Life can be very present. This meditation workshop invites you to take a moment to yourself. It guides you to explore and dive deeper into your body and mind by drawing inspiration from the ancient ritual of Sufi Dervishes. 

Every object, every being, from planets and stars down to the protons, electrons and neutrons, whirl. Using the motion of whirling, this new form of meditation stimulates one to disconnect from what is around, to embrace the present and to release all the concerns of the past and future. 

 

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The journey of Dervish whirling (Sama) started over 750 years ago. Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, one of the greatest Sufi masters and philosophers, was seeking for the meaning of creation. He desired to find, get closer and unite with the One - or God, the universe, karma or whatever we want to refer to it.

In Sufi belief, the path to the One goes within one’s self by avoiding all kinds of earthly distractions, cleansing the body, mind and soul from unessential matters and deepening the knowledge of one’s self. As we get closer to ourselves, we get closer to the One. Love, compassion, generosity, humility and acceptance are essential guides along the path towards wisdom. 

Rumi realized that everything in nature revolves. He was awakened by the movement of the universe and transposed it into his body. His whirling practice -Sama- along the wisdom he spread, became a ritualistic ceremony years after his death. 

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To this day, Sama is reaching us as a ceremony and as a new approach to meditation. In the beginning of the 21st century, the traditional ceremony has been transformed by Ziya Azazi into a meditation technique.

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In this workshop, you will be guided by Işıl Bıçakçı. She is a Turkish choreographer, performer and instructor. After assisting Ziya Azazi with “Dervish in Progress”, she gathered the experience to spread the knowledge of whirling worldwide. Her approach to whirling as a meditation goes beyond spirituality. She combines psychology, philosophy and science in this 3-day workshop, Whirled Wide Dervish.

 

FOR WHO?

Whirled Wide Dervish workshop is open to people of all ages and it does not require any physical training or experience.