My first exposure to Ecstatic Dance is one of my earliest memories. As a very young child I loved to spin barefoot on the summer grass until I fell to the ground from pure exhaustion. Other kids would have to stop from dizziness, but not me I could just spin and spin and spin. I later reconnected with my joyful twirling while touring with The Dead. They called us Spinners, we never actually saw the band we’d just line the hallways at the entrances to the arena and dance all night to the faint echoing sound of Jerry’s guitar.
Now fast forward about twenty years or so. You remember that amazingly accepting girlfriend I spoke of in my first article? Soon after we first started dating she invited me to go dance with her and a few of her friends. In my mind I envisioned an evening of myself surrounded by adoring females (Are you seeing a pattern here?) all patiently awaiting their opportunity to trip the light fantastic with this master of the dance floor. She asked that I meet her at a local dance studio and to wear something comfortable. Upon entering the studio I encountered several comfortably dressed women sitting or lying on the wooden floor of this darkened room, one of which was my girlfriend. I sat down next to her and she quietly instructed me to remove my shoes.
Soon one of the comfortably dressed women asked everyone to form a circle seated on the floor. She introduced herself as the dance facilitator and went on to welcome any first timers to the dance tribe; I think she was talking to me, which surprised me as I really thought I was blending. She explained that the style of dance is called 5 Rhythms and what we would be dancing tonight was something called a Wave. She went on to say that The Wave is broken up into five distinct sections or rhythms. The first is something called Flowing followed by Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and ending up in Stillness. She then asked everyone to stand up and join hands for a short prayer.
It was at this point that I began to survey the room to determine what my escape route would be as I was pretty sure this amazingly accepting girl was in reality a recruiter for some satanic cult. Just then the music started and the women began to move to the slow melodic world beats. Having not fully finalized my exit plan, I decided to continue with my blending rouse and began copying the women’s movements. I watched the other dancers for awhile and realized that they were not actually dancing together, but that each dancer was experiencing their own individual dance. As the music’s tempo slowly grew I found myself being transported back to that feeling I had experienced as a child. As we moved through the different elements of the wave I began to feel that constant chatter in my head melt away and as weird as it may sound I felt as if my movement became one with the music and experienced a total state of relaxation, I shit you not.
After that experience I was hooked. I joined the local dance tribe for its weekly gathering and then started signing up for weekend long workshops with touring instructors that would come into town. The way I explain it to my less enlightened friends is to imagine yourself at a bar, its 1:30am, the bands finishing up its last set and there’s no possible way you’re getting laid tonight. The band starts to play your favorite classic rock tune and you begin to flail around floor doing something that resembles an epileptic seizure.
Fast forward again to November 2012 (I promise this is the last fast forward) my girlfriend comes to me and says that she’s just been informed that this amazing 5 Rhythms Instructor/Shaman she has studied with in the past will be facilitating a 5 day workshop in Olympia, WA to usher in the New Year. It was like a light went off in my head. This was just what I needed to set my intention for 2013 and blow off all the negativity built up during 2012.
Now it’s the Friday before New Year’s Eve (OK, just this one last one) as we land at Sea-Tac International Airport. Just as were pulling out in our rented Nissan Versa what do I see, but two young dudes walking down a major boulevard just a toking on a hashpipe right out in front of God and everybody. I knew this must be a sign that my quest was true. When we got to the dance studio we are greeted by a whole cavalcade of freaky people that would put Austin hippies to shame. “There was long ones, tall one’s, short ones, brown one’s, black one’s, round one’s, big ones, crazy one’s”
We danced that night with a tribe of about seventy fellow wayfinders and I was sure that this was the place that would illuminate my cosmic path going forward. The next day was long and hard, but I knew that everything was leading me in the right direction. I left the dance studio that night both physically and emotionally exhausted, but feeling assured as I fell asleep that soon my life’s true purpose would be revealed.
I awoke about 3am with a strange feeling. Could this be the divine intervention I had anticipated? I sprung up from the bed and quickly assumed Downward Facing Dog. (Insert the sound of a needle being dragged across the surface of a record or for you younger folks a skipping CD) For the next ten gut wrenching hours I prayed face down (sometimes ass down) to the Porcelain Goddess. It turns out at some point along the way I had picked up a nasty stomach virus and spent the next three days unable to hold down anything more than an ice cube. I rang in the New Year with a whimper, instead of a bang.
