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Got Balls?! Poi Balls, that is! by Titanya I’ve always been a child at heart. I was a late bloomer, and always the youngest in my class...almost a year younger than all the other kids. From the very first day of school in Kindergarten, life felt difficult. Perhaps it was the way the school system grouped us together stifling our individuality like we were little soldiers...like we were all the same. Perhaps it is because I am a Lavender life color. It is a life color than resonates with nature. It revolves around imagination and the unseen realms...not the rigidity of a classroom with rules and regulations. Every day after school I would vomit until one day my mom found me. Of course she was very worried and went to the teachers to ask what could be wrong. They told her that I was a good little girl, that I never caused any problems, and that I never talked. Bingo! I went silent in a world that didn’t meet my individuality. I never had a Waldorf or a Montessori school while growing up; schools which focused on a child’s unique qualities. Through elementary and junior high I was shy and silent and escaped to my world of art and imagination. I developed a speech impediment, and had to take special classes. I had dyslexia and dyscalculia (difficulty with numbers and spatial problems) and was in the “slow kids” classes. And, as many of you can commiserate, I was always the last person chosen for sports teams in school. I hated P.E. and one of the reasons was because I wasn't a competitor. Thinking of being the very last one chosen for the softball team while growing up, still makes my triple warmer freak out. How I loved coming home to the safety of my room where I would stay! I would put on my loud music and dance away the stress. I pretended that I was popular and I would sing and dance for my dolls, as if I were on Broadway. Today I still have dyslexia and dyscalculia but I work with both through Energy Medicine. Unfortunately, in the early 1970's there was not a lot of help for children with learning difficulties and most students were put into one category of "slow". I wish I had Energy Medicine tools then. Mom was married to mine and Dondi's dad...a wonderful man in many ways but one who did not want her practicing Energy Medicine or any sort of "hocus pocus." So, I didn't get to learn the Energy Medicine skills, as a child that I have at my disposal today.
However, one wonderful thing to happen was that my sister and I were put into Polynesian dance classes after a trip to the South Pacific. I had always danced but was uncoordinated in the popular ballet classes where we again had no individuality. And, again I felt like we were little soldiers trying to leap with the grace of gazelles. My round body wasn’t ready for leaping and it came down with a plop. So, when I saw the island women who were round and curvy dancing to stories about nature, I felt home. I knew I had found my dance. In Polynesian dancing we learned Maori dances. Maori are the native people of New Zealand. Along with dancing and chanting, the Maori people use poi balls. Poi balls are cloth balls tied on the end of long strings that one can whirl and create figures with in the air. Long ago in ancient Maori civilization this was a dance, a meditation and a communication of the Maori women. As a little girl I began to get very good at playing with poi balls creating complex patterns and designs. Then something interesting happened. My mom observed my grades improving, my social skills getting better, my dyslexia lessening and my social life becoming healthier. I had been a loner...never really fitting in. But now I began to have more friends. My coordination and grace was becoming more apparent. My Mom took note and thought that there must be something to this ancient movement. When Mom started to study Touch for Health with John Thie and Gordon Stokes, she began to understand the incredible movement of the poi balls and the importance of figure eight patterning. Mom continued to observe mine and Dondi's poi ball play and realized that the cross-over movements related to the crossing over of the hemispheres of the right and left brain. She could “see” our energies crossing over. We’d also get happier every time we played with them. This all made sense to her and it didn't surprise her that our school work was improving. It wasn't until 20 years later that Mom asked me to bring my poi balls to a workshop.
I didn’t know what she was going to do, but Mom always springs things like this on me, and I just have to go
with her and trust it! As it turned out, I demonstrated poi balls on stage and Mom showed the audience,
through energy testing how my energies became stronger when I would swing the poi. If you’ve ever
seen the poi ball demonstration at one of Mom's workshops you know what an incredible tool this is, not to mention what
fun it is. It is an enjoyable way to substitute the “Homolateral/Cross-crawl Re-patterning”,
which can take up to 5 minutes and sometimes can be difficult for people. With poi balls, which follow
the same pattern…circles on the side of your body (as in “Homolateral”) and crossing over, making figure
eights on either side of your body (as in “Cross-over”) and most people have a fabulously good time doing it.
When they are swung, the Radiant Circuits (Strange Flows/Joy Generators) get turned on, as well. Swinging poi can also can help eye-hand coordination movements, allowing both sides of the brain to be utilized. The figure eight movements can be done in front of one’s body, on the sides of one’s body, high above ones head or wherever you can think of swinging them. Poi balls are a great tool for those that are in a wheelchair and can’t stand or move their legs for the “Homolateral/Cross-crawl Re-patterning”.
