Dynamic meditation is a form of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

in which physical actions are involved. The term appears in the early 1970s when

Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed as a controv ...

's descriptions of his "Rajneesh Dhyan Yoga," developed at meditation camps in the Indian mountains, were translated into English. His prototypical method is still named "Dynamic Meditation." The term has come into more general use to describe any approach to meditation that includes movement: examples are Sama and

Haḍra Haḍra ( ar, حضرة, Ḥaḍrah) is a collective supererogatory ritual performed by Sufi orders. It is often held on Thursday evenings after the night prayer, on Fridays after jumu'ah prayer or on Sunday evenings, and can also be celebrated on ...

among the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

mystics, the

Gurdjieff movements The Gurdjieff movements are a series of sacred dances that were collected or authored by G. I. Gurdjieff and taught to his students as part of the work of ''self observation'' and ''self study''. Significance Gurdjieff taught that the movement ...

, in the Dynamic Body Awareness ( Conscience corporelle dynamique or Consapevolezza corporea dinamica) created in France by artist and anthropologist Martino Nicoletti and other

sacred dance Sacred dance is the use of dance in religious ceremonies and rituals, present in most religions throughout history and prehistory. Its connection with the human body and fertility has caused it to be forbidden by some religions; for example, some ...

s, ''

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

'' and the many exercises developed in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

, in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

those found in

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, and the

Latihan Latihan (from Indonesian ''latihan kejiwaan''; "spiritual exercise") is a form of spiritual practice. It is the principal practice of the Subud organization. Origin The origin of the practice is associated with Javanese "kebatinan" or "kejawen" ...

Subud Subud (pronounced ), acronym of Susila Budhi Dharma, is an international, interfaith spirituality, spiritual movement that began in Indonesia in the 1920s, founded by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo (1901–1987). The basis of Subud is a spir ...

History

Many cultures have traditions of meditative movement. Japan has Katsugen undō (regenerating movement exercise, 活元運動, かつげんうんどう), a Seitai exercise developed by Haruchika Noguchi in which one lets go of conscious control of the body and allows it to heal itself. In China there is also Zifagong, Re-do and Zi Ran Qigong. In Iran and Turkey there is Mevlevi Dervish or

Sufi whirling Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) ( tr, Semazen borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning ''listening'', from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, a ...

which originally was spontaneous and impromptu. The origin of Sama is credited to

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...

(Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), Sufi master and founder of the

Mevlevi Order The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...

. The story is that Rumi was walking through the town marketplace one day when he heard the rhythmic hammering of the goldbeaters. It is believed that Rumi heard the

dhikr ''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to reme ...

, "la ilaha ilallah" or in English, "no god but Allah" in the apprentices beating of the gold, and was so entranced in bliss he stretched out both of his arms and started spinning in a circle. With that the practice of Sama and the dervishes of the Mevlevi order were born.

Practice

Osho believed that cathartic methods were necessary, since it was difficult for modern people to just sit and enter meditation; "I never tell people to begin with just sitting. With a mad dance, you begin to be aware of a silent point within you; with sitting silently, you begin to be aware of madness."Osho, "Meditation, the Art of Ecstasy", Rajneesh Foundation, 1978 His "dialectical" methods alternate activity and passivity, adapting elements of ''

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

'' and ''

pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...

'', ''

latihan Latihan (from Indonesian ''latihan kejiwaan''; "spiritual exercise") is a form of spiritual practice. It is the principal practice of the Subud organization. Origin The origin of the practice is associated with Javanese "kebatinan" or "kejawen" ...

'',

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts ...

and psychotherapeutic

catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Osho Dynamic Meditation’s Effect on Serum Cortisol Level

NCBI The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...

, 2016 Nov Meditation

History

Practice

See also

References

External links