Savvy Raj

Live Life Lovingly!


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Creative freedom

Is there a free space to be heard

Where you can speak

Without fear and judgement.

Without doubt  and hesitation

Is there a space that’s free

To move as you want to

Unrestricted and uncorrected

By unwanted influences & interferences

Such spaces are the need of the hour. 

With the world getting more and more materialistic and withdrawn  and people truly becoming less communicative although connected  by technology  in every second , the human need to be heard becomes more and more necessary  for somewhere  it is drowning  in the  hustle and bustle of an ever busy world.

And as for creative freedom well each every  moment  offers infinite acreative flow that is awaiting your expression. Choice rests with you  what you do with it .

Would you agree ?

Savvy


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What is dancing to you?

Dancing to me

Is being in love with life

In every moment there is a dance

Of joy waiting to be found.

Savvy


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Thankful for Dance

To dance is to move with all of you.

To dance is to have hope in the living.

To dance is to feel the spirit of life in the movement.

To dance is to know the value of time.

To dance is to feel the rhythm in the beat.

To dance is to sense the subtlety of life.

To dance is to acknowledge the life in every moment.

I share a capture of one of the International Dance Research Congress, that I was honoured to have attended in Athens.

Today is celebrated as the International Day of Dance…

Yet everyday I am thankful… and deeply grateful to the art of dance in bringing positive difference to my life.

Thankful to dance in my life, & all the wonderful people I have been priveleged to meet, connect, learn & share my passion for dance… 🙏✨

©Savvy Raj


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Coherence  Part 2 

Much happens in the sounds

Much happens in the silence

For it is never still

The troughs and crests

The highs and lows

The swing and the sways

Are all but a dance of waves

Of energy in the flow of life

Asserting in the ascent

And subsiding in the descent.

Shaping itself in the changes.

Much like notes of music

Coming together in coherence

And the spaces between notes

Making music to those

Who care to sense.

All parts to the same whole

Finding meaning  in itself.

Finding purpose for itself.

Such is the circle  of life.

Savvy

This is part 2 of my painting  interpretation of Coherence inspired  further from the two interesting comments  by   @Katiemiafredrick and @Simon here


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Mystique of movements

To dance is to flow

To move with ease

Of connection.

The mystique of this art

Is in its movements

As much as in its magic.

Movements that speak

Where in the blink of an eye

The dancer and the audience

Are linked to emote and sense

The  magic of the moves.

©Savvy Raj

Watch

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/FrwfucfsdhtWruVR/?mibextid=oFDknk


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Music & Creativity

Inculcating a habit of listening to music regularly, or even practicing music by learning to sing or playing an instrument, can improve your creativity.

Learning anything new can spark new neural pathways and bridge old learnings in associations to ignite unique creative expressions.

As far as music it is a holistic experience with benefits much beyond its entertainment factor. The right music can heal and regenerate cells in our body.

Music can be a healing medicine for the body, mind and spirit. Personally, like for many of you, I love many art forms, like music, dance and painting, writing and singing because they have an immensely positive effect on me. It makes me whole again, ready to face a new day… For instance, I am fond of different types of music at different times of the day…often I sense how refreshed I feel after listening or singing to them.

At home every once in a while my daughter and I find singing mashups of old and new songs together on the Karaoke very rejuvenating…One thing leads to another, humming or singing some melodies while going through the day, makes the moments feel light. I also find listening to gentle, soft instrumental music while painting very enjoyable.

What are your experiences with music?

When was the last time you heard your favorite songs?

When did you do something creative while listening to music?

© Savvy Raj


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Fascination

I was drawn to watch this beautiful share this morning.

It is a capture of an every day phenomenon of Water drops merging into a water body.

So much beauty in the ordinary

The profound in the simple.

If we only took time

To notice and discover

We will know

How little we see

Of this dance of nature.

Savvy

And watching it in slow motion video….

Pure Fascination.


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Power of Sounds

There is something about sound
That the world again is waking up to these days…

Wherever you go
You hear the sounds of music

Healing through harmony
And the magic in the melodies.

Reviving and regenerating us
All is in the energy of the sounds.

Sounds that move us within & beyond
All effects of resonance in our cells

Sensing the sounds in stillness
Sensing in the movements too…

Music heals the spirit & soul.
Such is the power of sound.

© Savvy Raj


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A free flow…

An experimental poem

Yesterday evening, I asked my mother sitting besides me and sipping her tea, to share a few random words that came to her mind.

These are what she shared in the same order as she shared.

Time, Eternal, Free, Freedom, Connection, Heart, Destiny, Love, Emerging, Twinkle, Abundance, Garnering, Gather, Depth, Stardust, Voyage Spirit

Here is what I imagined in the dance of these words…

When Love is Destiny

Emerging in eternal time
Destiny twinkles on stardust
Garnering connections of  hearts
Voyaging free in the spirit of freedom.
Gathering abundance in the
depth of love.

©Savvy Raj


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Dancing with Prompts


As a dancer, I often use my dance education and experiences by associating concepts and find it helps me understand and evolve in the many life challenges and relate to the changing world.

In a world where almost everyone is interfacing with ChatGPT and AI and finding new and improved ways of  prompting  for  application of technology for every day use, I find some relevant associations here with partner dancing and technology.

Dancing  & Prompting has a lot in common
A dance with a partner is an action and response
More than a reaction. Likewise in today’s world  every day is a dance  with AI and our prompts are nothing but inputs towards an intelligent response than just a reaction.
The better the input the better the output.
Here I want to share a few thoughts for starters
Dancing with a partner is about being in tandem, one leading the way and one following without anticipation
Likewise prompting is about giving clear directions without ambiguity.
To dance is to set and hold the frame
In a good prompt setting the context and format helps to streamline the output.

