belly as drum

"today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.
don't open the door to the study and begin reading.
take down the musical instrument.

let the beauty we love be what we do.
there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

these 12th century words reverberated through my classroom at the university this afternoon.
all students' eyes closed as i recited this rumi poem several times.

then, we all gathered into a large circle around the lecture hall.
curtains drawn and lights out, room dark and mysterious, vibrating with anticipation.
students have become accustomed to not knowing exactly what to expect in english composition class. their teacher recently resolving that life is too short and precious not to come fully alive and open the channels of creativity, infusing inspiration into every possible teaching moment. since said epiphany, the classroom experience has not been the same. music fills the halls...embodiment is key...and comfort zones are expanded each and every meeting. not a moment is wasted.

in our circle, we breathed deeply in and out together, sighing loudly on the out breath, letting go of stress and tension, as we have been doing since the first day of the semester. a new addition, however, the waking of our bodies by stamping our feet, shaking our arms, sounding "aaaahhh" with our voices, and playing our bellies like drums!
after the laughter died down and the timing felt right, i instructed the students to turn their backs to the center of the circle so they could drum against the wall or continue to use their own bodies as percussion instruments with no anxiety of others watching them. the room was a mix of nervous excitement and childlike giddiness.

i had cued up the song "zahrafat al sa'ld," which translates as "rejoicing in upper egypt," by the musicians of the nile. seven minutes of pure ecstatic drumming. i pressed "play" and away we went.
participation began tentatively at first with only a couple of kids diving in right away...most seemed unsure whether or not to let loose...since when do we drum against the wall, let alone our bodies, in a korean university classroom?!! gradually the energy of the doumbeks dissolved all inhibition. the students began to tap against the wall, some gently, others wildly...hands gravitated to drumming on their own bodies...hips began to sway...feet and legs started moving in time to the rhythm and the room was rockin'!

after the last drum beat sounded, we all turned back towards the center of the darkened room in silence. breathing together in unison once again for several minutes; there was a strong sense of aliveness, awakened bodies/minds, a sizzling experience of energy rising...and awe. when the students returned to their seats, they wrote stream-of-consciousness for five minutes, as we do at the beginning of every single class after listening to a piece of music. what they expressed on paper, i will never know, as that kind of writing is for their eyes only, but from the sparkling looks on their enlivened faces and the "wow, teacher!" from more than one, we shall be drumming again...and soon!

ah yes....may the beauty we love be what we do!



sufi dancers...whirling dervishes...