My journey with whirling and somatic movement began during a challenging time.
I was feeling trapped in my marriage and weighed down with what seemed like endless responsibilities.
Although I was enjoying motherhood, I felt like I'd lost my passions and wasn't being the best version of myself for my children.
I just wanted to feel more spontaneous and alive, to have a sense of who I am beyond life's expectations of me.
One summer, I visited family in southwestern Türkiye, where most of the community are nomadic Alevi from Konya. They have preserved their traditions and superstitions to this day.
During that visit, I attended a wedding in the village, where the tradition is for the bride to slowly whirl for four hours, while her friends and family join her intermittently as part of the ceremony.
Around the same time, one of my Halas (my Aunt) also passed. We held a traditional Alevi funeral for her in New Jersey, conducted by the Alevi foundation.
I was deeply moved by the profound simplicity of the ceremony, which was led by the Dede, a wise elder of the community.
Hala's life was celebrated through live music played on the Baglama, a plucked string instrument, accompanied by an Ashik, a bard/storyteller.
This experience of my culture was both familiar and foreign to me.
As I watched my proud young cousin at her mother’s burial, dressed in her knee-high boots and western clothing, I couldn’t help but be inspired by how she showed up as herself in all her vulnerability. It made me question;
What does it mean to belong?
How is community relevant to us today?
What do we hold on to from our traditions and how do we integrate that today?
This was how the whirling dance and the Sema first spoke to me.
With a background in both dance and yoga, I studied dance professionally at Roehampton Institute and dance teacher training at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
I also have an extensive background as a yoga teacher, with 15 years of experience. The whirling dance came very naturally to me, particularly as it was something I loved to do as a child, especially outside. When I look back, it is almost like I was grounding myself in my body!
During this transition, I went through a spiritual awakening and an awakening of my nervous system. Coming into who I was outside of my formal identity. It has been and continues to be a process of intense healing.
I had the feeling that I was meant to be doing something else, something that was different from the identity I had.
As it unfolded, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was living in the past. I realised I was afraid of the next step because I didn't know what it would be.
I knew that I was a natural mentor and very passionate about dance and its curative aspects.
I knew that I needed to step out of my comfort zone and listen to my inner calling.
And as I started whirling whenever I had a window of time to myself– just 20 minutes a day was enough– I began to see things shift.
Firstly, it subtly changed my mood; if I felt heavy emotionally, I noticed I would cry. Not sad tears but more like tears of awe, and I felt light and joyous after whirling.
I noticed I could access my emotions with more clarity, I understood what I was actually feeling.
I felt closer to myself and more present in my body. I focused on being present rather than perfect.
Most of all, I stopped feeling alone. I felt genuinely connected to the oneness of it all and I spent more time in nature.
As I journeyed deeper into my practice, guided by the mentors I have been blessed with, a whole new reality opened up to me.
I felt intoxicated with rapture and love. I looked different—more alive, somehow.
I became more playful…less heavy.
More animated and more in the moment.
Over the years, I have seen my students go on the same journey to discover inner balance and step into their passions in a heart-led way through the flow of the whirling dance.
It's been so amazingly transforming for me that I want to share it with the world!
I want to create awareness about this empowering dance - a dance that is, in fact, culturally perceived as a rebellious practice.
It is a celebration of the body and of reclaiming one’s rightful place as part of the oneness. Whilst it is an ancient remedy, what is important to me is bringing it into the contemporary setting. That's why Somatic Whirling Dance also includes embodiment practices to cultivate presence so one can experience the dance in all of its fullness.