Well folks I had quite a bit of time to reflect on all the lessons I had learned that weekend and here’s the conclusion I came to. No matter how hard you try to manipulate the world around you to what you think it should be, the Universe will always find a way to let you know who’s really in charge. So you might as well just kick back, relax and Take It Easy, Man.
Now fast forward about twenty years or so. You remember that amazingly accepting girlfriend I spoke of in my first article? Soon after we first started dating she invited me to go dance with her and a few of her friends. In my mind I envisioned an evening of myself surrounded by adoring females (Are you seeing a pattern here?) all patiently awaiting their opportunity to trip the light fantastic with this master of the dance floor. She asked that I meet her at a local dance studio and to wear something comfortable. Upon entering the studio I encountered several comfortably dressed women sitting or lying on the wooden floor of this darkened room, one of which was my girlfriend. I sat down next to her and she quietly instructed me to remove my shoes.
Soon one of the comfortably dressed women asked everyone to form a circle seated on the floor. She introduced herself as the dance facilitator and went on to welcome any first timers to the dance tribe; I think she was talking to me, which surprised me as I really thought I was blending. She explained that the style of dance is called 5 Rhythms and what we would be dancing tonight was something called a Wave. She went on to say that The Wave is broken up into five distinct sections or rhythms. The first is something called Flowing followed by Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and ending up in Stillness. She then asked everyone to stand up and join hands for a short prayer.
It was at this point that I began to survey the room to determine what my escape route would be as I was pretty sure this amazingly accepting girl was in reality a recruiter for some satanic cult. Just then the music started and the women began to move to the slow melodic world beats. Having not fully finalized my exit plan, I decided to continue with my blending rouse and began copying the women’s movements. I watched the other dancers for awhile and realized that they were not actually dancing together, but that each dancer was experiencing their own individual dance. As the music’s tempo slowly grew I found myself being transported back to that feeling I had experienced as a child. As we moved through the different elements of the wave I began to feel that constant chatter in my head melt away and as weird as it may sound I felt as if my movement became one with the music and experienced a total state of relaxation, I shit you not.
After that experience I was hooked. I joined the local dance tribe for its weekly gathering and then started signing up for weekend long workshops with touring instructors that would come into town. The way I explain it to my less enlightened friends is to imagine yourself at a bar, its 1:30am, the bands finishing up its last set and there’s no possible way you’re getting laid tonight. The band starts to play your favorite classic rock tune and you begin to flail around floor doing something that resembles an epileptic seizure.
Fast forward again to November 2012 (I promise this is the last fast forward) my girlfriend comes to me and says that she’s just been informed that this amazing 5 Rhythms Instructor/Shaman she has studied with in the past will be facilitating a 5 day workshop in Olympia, WA to usher in the New Year. It was like a light went off in my head. This was just what I needed to set my intention for 2013 and blow off all the negativity built up during 2012.
Now it’s the Friday before New Year’s Eve (OK, just this one last one) as we land at Sea-Tac International Airport. Just as were pulling out in our rented Nissan Versa what do I see, but two young dudes walking down a major boulevard just a toking on a hashpipe right out in front of God and everybody. I knew this must be a sign that my quest was true. When we got to the dance studio we are greeted by a whole cavalcade of freaky people that would put Austin hippies to shame. “There was long ones, tall one’s, short ones, brown one’s, black one’s, round one’s, big ones, crazy one’s”
We danced that night with a tribe of about seventy fellow wayfinders and I was sure that this was the place that would illuminate my cosmic path going forward. The next day was long and hard, but I knew that everything was leading me in the right direction. I left the dance studio that night both physically and emotionally exhausted, but feeling assured as I fell asleep that soon my life’s true purpose would be revealed.
I awoke about 3am with a strange feeling. Could this be the divine intervention I had anticipated? I sprung up from the bed and quickly assumed Downward Facing Dog. (Insert the sound of a needle being dragged across the surface of a record or for you younger folks a skipping CD) For the next ten gut wrenching hours I prayed face down (sometimes ass down) to the Porcelain Goddess. It turns out at some point along the way I had picked up a nasty stomach virus and spent the next three days unable to hold down anything more than an ice cube. I rang in the New Year with a whimper, instead of a bang.
Well folks I had quite a bit of time to reflect on all the lessons I had learned that weekend and here’s the conclusion I came to. No matter how hard you try to manipulate the world around you to what you think it should be, the Universe will always find a way to let you know who’s really in charge. So you might as well just kick back, relax and Take It Easy, Man.
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