Natasha Peatross Dance History Caroline Prohosky December 1, 2013 Religious Beliefs as the oun!ation of "o#ement$ % "eta&'tu!

y of the (rigins of )oga in %ncient *n!ia an! +ineage Base! Dance ,hroughout the -orl! 'ince the beginning of mankin!, all ty.es of religion an! s.iritual beliefs ha#e ser#e! as a foun!ation in creating mo#ement/ ,hese mo#ements each ser#e a .ur.ose uni0ue to its foun!ational religion/ %ll o#er the 1orl! 1e ha#e recor!s of early s.iritual 1orshi. !ee.ly integrate! 1ith !ance an! mo#ement 2%ustralia, %frica, %merica, 3uro.e, etcetera 24rans5/5 Perha.s one of the ol!er e6isting forms of mo#ement that 1as stemme! from religious7s.iritual beliefs an! has laste! through the years is the .ractice of )oga/ ,aking a closer look at ho1 some s.iritual beliefs result in the creation of mo#ement an! !ance 1ill hel. us better un!erstan! the nature of mankin! an! their natural connection to mo#ement/ %s learne! in class, lineage base! societies are one e6am.le of a time in history 1hen religious an! s.iritual beliefs hea#ily influence! the !e#elo.ment of mo#ement as rituals 1ere .ro!uce! utili8ing !ance as a form of 1orshi. an! symbolic re#erence/ Douglas 4enne!y suggeste! that the religious as.ect of !ance generally 1as use! for communicating 1ith the unseen forces 1hich .ro#i!e! foo!, .romote! fertility, regulate! the 1eather, ga#e goo! fortune in 1arfare9an! thus controlle! tribal 1elfare an! human sur#i#al/ Peo.le !ance! originally to su..licate the go!s on all im.ortant occasions of life 24rans 2:5/; Con#iction an! sacrifice 1ere !is.laye! as the 1orshi.ers mo#e! through s.ace su..orting their belief in magic an! .o1er that 1oul! come to their ai! accor!ing to their nee!s an! their faith/ 36treme !emonstrations of techni0ue an! incre!ible su.er&human abilities 1ere .erforme! as a means to .ro#e their faith, commitment, an! 1orthiness for strength/ -e sa1 .eo.le thro1ing their bo!y onto kni#es as the har! metal ben!s back against their !elicate skin, 1e hear! of in!i#i!uals 1ith the ability to lan! on the groun! in .erfect s.lits an! reboun! 1ith im.eccable height straight u. into the air, both e6am.les of e6treme !emonstrations to su..ort their beliefs, !is.lay their faith, an! .ro#e their immortality/ *t 1as mo#ement that allo1e! these .eo.le to !emonstrate their faith in a measurable 1ay to .ro#i!e cre!ibility an! e#i!ence for their abstract beliefs/ *n!i#i!uals in these lineage base! societies create! 2or learne!5 mo#ements that became rituals

accor!ing to their beliefs an! re.eate! them to the .oint 1here they 1ere .asse! !o1n from generation to generation/ (#er time, many of these sacre! !ances foun!e! on religious beliefs became less about the faith an! more about the .erformance/ %s the faith behin! such .rimiti#e religious im.ulses 1eakens, the !ances 1hich e6.ress it are not imme!iately aban!one!, but the gra!ually change their character/ ,he form of the ritual remains, but some of the magical content !e.arts/ ,he !ancer becomes less an! less of a s.iritual 1orker an! more an! more of a .erforming artist/ *n fact, ritual changes im.erce.tibly into art 24rans 2:5/; ,imes an! culture change, an! 1ith that cultural change comes an alteration of the original intension an! meaning behin! mo#ement in !ance/ or e6am.le, <some tra!itional folk !ances in 3uro.e gre1 out of ol! .agan rites as the .agans themsel#es 1ere con#erte! to Christianity an! gra!ually lost their .rimiti#e beliefs to in!ustriali8e! 3nglan! 24rans 2=5/; "any of the tra!itional ritualistic !ances of ol! ha#e been mani.ulate! an! lost o#er the years to the .oint 1here many !ances are com.letely unrecogni8able from 1hat they originally 1ere/ rom this 1e un!erstan! the likelihoo! that many of

