Tonight I meditated to live drumming. I was at the Austin Shamanism Tribal Gathering.

I joined a circle of people, most of whom were drumming Native American style, using the same type of drum to pound a solid steady rhythm.

Then we  trance danced, with bandanas or scarves blindfolding us, to some driving shamanic rhythms.

I really got into it. I realized how much my body loves dancing, especially in this free form, where literally no one is watching, where I could stay rooted in pretty much one spot and just let my body move to the music the way that felt good and right.

I miss dancing. I stopped a couple of years ago to work on my body’s alignment issues. There was something else that just told me it was time to not dance. I’d trance dance every few months, and that was it.

Now I feel like I have had enough stillness of that kind. It’s time to dance again. The achiness and adhesions are not telling me to be still. They are telling me to move more.

After dancing, I found a place on the floor, got still, checked in, did a few stretches. Then I found a yoga blanket and rolled it up and sat in a corner while the drumming continued.

I noticed my crown chakra was very open, and at times I had a sense of a tube of energy/light from my crown down through the center of my body. The drumming also kept me very present.

I also had a sense of a shift that I don’t feel very articulate about, except to say that it’s a vast shift in how I pay attention. I would like to write more about this, and when it’s baked a little more, I will.