Hello. There is a saying in Sufism. "From here we start." There is no experience required for these classes or particular background. For some it feels pre-destined and for others it grows on them but there is no background requirements except an open mind. I began in a very weak state and this was my vehicle to return to a really healthy way of living and feeling that incorporated movement and a sense of playfulness. The classes are led without force and although they combine a varying array of forms like yoga, belly dance, whirling, breathwork, rhythm, there are no set movements. The classes are more to do with the organic nature of awareness and how we shift from one movement to the next, from one mood to the next by concentration in the moment, and shfiting the energy, movement produces, until we come to a state of contentment and openness. It keeps the creativity alive and the vital force of the moment the focus.

Music is an integral part of the classes. It quickens the hearts desire for spiritual connection and playful expression. Adnan Sarhan accompanies his work with exquisite music from the Middle East. He also composed many songs of his own which inspire a very deep soft relaxation. The beautiful music of Om Kalthoum, Faruz, Farid, Ghazali, Abdul Wahab, Abu Awf, Shahidi, Banan and many more create an atmosphere of harmony and refined vibration. Spiritual music need not be simply about praying or homage to God. When it is deep and has a powerful connection to spirit, when the singer or musician is accomplished to a very high level it transports the listener even if we do not understand the words. Adnan also has developed drumming to a point where when it is listened to it can stop the mind and stop the time and many people have experienced very deep changes of being listening to his drumming. Many of us have had better sleep listening to his drumming than we have ever had. The right music can embody the spirit and inspire the emotions to become part of the yearning towards spiritual intimacy.

In the classes the movement varies between sweating and shaking to deep, slow and gentle movement with the breath. Each type of energetic activates the spirit by engaging the body with the mind and the feeling. In the intensity of concentration every movement, however simple can activate a very deep and subtle ecstacy and this is where the movement differs from other types of physical movement. The focus is not on the form but in the intention and the focus brought to the movement and every slow breath draws us into a greater awareness of how every part of us is feeling .

Sufism is a science of the soul. As human beings we can move in amazing ways, feel, think, breathe, collapse, aspire, create, express and when I go to Adnan's classes all of these forces we have are part of the work. It incorporates all of our faculties when we do these classes and explores the way they can be brought to a state of unification and how that impacts us when we finish the class and return home.

Dancing is not really accepted as a spiritual practise. Like yoga 40 years ago was a peculiar oddity, dance is emerging as a spiritual practise because it engages our body to express. In our culture of Judeo Christian values our bodies have been repressed and subjugated to a very limited allowance of motion, even to the point where even our most celebrated thinkers have made it a vehicle simply for the brain. Every ancient culture has gone beyond this kind of thinking to involve the body in the pursuit of spiritual wisdom. The senses are a powerful vehicle for spiritual growth if they are inspired in that direction. And once set upon this path create and embody the refinement of spirit and show us how to disengage the limitations of our belief systems and re-engage to a more natural and organic evolution of our souls.

Sound and vibration is part of the classes and we use the names of God in Arabic to awaken and draw to us energies of healing, mercy, intelligence, vitality, patience, guidance and peace. It is a science not a religion and like yoga effects a certain energetic in us without needing to be Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Jew. Every person with any kind of background can appreciate the effect of calming the mind, awakening the spirit and unblocking energies which were blocked and unaccessable. Chanting can inspire the very best in us to rise from sleep and regain our vital force so we can be free to overcome debilitating physical, mental and emotional conditions. It is a science to enliven our natural state of being.

The classes I do many people come because they love the veil and want to dance and learn how to use the veil. The veil can be like a partner, can be a mirror into the way we are. Working with them has so many benefits because they move us in ways we cannot plan for. They exercise every part of the body without feeling as if we are exercising. They help us overcome self-conciousness because we have them to focus on. They respond immediately to every feeling that moves through us as we move with them. They can show us exaclty when we start to think and fall out of the present. They inspire us with their lgihtness and color. They can reflect how the other exercises in the classes like the chanting effect how we move and feel. They can refine our ability to concentrate. They effect our performance in all kinds of other activities because in dancing with them we free up so many unused and blocked parts of our bodies and feeling. And they can create the magic of being ecstatic in the moment in a subtle and graceful way that releases even the deepest held tensions in the feeling, the heart and the soul.