Innerdance Practice with Anfisa Chekhova

On October 21st, at Sanya Marriott Yalong Bay Resort and Spa a practice of Innerdance was held in Hainan with Anfisa Chekhova and a group of participants. Anfisa herself shared with us what this practice is about and why it's so important nowadays to shift the focus onto oneself.

SeaViewHainan.com: Tell us about this practice. What is Innerdance and Kundalini energy?

Anfisa Chekhova: This teaching originated in the Philippines; its founder is Pi Villaraza. At the age of 25, without any money and without telling any of his family or friends, he woke up one day and simply walked away from all known comforts, in a state of absolute trust.
For a year, Pi went on a walking pilgrimage around the island of Mindanao. After spending almost a year there, he moved to the island of Palawan and settled on a beach called Kalipay, where he spent another 2 years living a very ascetic lifestyle.

Here, meditating every day and surviving almost solely on coconuts and bananas, Pi reached a special state of consciousness in which a powerful stream of energy was revealed to him. This is what we now call the Innerdance practice. According to the legend, while in the state of Innerdance, this powerful energy stream was transferred to a fisherman who touched Pi, demonstrating the potential to be a conduit for this energy if one's own energy is powerful and cultivated.

The goal of such practices is deep connection with oneself and inner transformation. During Innerdance, the blocks that prevent the free flow of energy within the body are intended to dissolve (activation of Kundalini energy).

SeaViewHainan.com: How did the idea to conduct such practices come about? What did they give you personally, as a participant, that made you want to become an organizer?

Anfisa Chekhova: I encountered this practice when I was going through a very emotional period in my life. At that time, I was overwhelmed by a cocktail of emotions: sadness, grief, resentment... I felt a need to learn how to cope with these emotions, to somehow pacify them within myself. They greatly interfered with the normal flow of life, as if tearing me apart from the inside.
And that's when I discovered Innerdance – I came to my, now, teacher simply as a girl open to a new, interesting practice, and it truly helped me. Every time I went to a session with a heavy heart, but returned completely calm, looking at the world as if from a bird's-eye view. My mind was peaceful, and I had a certain feeling of understanding this world.

SeaViewHainan.com: So, an effect similar to psychotherapy?

Anfisa Chekhova: Yes, absolutely. The only difference is that no one was listening to me, like a psychotherapist would, no one prescribed any medication. I simply lay down and got up as a different person. Some scientists call this process self-regulation – when the body can regulate its own emotional state, its own immune system.
Time after time, going there, I felt relief, and in the end, it helped me get through difficult moments in my life and learn to be more emotionally balanced. With the help of this practice, one can overcome anxiety, and yet, people tend to live in emotions like fear and anxiety.

SeaViewHainan.com: How do you create the program and the atmosphere to allow people to truly reset and change something within themselves?

Anfisa Chekhova: Before the practice, I communicate with the group of participants – I explain how everything will proceed, what will happen while they are lying down with eye masks on. We all sort of attune ourselves to the shared practice.
Special music is also essential. It's a set compiled from several compositions and sounds, structured around circadian rhythms.

This is the structure of a musical wave that impacts and activates different parts of the brain, balancing the hormonal system. All of this is backed by years of research. This music seems to awaken the pineal gland and rouse our inner energy.

Each of us has this energy, and it sits with us at the base of the spine for our entire lives. Translated from Sanskrit, Kundalini means "coiled." This energy is often depicted as a snake coiled in a ring.

Kundalini often awakens in extreme situations, in a moment between life and death. For example, when a mother lifts a car to save her child. Alternatively, Kundalini manifests as intuitive insight – when a person senses approaching danger.

This is the energy that sleeps in our ordinary life.

SeaViewHainan.com:  What are the main "requests" and challenges that participants come to you with?

Anfisa Chekhova: We all live in a "work-home" world, and we are not in tune with nature or with our inner "I." The main request from participants is the search for themselves, help in coping with pain and resentment, and improving their quality of life.

SeaViewHainan.com: And do you track the results of your participants?

Anfisa Chekhova: My participants have fantastic results! For example, one girl accidentally ended up at a practice I was holding among friends. She thought she had just come to relax. And she came during a difficult period in her life – a tough financial situation, a lot of credit obligations. After the practice, she left with a renewed feeling, and literally immediately, her affairs started looking up. She shared with me that she thought it would take half her life to dig herself out of such problems, but everything was resolved and opportunities appeared literally within a year.

Another friend of mine completed two practices, after which she separated from her husband. She left with five children! She told me that after the practice, she realized she had been living without love, and the desire to have children was to provide herself with a source from which to draw this love. Later, she met a man who turned out to be a very worthy partner, a loving husband, and even a father to all these children.

In another couple, there were difficulties, and thanks to Kundalini, they sat down and talked about their desires for the first time in their lives.

There are many cases where health improvements occur after the practice. I often do this myself – if I feel like I'm getting sick, I lie down and do the practice.

Participants note that they start to feel more, see more, and their intuition is enhanced.

SeaViewHainan.com: Where and when will your next practice be held, and how can people find out about it?

Anfisa Chekhova: This information is available on my Instagram. Also, work on my website is nearing completion; it will have the schedule and all the information.

Additionally, I am now launching a subscription-based women's club on the Telegram messenger, where we will study astrology and I will share all the news.

SeaViewHainan.com: In your opinion, is Hainan Island a suitable venue for such practices?

Anfisa Chekhova: 100%! It has nature, tranquility, and complete relaxation.

This place is also ancient, with its own history, and the people are kind and good. In general, islands are the best options for holding retreats, practices, and the like – there is a special atmosphere and a unique spirit here.

SeaViewHainan.com:  What advice would you give to people in creative professions who feel burnt out and are looking for a way to "reset"?

Anfisa Chekhova: There is no better way than Innerdance!

Leave your phones behind, push all your tasks aside, and engage in Innerdance. After all, creativity and inspiration are born from the soul, and if you are burdened by problems and constantly carry a weight of responsibility, you cannot hear your soul.

Therefore, it is so important to learn to listen to yourself and connect with your soul.

SeaViewHainan.com:  Would you like to hold such a practice here on Hainan Island again?

Anfisa Chekhova: Of course, with great pleasure! Today, I enjoyed it no less than the participants! Everything was very beautiful today; we were on a lawn by the sea. In the Innerdance practice, we additionally use various instruments, including a large one I have that mimics the sound of the ocean. But here, that imitation wasn't needed—we all had a wonderful time today to the sound of the real sea surf. And I want to note that I usually feel tired after a practice, but today I feel truly energized! This is definitely the wonderful effect of the local nature.

We are grateful to Anfisa for the opportunity to witness such a practice firsthand and to learn about the concepts of Innerdance and Kundalini energy. We hope that Hainan will become a popular destination for people who want to escape the daily hustle and bustle and reset, as the island has all the necessary conditions for it