Images of the Hindu god Shiva are almost ubiquitous in yoga settings and with good reason - many consider him to the be the yogi's Yogi. One of the most common representations seen in the context of yoga is of Shiva Nataraja, Shiva as the King of the Dance. Encircled by a ring of flame, his luxurious locks unbound and whirling around him, Shiva dances with one leg raised, the other foot breaking the back of a dwarf embodying ignorance. The symbolism of each part of the image is multi-layered, and if you're interested in learning more, click here.

Sometimes it can be difficult for Americans of European descent to connect with this ecstatic figure whose very dance is essential to the process of life and death, becoming and unbecoming, yet, European traditions are not bereft of such deities. The Greek god Dionysos is very similar to Shiva Nataraj. The first time I heard of the connection I was in Italy at a week-long workshop focusing on the sacred goddess dances of the Southern Italy. While there, a dramatist and Italian shaman named Angelo Tonelli worked with the group on some of the ecstatic rites of the Mediterranean region. He mentioned the connection between Dionysos and Shiva, both of them steeped in paths of wild ecstasy balanced by intense reflection and meditation. Other scholars have also suggested a connection between the two gods, including the great artist-turned-philosopher, writer and Shaivite initiate, Alain Danielou. His book Gods of Love and Ecstasy: The Traditions of Shiva and Dionysus is on my reading list.

In her work Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the history of ecstatic dance in Europe and then "Western" culture, showing its earlier stages and its eventual repression as the ascendancy of a twisted expression of Judeo-Christian belief stifled any attempts at collective passions. Fear tactics were common ways of squashing communal dance, whether they were threats of eternal damnation or, later, the fear of crowds and mobs as chaotic forces just waiting to burst into riot.

I find it interesting that in America more and more people are becoming immersed in the flow of yoga and that Shiva Nataraja is seen everywhere, from the large statue in Sacred Space's lobby to bumper stickers and t-shirts. Perhaps, it's a collective soul yearning to dance down the paths of ecstasy with our hair unbound, our arms whirling, and our feet breaking the back of ignorance, fear, and malevolence once and for all.