Dunya/Dancemeditation Enews, March, 2004
Seminars, Announcements, Practices & Pleasures
http://www.dancemeditation.org

=================== In this Issue

--->Quotes of the Month
--->Course: MOVING in SENSATION * Cape Cod, MA * 2/21-5/15/2004
--->Seminar: RICH INNER SANCTUM * ATLANTA, GA * 3/5th -7th/
--->Seminar: SPIRITUAL BELLYDANCE * NY, NY * 3/28th
--->Announcement: SUMMER MOVEMENT MONASTERY * PA * JUNE 10-19
--->Practice of the Month
--->Anatomical Information: Spine
--->Testimonial of the Month

===================

Quotes of the Month

"Sometimes you have to
Do the Not Doing
in order to Undo
the Overdoing."
-- Dunya Dianne McPherson

"Whatever they can't do on their belly, they're going to have trouble with in a higher pattern, meaning higher level from the floor. You can come across a movement problem on the vertical plane, someone standing, and trace it to a developmental pattern that can be worked through lying on the belly (horizontal plane)."
--Sensing, Feeling and Action; Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

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Course: MOVING IN SENSATION * Winter/Spring Series
CAPE COD, MA
3/20 * 4/24 * 5/15
11am - 2pm
Mary French Studio, Rte. 28A & County Rd., Cataumet, MA

Spinal wave motion, breath, released stretching & explorational motion to increase sensation and enjoyment of your movement. Expanding into juicy dance!
What to bring:
Yoga mat. Wear whatever you love to move in. Make sure you have layers to be completely warm during resting periods.

REGISTRATION
Single session: $25 by previous Monday; $30 after
By Credit Card: through website http://www.dancemeditation.org
By Check: made to: ‘Dervish Society of America’
& mail to: Jayne Bissonnette, PO Box 3006, Waquoit, MA 02536
INFO: Jayne, 508 540 6974

===================

Seminar: DANCEMEDITATION
MARCH 5th -7th
ATLANTA, GA

Fluid Yoga
Dancemeditation
Spiritual Bellydance
Sufi Healing

This workshop traverses a variety of dance territories: lush, serene Fluid Yoga to open your body & center attention; contemplative mudra dances; the unfolding of slumbering pelvis and spine into detailed, sensuous vibration; spacious, releasing exploration of movement to expand your body’s resonance with universal forms. Chanting and whirling may arise from the unfolding of subtle energy. All periods of action are intertwined with deep resting.
Immersion. Celebration. Beauty.

Performance on Friday March 5th at 8:15 pm
Saturday; 10am -5:30pm
Sunday; 10am - 2pm
Cost: weekend (includes performance) $100 in advance; $120 at the door
Performance only: $10

REGISTRATION
By Credit Card: through website http://www.dancemeditation.org
By Check: made to: Peachtree Yoga
& mail to: Peachtree Yoga Center, 6050 Sandy Springs Circle,
Atlanta, GA 30328
INFO: Debra (770) 995-4992

===================

Seminar: SPELL OF THE SENSUOUS: Spiritual Bellydance
4-7pm , 3/28th, 2004
Dharma Yoga Center, 297 3rd Ave, at 23rd St., NYC

Fluid Yoga
Veil Work
Hip work
Zaar (catharsis)
Elegant embodiment & Development in the Sufi Subtle.

Please bring a hip scarf and a silk veil.

REGISTRATION
$25 by 3/20; $35 after
By Credit Card: through website http://www.dancemeditation.org
By Check: made to: ‘Dervish Society of America’
& mail to: Dunya, 250 Elizabeth St. #7, NY NY 10012
INFO: 212-226-2114

===================

Announcement: SUMMER MOVEMENT MONASTERY
JUNE 10-19, 2004
LOCATION: Sonodor Retreat Center, Belle Vernon, PA

Ten-day Retreat. Intensive relaxation, rejuvenation and cleansing. Embodied spiritual re-attunement.