If two poi balls are too difficult, start with one poi and cross over your body with eights. This can help your energy tremendously, until you graduate to two balls. The idea is not to get frustrated, because your triple warmer will turn on and freak out! Remember, this was an ancient meditation tool. Take a break, and breathe. Do the “three thumps” including the thumps below the eyes, which are associated with worry (stomach points). Become one with the poi balls. The construction of the poi ball is interesting. My mom says that because of the weight and the pull of the ball at the end of the string, they build up the aura and protection field around the body. I believe this happened to me when I was little. I have always been sensitive to energies (people and environment) and whenever I would play with my poi balls, I’d get happier, stronger, and more empowered to face whatever stood in my way. This reminds me that my aura has been weakened, due to my last year’s illness. Gotta’ get my poi balls out and have some fun! I have introduced poi balls to thousands of people and I have seen amazing shifts in people’s energies, from the moment they pick up a pair of poi. Children find it natural to have fun with the poi and they like creating new moves. Additionally, it can be very gratifying for a child to make their own poi balls. I have gone into schools to help the kids make their poi balls. I teach them about the ancient Maori ways...the singing and the chanting. Then we chant their poi into being. Telling the children about the history of the poi and the Maori natives of new Zealand is important, as they can have establish a respect for the poi balls, themselves. Mom and I have gotten great feedback from people about their kids with Aspergers syndrome, Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia. The kids have a longer attention span, their ability to learn accelerates and their joy becomes greater. If you have a teenager who is struggling with life and perhaps you can’t get them to do any Energy Exercises, you might want to get them a pair of poi balls, which they can later convert to fire poi (many teens are intrigued by the fire poi). The poi might help them to balance out and find a new talent in the meantime! Adults benefit from the poi as well. I have received feedback that using poi balls can help with carpal tunnel syndrome and range of motion in the arms. Personally, I have found that when I am depressed if I swing the poi outside in nature I can flip my energies around so that I am prepared to face the day in a happier more joyful way. The history of poi is rich and sacred. It is a beautiful honoring to the Maori people of New Zealand. The Maori people have an immense respect for the poi. There are ceremonial poi movements and there are the movements done in performance with song (chanting) and facial expressions. To dance with poi is to become one with the poi. I have heard many stories of how the poi came into being. One story was said to be a meditation and conversation between women at the times when men were having their meetings and women were supposed to be silent. I have also heard that poi balls were created so that women’s hands would be flexible for weaving. The men learned poi and brought it into their pre-war routines to train mentally and physically for battle. When the poi was used for physical training there was a hard egg or stone sewn into the rope for strengthening their wrists and honing coordination. The poi is so many things…It is danced for war, to tell stories of the Gods, for conversation, to flirt between lovers, to calm the baby in a mother’s tummy, to honor the turning of the seasons, in exercise, and in many rituals including the building of a house, and for peace. Ngamoni Huata in his book- the Rhythm and Life of the poi, says “Poi can be anything you want it to be.” Today, we see many representations of poi from traditional poi, fire poi, streamer poi and poi on chains. Many people excitedly tell me of toys they had when they were little that were similar to the poi. In South America, the Argentine gauchos whirl "Bolas" which are hard balls attached to strings (like poi). They strike them on the floor, making rhythms as they dance to display their talent. There are also numchucks, from martial arts, which use similar movements of cross-over patterns. The art of the poi is exploding all over the world. I am so grateful to the Maori people for this ancient gift of the poi. Little did they know where the poi would go! I am grateful to these indigenous people of New Zealand who seem so in tune with the land, the earth, the seasons, the flow of energy and the power of emotions. With this connectedness to a very deep and spiritual place they have given us the gift of the poi which aides them in all aspects of life. May the poi aide you in life and may they bring you happiness, joy and a greater sense of health and well being. Keep your poi balls with you at all times; you never know when you will need them! And keep them away from your dogs! Go forward and swing poi! Titanya
Monique Dahlin is a multi-dimensional artist, a certified Waldorf teacher, a professional
dancer, story teller, award-winning speaker and stage actress. She is known for her one-woman mythological
dance dramas. Titanya assists holistic health pioneer and Mother, Donna Eden in Eden Energy Medicine
workshops and has created many of the energy exercises used in Eden Energy Medicine. She also leads her
own popular form of movement, based on the work of Eden Energy Medicine called, Energy Medicine Dance. Titanya has two popular
DVD's; "Energy Dance" and "The Energy of the Poi." She is a graduate of
the Donna Eden Energy Medicine Certification Program and is the "Eden Energy Movement and Activities Director" of
the program. Titanya has studied many healing modalities as they relate to dance and movement. In 1996
she created Five Element Belly Dance which incorporates the ancient Chinese five element system and Middle Eastern dance.
She and her sister, Dondi, teach annual resort workshops in this very unique style. She is also co-writing, Energy Medicine
for Kids, with her Mother.
Poi balls are for sale on Titanya's website for $15 a pair. You will also find the DVD- "The Energy of the Poi” which has 13 different exercises with instruction, as well as the history of the ancient poi dance of the Maoris’. www.AwakenDivineEnergy.com A wonderful website, that Titanya loves, is www.HomeOfPoi.com, where you can connect to the worldwide community of people who twirl, perform and play with Poi. |
