Autumn Equinox ~ End of the PanEuRhythmy Season

Twelve dancers celebrated the equinox a few days early this past Sunday morning. We danced in Walnut Creek, California at the Heather Farms Park.  From the spring equinox until the fall equinox, I eagerly rise from my bed to dance barefoot on the grass in my backyard on weekend mornings.  The sacred circle dance is called PanEuRhythmy.  Twenty-eight movements make up the dance also known as "The First Day of Spring."  Each of the movements, though they might appear to be simple, carries a deeper esoteric meaning.  The music was composed by a Bulgarian spiritual master named Peter Deunov.

The forty-five minute dance begins with the song called Awakening, and ends with the blessing, Providence.

May the peace of God and the pure joy of God rise and rest in our hearts for ever

There are two more dances called Sunbeams and Pentagram that are done when larger groups gather each month during the season.  People from all over the San Francisco Bay Area meet to enjoy all three dances. This is my eleventh year to participate.   I do it because it connects me both to nature and with the heavenly universe.  There is an immediate afterglow that lasts throughout my day and often even longer.  For me the effect is similar to but better than the sense of well-being one gets after hiking, swimming or walking on the beach.

Some compare the benefits derived from the dance to those gained by yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, and of course, musical therapy.

Deunov lived from 1864 to1944.  He said "PanEuRhythmy is a great method for transformation and prepares our bodies, minds and hearts for the New Culture of Peace, Freedom, Justice, Harmony, Cosmic Love, Brotherhood and Sisterhood."

People are dancing PanEuRhythmy all over the world.  Thousands camp each August in the Rila mountains in Bulgaria to celebrate the sunrise and to dance in the largest circles of all.

You can learn more about it here www.paneurhythmy.org