AllBright member Navya Sah works in the realms of film, performance, sound and writing. She is a 200 hour certified Yin Yoga teacher and contemporary dance improviser. She is currently working towards publishing her debut fantasy fiction novella. 

Every body is unique. We are all different. And for me, difference is not just accepted, it is invited.

In a world where we are obsessed with creating similarity, I love difference.

To me similarity of thought means subservience.

Similarity of body means lack of expression.

And similarity of two people, means less excitement.

The pure joy of life lies in difference. We as human beings enjoy irregularities of schedule, a surprise meal, a sudden coffee plan or a famous book converted into a new film.

No body likes monotony.

And our bodies are not monotonous.

They are different.

Why shall we all want to talk the same way, feel the same way and look the same way? Each and every body is different and has its own ways of functioning internally, externally, somatically and emotionally.

For example for me, each time that I am stressed or holding my emotions, I get an immediate stomach ache. My periods hurt a lot and I really can’t do anything on my first two days without painkillers. After years of denying that, I have come to accept these two things about my physical self. Similarly, each body has its own advantages, aches, pains and movement patterns too.

Our bodies are colourful and vibrant. That is how we are designed. So why should we all subscribe to similar ways of working out or letting go? Why should we subscribe at all or follow? Our bodies change and adapt according to so many variables – the weather, what we eat, how we sleep, how we are feeling emotionally; the biggest skill and advantage we can give to ourselves is sensing our body. This way, we can give it what it needs on a daily basis and nourish it. This is where the different forms of movement come in and play an exciting role.

Personally, the two forms of movement I teach and practice are Yin Yoga and Contemporary Dance Improvisation.

Yin Yoga is a meditative non-muscular practice based on the principle of variable anatomy. This means that it takes into consideration different skeletal frames and provides variations for each yin yogasana. In Yin, the beauty of the work lies in the time spent in a particular shape, as the body works on the colder tissues of the body like the tendons, ligaments, bones and fascia.

I like Yin because it is inclusive. Anyone can do it.

I teach it to seniors, teenagers, mothers – people from all walks of life. Yin helps to reconnect with oneself and does not discriminate in terms of body, size, gender, sexuality, age or any such dividing line. It does not subscribe to lines and in fact opens doors to worlds yinside.

Contemporary Dance Improvisation is a much more dynamic flow of the body that asks us to let go of our minds. Our minds often hold judgements about others and also about our own selves. With improvisation, we learn to dive into our own blood, skin, bones, emotions and the tinier parts of ourselves. There is so much somatic information to process that one isn’t left with time to make inconsequential opinions based on physicality. In improvisation, we use other bodies to inform our own movement and to create dramatic compositions. Therefore, we look at bodies as a source of knowledge and information and accept them with grace and gratitude rather than competition. This enables the feeling of an inclusive community practice where we all become one unit moving together.

This is what I like about these two body practices which are so different in aesthetic but so similar in principle. They include rather than exclude.

They invite rather than discriminate.

They are full of gratitude rather than judgement.

And that is how I see life. Life is beautiful because it is organically different and the separations flow into each other rather than fight or judge.

The night flows into the morning

as the clouds rain into the oceans

as the mountains meet the rivers

and sunlight turns into moonlight.

It is all a continuous motion,

which is constantly dynamic,

which is yinning into existence and movement.

Where differences meet to create a wholeness.

Find out more about Navya's work on www.navyasah.com and @lightlysessions and more about her book on @livystormloves