Dancemeditation does not require learning steps. Students who
try dance meditation claim feelings of pleasure, relaxation, integration
and healing. Wrote Psychologist Tom Anderson, Ph.D.: "...Dunya's
workshops go beyond both dance and our common notions of meditation
to create a new form, melding the natural delight of the body
with the natural freedom of the spirit."
Dancemeditation is both juicy, pleasurable exercise and creative
exploration. There is a paradoxical feeling of personal spaciousness
as well as warm friendliness and intimacy. Dunya's presence generates
an atmosphere of trust. The boundaries are clearly but subtly
drawn, the transitions are smooth and relaxed, the attitude supportive.
Feeling at ease, participants can let go of defenses. This allows
the body to release tension and the psyche to explore and expand.
Bring a mat and wear comfortable exercise clothing.
A pioneer and innovator in the field of Dancemeditation, Dunya,
aka Dianne McPherson, has summered on Chebeague since childhood.
(Her parents, Joan and Mac Hulburt, have the Yellow House on Ricker
Head.) A faculty member of various colleges including Barnard
College, Amherst College, Montclair State and others, Dunya has
conducted workshops and retreats at numerous centers throughout
the USA and abroad for over 20 years. She holds a BFA in dance
from the Juilliard School, MA from Lesley University and teaching
certificaton in Sufism from Adnan Sarhan, director of the Sufi
Foundation of America. Her forthcoming book, Door for the Dervish,
is a literary memoir about dance as a spiritual path. She has
most recently taught at Swarthmore College and Kripalu Center.
--
Dunya Dianne McPherson
Director, Dervish Society of America
http://www.dancemeditation.org
DSA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the path of evolutionary
Sufism providing development and exploratory inquiry into embodied
spirituality and community connection through service, performance
and practice opportunities. Donations are tax-deductible.