The idea for this article arose from the desire to give expression to the Yang force on all levels. I asked Manfred Rother if we could make recordings of the Gurdjeff workshop that he offers regularly for the Sangha in the modern monastery Gut Saunstorf.
This special Derwish choreography, which we then jointly rehearsed, has a strong Yang aspect. Fast, powerful movements that symbolically promote the warrior’s alertness, as fighting is always a matter of life and death, in other words: “One careless moment is enough”. In addition to the soft, flowing yin movements, the choreography is characterised by movements that suggest the wielded sword.
G.I. Gurdjieff was a Greek-Armenian spiritual master who taught in Russia and later in France. He became known as a teacher of the so-called Fourth Way. His entire teaching is highly practical. He strongly emphasised the importance of the body and working with the body as part of his teaching. An important part of this was the teaching of sacred dances and sacred movements, which he either adapted or created and choreographed himself in order to make them accessible to modern people. He also composed the music for the movements in collaboration with De Hartmann.
During practice, I was impressed by the concentration, the exercise of keeping the focus and the experience of synchronised movements. It is particularly exciting to see the Yang power flowing through men and women at the same time.
I am pleased to share this with you.
Rainer Losert (monastic community, Gut Saunstorf Monastery)