In a dance the music sets the movements of the dance…
And in a prompt sharing the example of what it feels like helps clearer and relevant  output.

In a dance a leader can evaluate as you go which steps will work with which partner. Assessing the dance space available helps in evaluating the flow. For there are no second moves… Whatever you do decides the dance flow…  And you are free to improvise your self as you go along

Likewise in prompts evaluation helps check what is working and tweaking it gives better quality output.

When a dancer is a professional Dancing a single step  may feel fluid but in breaking down the steps it’s easier to understand the flow.
In prompting dividing the steps well into multiple steps  connected  to a certain goal will give desired results.

Be it a dance with partner or with words for AI when you have a clear intention and purpose and are able to communicate what you want and where you want to reach,  in easily understable  and suitable way not only will  you reach your destination  You will enjoy the journey!

©Savvy Raj


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Sensing Serendipity

And just like that, come s along a moment with heartfelt words, that makes you grateful for the life lived. 

Every moment is full of possibilities
Every thing you choose to do
Leaves impressions in the sands of time.
Stay true to being you…
Life turns memorable.

Have taught many people to dance in my life.And yet…

I remember this student well, as well as all  the workshops I conducted. It was a decade or more ago when I taught  some Corporate Jive Workshops to a creative set of Designers. We stayed connected over the years on FB and LinkedIn.
We wished each other occasionally  on birthdays and celebrations. That’s all … Unril I happened to really notice the love this student had for bikes and I sent a simple message of best wishes and safe travels…
And voila I get this message today that for sure makes my day!
A lesson here…
Stay connected .
Be interested & reach out and express appreciation for things others do..
Celebrate life .. Trust life to deliver the very best!  It often does!
Let go expectations!
Great things happen quite unexpectedly!
And most of all, never underestimate the power of dance and music …. ✨✨

Savvy Raj

#danceforlife #livelife
#danceteachers #appreciation
#intentions #gratitude #thankfulthursdays


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Strengthen your feet

Sitting for long hours at work can be rather stressful for those who have sedentary work. In such cases taking good care of your feet health is very important for your heart and overall health.

What can you do besides wearing comfortable shoes, soaking your feet in warm salt water after work,
massaging your feet from time to time.

However when at work you can
incorporate a simple practice of taking a short walk every one hour to break monotony and reduce the impact of long hours of sitting in a chair.


As a Ballroom dance teacher I used some simple props for my students to help strengthen their feet.

Elevating your feet when ever possible, can reduce pressure on the blood vessels, lowering fatigue and release stress.

One is simply rolling a tennis ball under your feet for a few times in a day to release the strain and
tension.

Another easy way is to
have a small terry towel under
your feet and to try to lift it by
scrunching your toes.lt helps
tone, stretch & ease your feet
muscles.

They are both easy to carry and can help you do a feet workout as you work.

Do try and let me know if it helps.

©Savvy Raj


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Music & moods

Play on…

When you are in the mood for music, play on

When you are feeling low, play on

When you are exhausted and tired and you want to revive your mood play on

Music is therapeutic and the healing
nature of sound energy can be tuned
into to change your mood & manage
emotions and lift your spirits.

Take some time to create an upbeat
playlist that perks you up and
engerizes you and get up from your
chair to move arounda bit.

Take a short walk every once in a while. with some great music for company..It will
bring a spring in your step and smile
in your heart.

In fact for every part of
the day, you can have a playlist of
your own choice. Take time to create
yours… if you haven’t already and do
listen… The right music makes a
powerful difference.

Play on…

Savvy


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The dancing dew

Dancing dew… Photo by Savvy Raj

The sun is shining…
And yet the weather is so cool & nice. A gentle breeze is blowing every now & then, it’s so very refreshing!


As I was finishing my yoga practice with some balancing exercises… Standing with one foot on my mat and staring straight ahead, I spotted it.

The dance of this single dew drop balancing precariously on the branch of my lemon tree. Swaying in the wind.
I kept witnessing it’s beauty & while I winded my practice, it kept me rooted in rapture. I just had to capture it for eternity…😊
As the dew drop danced with gravity and the wind. I hoped it would still be right there when I went to get my phone.


I fiddled around to adjust my camera hoping to catch its glory sooner than later… 💙

This is my first photo of a dew drop…

What a beautiful morning! 💕 Hope you too find extraordinary joy in the little things of life… ❤️
Wishing you a blessed day!
🌼🫶🌼

©Savvy Raj


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Joy of Dance

At the 49th World Dance Congress UNESCO Mumbai. 2018. My lecture presentation on The Relevance of Dance Education in Communities to a distinguished world audience from the field of Dance and Dance Research.

I spoke about how learning to dance brought out massive changes in marginalised communities, senior citizens and also recited in a poem format, my learnings while teaching dance to Visually impaired school children.

There is so much power to movement to encourage, to give hope, and empower a life to sense the possibilities in their potential beyond situations and circumstances.

This image came up as a great reminder of that beautiful day five years ago.

At the heart of it all is the love I have to share the joy of dance movements. I have had some amazing experiences along the way over the last two decades of being a dance educator. I have enjoyed every bit of it. The learnings and the sharings.

Suffice to say that after all these years though I have moved to doing many more things along with my writings, the simple joy of dance will always keep me happy at heart.

©Savvy Raj