Ancestral rhythm moving 𖤓

“Come on, let’s go Ayesha,” my brother said, tugging at my arm.

I barely noticed. I was lost in the circle of people at Jama’at Khana*, where the evening celebrations were going strong.

*(this is the term we used for mosque or church.“Jamaat” is an Arabic word meaning to gather, and “Khana” a Persian word meaning house or place)

It was bordering on midnight.
I was 10 years old.
And I did not want to leave.

The space felt electric. Vibrating with the shared pulse of everyone moving together.

I was in dancing in a circle doing a version of dandiya raas, a traditional folk dance where people gather and move in patterns around a circle, striking sticks together in rhythmic timing.

Beads of sweat stung my eyes. I could feel connection, community, and tradition pulsing through my blood and bones.

The feeling of dancing rhythmically in community to a repetitive pattern was SO captivating and utterly entrancing, that I had completely lost all sense of time.

I had never felt SO connected, SO seen, SO joyful and alive.
My heart was pounding, my whole body was buzzing… it was honestly euphoric.

This was my first time experiencing what I now know to be a
🌀 trance-like state 🌀
through rhythmic dance and community connection.

And that feeling never left me. It planted a seed 🌱

A knowing that rhythm, when shared, can shift something deep inside of us. Bring us into a space where we are more connected… to both ourselves, and each other.

Trance-like states are now something I love weaving into my facilitation with women. In my containers, I bring women together to dance, move, growl sound, connect, and find rhythm in their bones.

We are not meant to go through this life alone, and when we deeply connect in community, we (re)awaken a visceral power within. Through witnessing and being witnessed in rhythm, movement, voice, and raw expression… we heal.

With love and rhythm, Ayesha xx

Online and in-person Somatic Processing Sessions — I’d love to welcome you into this wonderful therapeutic container where we explore the stories the body holds with compassion and curiosity.