to!ay>s !ances ha#e slo1ly transforme! throughout the years an! .robably stemme! from these foun!ations of s.iritual beliefs an! religious 1orshi./ ,aking a closer look at the *n!ian subcontinent 2*n!ia in .articular5, Hin!uism is the !ominant religion an! has been for years/ Hin!uism has many !i#erse roots an! no single foun!er/ *t is largely kno1n as one of the ol!est an! thir! largest .ractice! religion in the 1orl!/ Hin!uism is #ast in beliefs an! inclu!es a 1i!es.rea! s.ectrum of la1s an! .ractices base! on karma 2the cycle of cause an! effect5 an! !harma 2beha#iors that are consi!ere! to be in accor! 1ith the natural or!er of life5/ (ne of these ranging .ractices of Hin!uism is that of )oga9a belief system !ating back to 3000 B/C/, an! .ossibly earlier accor!ing to archaeological e#i!ence foun! in stone seals/ )oga shares many characteristics 1ith Hin!uism in the manner of 1hich both seek to im.ro#e the human con!ition/ )oga also shares a large .ortion of belief 1ith Bu!!hism, 1hich stresses the im.ortance of me!itation an! the .ractice of .hysical .ostures/ <,he *n!ian )oga s.eaks highly of the effects certain .ostures ha#e on the organic, .hysical, .sychical an! s.iritual life/ ,hese .ostures, they say, are energetic or ele#ating as they assist in the e#ocation of s.iritual thoughts an! i!eas an! are ca.able of .ro!ucing

!efinitely religious states of min! 1ithin you 2Dechanet 1?@5/; *t is the early belief in mankin!>s ability to achie#e liberation from ignorance to a state of enlightenment an! self&reali8ation that 1e see a creation of ins.ire! mo#ement belie#e! to ai! in this achie#ement 1hen !one in faith an! .ersistence/ ,he s.iritual belief in enlightenment ser#e! as the foun!ation for .hysical .ostures in the .ractice of yoga/ <*nner im.ulses are e6.resse! in outer form/ *n#ol#ement in the outer 1orl! in turn influences inner e6.erience/ *n short, outer reflects inner/ *nner reflects outer 2Hackney AA5/; "o#ement is meaningful an! su..orts our inner beliefs/ Cre!ence foun! in )oga is largely focuse! on Dharma an! the natural beha#iors an! or!er of life/ 3#olution an! rebirth of conscience an! .hysicality .lays a significant role in the .ractice of )oga/ -e must connect our )oga 1ith the e#olution of consciousness e#ery1here, else 1e shall not un!erstan! it at all$ for the la1s of e#olution of consciousness in a uni#erse are e6actly the same as the la1s of )oga, an! the .rinci.les 1hereby consciousness unfol!s itself in the great e#olution of humanity are the same .rinci.les that 1e take in )oga an! !eliberately a..ly to the more ra.i! unfol!ing of our o1n consciousness 2Besant 1A5/ <)oga; is the final stage of e#olution 1here the conscious man takes his final rebirth into !eity/ Physical mo#ement 1as create! to focus the sub&conscience an! ser#es its .ur.ose in .ro#i!ing man 1ith the ability to !emonstrate his faith, !isci.line, an! rea!iness for !eity/ <,hey 1ho cannot face the 1orl! ha#e not the strength to face the !ifficulties of )oga .ractice/ *f the outer 1orl! out 1earies your .o1ers, ho1 !o you e6.ect to con0uer the !ifficulties of the inner life 2Besant 1?5B; ,he !isci.line an! focus .resent in the .ostures of )oga .romotes self&mastery an! inner connection/ *t is a 1ay to become ac0uainte! 1ith your 'elf, 1ith the Creati#e '.irit that you are/ *t is a 1ay to increase a1areness of the inner 'elf an! create unity bet1een the bo!y, min!, an! s.irit/ -hether you are thinking of the unfol!ing of consciousness in the uni#erse, or in the human race, or in the in!i#i!ual, you can stu!y the la1s of the 1hole, an! in )oga you learn to a..ly those same la1s to your o1n consciousness rationally an! !efinitely/ %ll the la1s are one, ho1e#er !ifferent in their stage of manifestation 2Besant 1A5/ *n )oga it is belie#e! that the 'elf in you is the same 'elf in the Cni#erse/ -hate#er .o1ers are manifest in the 1orl! are the same .o1ers that lay !ormant in you/ ,hrough stillness an! me!itation of