INFO:
http://www.dancemeditation.org/schedule.php
212-226-2114

===================

Practice of the Month

Balanced Layered Spine

This is one more variation on detailed spinal focus in the passive horizontal twist. Let the limbs fully relax and concentrate your motion into the torso. As you continue to work bring your awareness more deeply into the spine. Be aware of the feeling of your movement. You'll experience a lot of muscular releases as well as energetic stimulation. This is very deep core work that strengthens and attunes the spine, nerves and organs. If a full spinal twist is uncomfortable, you can place pillows under your knees so the twist is less pronounced. You want the twist to feel like a mild stretch, not a painful wrenching.

1. In spinal twist on the floor, rest and breathe. Come to center. Rest and breathe. Twist to other side, rest and breathe. Come back to center, rest and breathe.
2. Twist right leg over the left, and lower both legs to the floor over to the left. Arms open on floor spread eagle.
3. In the twist, do a slow rotation in the pelvis. Let that settle in richly until it is velvety, like stirring cake batter until it's smooth.
4. Then add a layer of movement. Retain the pelvic rotation (always noting the direction of the rotation; stay with what is organic but be aware; and be willing to shift direction if it wants to). Now begin a gentle undulation starting at the top of the spine, swallowing direction. Let that motion of the wave/undulation melt into the rotation at the bottom. These two motions will have different ways in which they find one another. Like jumping rope it can be a little tricky to start the wave. It may stop short of feeding into the pelvis or may bounce off. Continue and watch its progress.
5. Come back to center and rest, being aware of how you feel. Go to the second side when you are ready.

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Anatomical Information: Spine

"The vertebral column has important dual functions. On the one hand, it can bend and rotate in many directions, thanks to its 23 intervertebral articulations. In this respect, its mobility can be compared to a tape measure, in contrast to the limbs, whose angular movements resemble those of a folding measuring stick.

On the other hand, the vertebral column contains a central tunnel through which runs the delicate spinal cord. The nerve roots which supply the muscles and bring in sensory information branch off the spinal cord and exit through small openings between the vertebrae. Thus, the vertebral column has an important protective function, and it is essential that the vertebrae remain properly aligned and stabilized even during complex movements or stresses.

The dual function depends on a finely integrated system of mostly polyarticular muscles, which are either deep (composed of numerous small bundles) or superficial al (usually arranged like broad sheets). There are also numerous ligaments holding vertebrae together."
--Anatomy of Movement, Blandine Calais-Germain

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Testimonials of the Month

"The practice of Dancemeditation has literally helped bring me back to life in the last two years. Through radical acceptance of myself on so many levels, I am shedding aspects that are no longer necessary for my survival; thus, now are a hindrance to my growth. My heart has never felt so healthy and so open. I can see and accept others and myself with more honesty than ever before. The Beloved has come to me again, and we get to dance in many forms and within so many people.

I could not be where I am today without Dunya and Dancemeditation. Dunya has repeatedly invited me to open, trust, and grow in profound ways. My body and mind are both more pliable, each becoming more like willows. More often than not, I can go into the group practice and whatever I need to clear or "move" in order to grow gets incorporated without my distinct ego asking. The practice sessions and the formal and informal gatherings with group members form a gestalt that meets a lot of my needs.

Within the process, I am reclaiming my femininity and my role as an embodied Goddess. I feel myself as a woman who is filled with love, when I am dancing and moving in this space. I feel sacred and safe as a woman (except when the camera's are flashing) - allowed to be honored in all of my movements and in all of myself.

When the music is turned up and I move my hips in rhythm with the beat, something both sacred and primal opens. I know my place as a woman who is connected with the Beloved. In this frolic, my heart reaches Essence and we move in a dance as old as when time began. I feel met, whole, reborn, beautiful, graceful, invigorated, sensual, and sexual. I feel both loved and loving.

The results of this work are being richly woven into my personal and professional life in many forms - integrating many relationships.

Moving with breath and gratitude,"
Sita Lewi, Houston, TX

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And that is the end of our newsletter. Thank you very much!