Yin Yoga taught me the quiet art of putting down what isn’t mine to carry. No more holding other people’s rules or expectations.

Just space. Just breath.

That’s where I found my freedom and my serenity.

That’s where I found the door to Rhythm-Walking and Moon Salutations.

I drew the drawing in Cortona, Italy, after Rhythm-Walking and practicing Moon Salutations in the mountains in my senior year at Cooper Union. Decades later, I continue this creative journey through halide photography, and painting, available on Fine Art America, and music for creative movement by Feels Like Rita for My Mojo Dojo audio space.

When I was twelve, an Aikido master in Colorado taught me to utilize the energy of another to deflect the body. He was about my height then, and able to throw off a number of physical opponents with ease and exquisite grace. That image taught me early that strength is not always force, but in how the force moves.

Qi, or chi, means energy. In Aikido, I learned not to oppose force, but to redirect it. Yin is the receptive aspect of energy. Not collapse–but allowing. Yielding so that force can move. In Yin Yoga, I work with that same principle in the body by listening carefully and completely to the body’s communication every step of the way during practice. No phones, no gadgets, no entertainment, just listening and responding.

I’ve tried all yoga styles. Each one is incredible and worthy of solitary study. In Yin Yoga, I have found an oasis of compassion that informs my art practice.

Rhythm-Walking liberates the core energetic flow of the body with immersive rhythm. Transcendence comes from connecting to this natural, irrepressible flow.

I noticed in a gymnastics competition that there was a natural flow to mat work and extended running sequences, like roundoff back-handsprings and aerials. This flow emerged on the basketball court when the team worked as a unit. The flow emerged again in African Dance when the drummers ignited an irrepressible groove the dancers moved to in unison across the dance floor. It is the same flow found in rhythmic long-distance walking with immersive DJ-style music.

I compose music and create curated playlists to ground and motivate.

Namaste,
Nisi Ariana

The Moon Salutation (Chandra Namaskar) sequence was created in the late 1980s by a collective group of senior female teachers at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. This beautiful order of transitions perfectly balances the sides of the body, and brings me deep equanimity and peace.

Step-by-step instructions, benefits, and contraindications