mittens so that you can

slide and be in a flow with all the

other pilgrims before you. I kept that

root practice alive as a treasured

movement meditation and, for the past

few years, I have started teaching the

evolution of that prostration that

evolved in my home practice as the

Prana Flow Pranams.

It integrates the principles of prana

flow of fluid oscillation, non-verbal flow

and inner listening, and at the same

time can be quite strong and dynamic or

very relaxing and therapeutic. Prana

flow pranams integrates backbends,

forward bends, core strength and

therapeutic bonding with the earth in

deep relaxation. It is now part of Yoga

Journal’s International Yoga Day

offering of 1-108 pranams around the

world and we are also focusing on

September 21st for Global Mala with

UN International Peace Day.

INTERVIEW

Om