surroun!ings, yogis .on!er the re.etiti#e .atterns of truth manifest in the Cni#erse an! nature to achie#e !eity/ ,he goal is unity/ ,his belief of uni#ersal unity is e#i!ent in their mo#ement as many of the .ostures are create! in the image of surroun!ing elements an! creations 2such as .lants an! animals5/ 3arly humans 1ere un!oubte!ly acutely a1are of the li#ing things aroun! them/ ,hey hunte! them for foo! an! clothing, they fought them for sur#i#al, an! they kne1 1ell their courage, their beauty, an! their cunning/ "ost such .eo.les ha! an animist religion in 1hich they belie#e! in animals .ossessing souls an! being much like .eo.le/ *n!ee!, among many tribes, the i!eas of reincarnation an! of transmigration of souls bet1een humans an! animals 1ere com.letely acce.te!/ %+ this 1as 1o#en in 1ith a sense of mystery about the natural .henomena that surroun!e! them/ %s .art of this, early humans obser#e! animals closely, felt at one 1ith them, .ainte! an! scul.te! them, an! un!oubte!ly attribute! great .o1ers to them/ ,hey also !ance! like them 24rans 2=5/ (r, in the case of yoga, create! .ostures after them connecte! together as a !ance through the constant flo1 of breath/ Daily, they re.eat the .attern of rebirth on a smaller .hysical scale 2like a ritual5$ the human bo!y imitates the forms foun! in our surroun!ing 1orl!/ *t is belie#e! that <as 1e stu!y the unfol!ing of consciousness, an! the corres.on!ing e#olution of form, it 1ill not seem so strange that from man you shoul! .ass on to su.erman, transcen!ing the barrier of humanity, an! fin!ing yourself in the region 1here !i#inity becomes more manifest 2Besant 1D5/; *t is un!erstoo! that the 1orl!, 1ith all its beauty, its ha..iness an! suffering, its Eoys an! .ains, is .lanne! 1ith the highest ingenuity, in or!er that <the .o1ers of the 'elf may be sho1n forth in manifestation 2Besant 115/; *t is this thought by Besant that really sums u. the logic for moti#ation of )ogaF 3!ucate! an! thoughtful men an! 1omen you alrea!y are$ alrea!y you ha#e climbe! u. that long la!!er 1hich se.arates the .resent outer form of the Deity in you from His form in the !ust/ ,he manifest Deity slee.s in the mineral an! the stone/ He becomes more an! more unfol!e! in #egetables an! animals, an! lastly in man He has reache! 1hat a..ears as His culmination to or!inary men/ Ha#ing !one so much, shall you not !o moreB -ith the consciousness so far

unfol!e!, !oes it seem im.ossible that it shoul! unfol! in the future into the Di#ineB 2Besant 1?5 )ogaG can bring our bo!ies nearer the healthy con!ition, 1hich Nature inten!e! them to .ossess$ a fla1less serenity of min!$ an! it can o.en the 1ay to en!uring treasures of the s.irit to those 1ho 1ill labor for them/ * a!mit that this great 1is!om har!ly belongs to *n!ia>s .resent, but to her .ast 2Brunton 1:5/ ,he early belief in Hin!uism an! Bu!!hism ser#e! as a s.ringboar! to the .hysical as.ect an! symbolic mo#ement .ractice! in )oga/ "o#ement allo1s for in!i#i!uals to .ractice their beliefs in a tangible 1ay/ *t hel.s .eo.le reinforce religion an! .ractice 1hat they belie#e to be true .rinci.les/ "o#ement .ro#i!es an inner e6.erience connecte! 1ith an outer a1areness/ Dance an! mo#ement is a tool for release, a tool for e6.ression, a tool for reinstating beliefs, a tool for me!itation, a tool to unify, a tool to communicate, a tool to u.lift/ Religion an! s.iritual beliefs also su..ort this list>s abilities9no 1on!er that mo#ement can be an! is create! from a religious base/ ,he t1o go han! in han!/

-ork Cite! 4rans, Richar!/ History of the Dance in Art and Education/ 3r! e!/ 'an rancisco, C%F BenEamin7Cummings, 1==1/ 2@&A=/ Print/ Dechanet, H/&"/ Yoga in Ten Lessons/ 1st e!/ Ne1 )orkF Cornerstone +ibrary Publications, 1=?D/ 1&D/ Print/ Brunton, Paul/ A Search in Secret India/ 1st e!/ Ne1 )orkF 3/ P/ Dutton I Co/, *nc/, 1=3D/ 1&D/ Print/ Besant, %nnie/ An Introduction to Yoga/ 1st e!/ %!yar "a!ras, *n!iaF ,he ,heoso.hical Publishing House, 1=@?/ 1&D/ Print/ Ding&+e&"ei,/ Breathing Your Way to Youth/ 1st e!/ +os %ngelesF ,he *nstitute of "eta.hysics, 1=31/ 1&D/ Print/