Source: Homegrown.co.in.
INDIA – A glimmer of the setting sun reveals crossing points where the rope twists around a torso. Amiya’s voice looms sanguinely above the lo-fi beats, cajoling the trussed bodies to breathe through the pain while flickering candles keep vigil. “When you do kink, you always sort of go into this space which is not reality,” Amiya observes. This altered state of consciousness or flow has been reported to induce lower cortisol levels and psychological stress in people trying out Shibari and other similar kinds of bondage.
“I want to build a community where like minded people can explore this art in a safe space.”
Amiya Bhanushali
Simply put, Shibari involves tying someone up for a healing experience that detaches them from the overworked, intellectual part of their brain and enmeshes them securely within the here and now.
Studies have proven that this Japanese underground kink is analogous to the mindfulness of yoga or meditation. “There are erotic aspects to it and other artists practise those,” Mumbai-based Shibari facilitator and freelance tattoo artist Amiya Bhanushali opines, “but I feel like Silly Hands is very much on the softer, more loving side.”
(more…)