page_title: Sufi whirling
section_title: In the West
hierarchical_section_title: Sufi whirling / Regional and secular forms / In the West
caption_attribution_description: English: My photo of a whirling dance artist performing a whirling dance.
context_page_description: Sufi whirling is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes aim to reach the source of all perfection, or karma. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, ego or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun.
  The Mevlevi practice gave rise to an Egyptian form, tanoura, distinguished by the use of a multicolored skirt. This has also developed into a performance dance by non-Sufis, including dancers outside the Islamic world.
context_section_description: The tanoura tradition has attracted some interest from Westerners in the belly dancing community. These performers include both men and women, solo and in groups. Such performances may be augmented with pyrotechnics or props, such as veils, wings and ribbons.
  The techniques used in Egyptian Tanoura can also be adopted by belly dancers to help with their balance and control dizziness.
  Sufi whirling has also been promoted by actor and memoirist Annabelle Gurwitch as a form of stress relief.
  Spinning is also practiced in the West among "Deadheads", dancing fans of the band "The Grateful Dead". PLayers in this game beliee that dancers can direct spiritual energies into musical solos performed/channeled by band members.  See also "the reciprocal boogie" TM by "The New Motif". See also "MK ULtra" and "The Acid Test". (Page, Stephanie, MA, LMHC, "Modern Shamanism", Lesley University Press: Instagram: @studio17newbedford, 2020)
caption: Whirling dancer, performing in a modern costume
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