presence Archives

So do you WANT to practice?
I am not being sarcastic or playing any tricks nor have I prepared a crazy Tango bootcamp practice routine… I am really asking.

Everyone says you HAVE to practice…
We even have the appropriate cliches for it: “Practice makes perfect”
Not to mention the set mastery time frames: 10,000 hours to mastery

Nobody has stoped to ask: Why aim for perfection? Why aim for mastery? What is the purpose in aiming and practising for those things?
Especially now in this world that almost everything seems to have been put on pause!

There are so many resources now online, everyone is doing a class, a practice even a virtual milonga; and that is amazing!
I have been doing this for a few years now; you can find so many practice videos here: https://bautanz.com/2020/02/23/argentine-tango-practice/
You can even do a course: https://bautanz.com/intelligent-tango-programs-and-courses/
But things have changed…

I feel a shift, a very strong shift in what we call practice in what we mean by practice.

Practice has almost lost its meaning… but it can get a different meaning, different substance and presence in our lives.

Before we were practicing to enjoy our dances more, to be more free and creative on the dance floor… to be more confident in the milongas.
To dance more. To become better dancers.

Not much point in all of this is there?
And this is sad and strange…
So I think that our practices now, can truly help us BE
Be more patient , more present, more grounded, more focused, more calm, more ready
Can help us keep moving and keep growing despite the haul
Become aware of what the human body is about… what it can do! Fascinating!

We can’t dance with others. But we can dance with ourselves.
And that will make us that much better when the time comes to go back out there and really HUG!

I suggesting you practice to be more YOU. Spend this time practicing and really enjoy moving. Use this time to throw away the stress and the insecurity by establishing a strong body awareness. Now that every little thing in our lives has changed, we can take a few moments every day, to find peace in what has been here with us for million of years and that is a body through motion.

You don’t need to practice. You need to invest!
Invest in yourself!

Join us on Saturday for a practice on Balance. We will be LIVE on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/652610942205175/
Or on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFlahLQPTMONLqjNV_qkjw

Practice your Tango not to just get better at it, not to forget, but to refocus, to energize your spirit, mind and bod

😉
Chrisa

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Wednesday 12:00pm… (a regular day turned to an experience of being)

It was an amazing day outside. And so I set out to go for a quick walk… 5mins… A quick breath out of the studio..!

The sun was bright and warming and the little sitting “garden” where I spent my summers last year, had expanded and looked beautiful and so I walked straight to it for a few moments of peace..!

But alas… The moment I sat down my fingers were reaching for the phone… I resisted and instead I looked at the other people, some in groups chatting, some alone reading the paper, having lunch or tapping on their phone.

I am not going to lie, it did feel uncomfortable, being there alone, doing nothing…

My fingers reached for the phone… I resisted…!
This time I focused on everything else around me…
The trees
The flowers
The people passing by
The squirrels chasing each other…

I listened to the sounds of the city coming, to the song of the birds, to the people chatting next to me…
(…turns out my Spanish have gotten better after all! haha…)

I just sat there…

I did nothing else aside from taking all of this in… And somehow through listening to the environment, to everything around me somehow that made me aware of where I was in that environment, made me feel a part of it.

My phone buzzed… I ignored it…
Instead I closed my eyes and turned to face the sun!
Feeling the warmth, listening intently, and doing nothing more than being present!

My phone buzzed again… Again, I ignored it…
I knew I only had one minute before I had to head back inside! So I allowed myself to just BE for that one minute.

I am not just sitting. I am Being..!

You are probably wondering what does all this have to do with Tango…
But for years, when I heard people saying things like: “I can just sit there and listen to the music…!”
I thought they were being pretentious, because I couldn’t figure out how someone can just sit there alone and not feel like a loser or at least feel embarrassed or frustrated…

But this experience was a little light bulb moment for me.
It was tough in the beginning to push away the discomfort of sitting there alone doing nothing and so I started doing something…

I listened actively, looked intently, and allowed myself to be present in that moment.

And so I am hoping to inspire you to do the same. To allow yourselves to BE in the environment of your garden, your home, your dance studio, your weekly milonga.

To listen actively to the music, to look intently at the dancers on the floor. And to hear the whispers, the laughter of the people beside you, the glasses ticking and the wine pouring.

Listen to the environment to find yourself present in that environment. You are not just sitting. You are BEING!

😉
Chrisa
P.S: If you want a drop of inspiration such as this one, you can get them now through Alexa: Drops of inspiration

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