Banafsheh Sayyad
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Awaken the 7 elemental forces within and around you — earth, water, fire, air, sound, light, and ether — through sacred dance, and summon them to dissolve physical, mental, or emotional imbalance... ignite a felt sense of your own divinity... and bring yourself into calm and coherence.
Be guided through sacred dance practices that activate the element you most need to release stress and remain balanced, grounded, and calm.
You are born of the Earth and the cosmos, a blend of celestial sensuality that offers many healing gifts — if you know how to access and wield them.
The Earth’s elements are always dancing in your cells with the infinite mystery and cosmic intelligence of ether, sound, and light...
... a powerful synergy of elemental forces that can ground and inspire your steps, and bring you into balance when you’re feeling anxious, disconnected, burnt out, or unsure of how to move forward in your life.
Acclaimed sacred dancer and embodiment teacher Banafsheh Sayyad — who is paramount in bringing the Sufi whirling dance to the West — uses dance to summon the Earth elements and draw wisdom, love, support, healing, and inspiration from this sacred and powerful wellspring of embodied spirit.
She’ll teach you her potent process for awakening and working with the life-giving elemental forces of the body and spirit — earth, water, fire, air, sound, light, and ether — in this empowering 7-week course.
The elements flow through us as powerful change agents of love that can purify us of the heaviness of daily living — and amplify the intelligence of the Earth and cosmos that permeates our cells.
When balanced, the elements reinforce our ability to regulate our own physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Too often, however, our elemental nature is imbalanced — too much fire, not enough water, etc. — which may result in pain, illness, overwhelm, chronic conditions, illness, and even dis-ease.
Banafsheh will guide you through sacred dance, conscious movement, breathing practices, meditation, chanting, mystical poetry, and wisdom teachings drawn from Sufi and Divine Feminine traditions...
... to summon the element that can best help you balance your body systems, release stress, dispel mental and emotional overwhelm, and reestablish a conscious connection with your body — and your divinity.
These include Sufi whirling, Persian dance, Tai Chi-inspired movement, Flamenco dance, Middle Eastern/tribal dances, and more. How does this work? Here are a few examples:
When you’re hot with anxiety or anger, summon the cooling power of water...
When your energy is low or you’re in despair, allow fire to enliven you...
When you’re too heavy (earth) from the demands and stressors of life, receive the buoyancy of air and be uplifted...
When you’re sad or feel isolated, call in the sacred power of light and sound to soothe and inspire you — and reconnect you with your inner divinity...
And when you experience burnout, stress, or overload, activate ether to open to new possibilities.
If you’d like to discover a sacred movement practice that allows you to tangibly experience life as it flows through your body, mind, and spirit and activates your sensuality and sovereign soul, you won’t want to miss this course!
In this sacred dance journey, you’ll:
- Summon the 7 elemental forces that are within you and around you — and their healing intelligence, love, and support through sacred dance
- Dance to raise your frequency into love and dissolve grievances
- Be guided through Sufi whirling, Persian dance, Tai Chi-inspired movement, Flamenco dance, Dance of Oneness dances, Middle Eastern/tribal dances, and more
- Summon through sacred dance the cooling power of water, the buoyancy of air, the alchemical power of fire, and more to ease anxiety and anger, calm your senses, uplift you when you feel heavy, and transmute what isn’t serving you
- Create unity, harmony, and coherence between your body, heart, and mind through the profound Sufi movement meditation of Sama (whirling)
- Learn how to ground yourself through dance when you feel disembodied, anxious, and fearful
- Gain deeper access to your inner vision, imagination, and intuition
- Embody your own beauty with radiant confidence
- Discover the changes that happen in your body when you set clear boundaries and accept “what is,” including with your body itself
- Turn adversity into passion and purpose for being alive
- Experience the sacred and the unfathomable in the still depths of your being beyond concepts, dogmas, conditioned activity, and all preferences
Knowing how to activate the right element at the right time, you’ll regain inner stability and balance — which allows you to heal while also instilling a felt sense of health, clarity, calm, strength, and capacity.
Embarking on this sacred dance journey, you’ll also repair your bond with Mother Earth as you get reacquainted with nature and discover the many ways you can return to nature — and your own true nature — through your mind, body, and soul and open to living sustainably and regeneratively.
As the founder of Dance of Oneness® and a gentle and adept transformational guide (who also radiates love and acceptance, former students say), allow Banafsheh to help you ignite a deeper connection between your body, the Earth, and your sacred essence, as you awaken the elemental forces within you and your true potential...
You’ll experience this firsthand as she guides you into the sacred sensuality of your own body where you’ll learn how to hold space for all that stirs within — light and shadow, joy and grief — and how to transmute adversity, pain, and sorrow into passion and purpose.
Through sacred dance you’ll not only discover your true strength, capacity, and beauty, but also your true self.
And with the help of the elements, begin to consciously embody all the wonderful qualities that make you who you are with confidence, coherence, and ease.
— Andrew Harvey, Bestselling Author: “I Believe That Banafsheh
Is Quite Simply the Greatest Living Teacher of Sacred Dance”
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Weeks
In this 7-week transformational course, Banafsheh will guide you through the fundamental skills and competencies you’ll need to awaken and learn to wield the seven elemental forces of your body through sacred dance for healing, peace, and coherence.
Join the Livestream — or Stream Later to Watch at Your Convenience
You’ll connect with Banafsheh and experience her teachings through livestreaming video via any connected device. This connection is easy to use and will enhance the impact of Banafsheh’s transmissions. Can’t make it live? After each class, you can stream the video and audio recordings to enjoy anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Weekly Sessions Thursdays at 10:00am Pacific
This course will feature LIVE teachings, interactive sessions, experiential practices, and Q&A with Banafsheh. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to activate the seven elemental forces of healing through sacred dance — earth, water, air, fire, sound, ether, and light.
Module 1: Earth Initiation — Awaken Your Body to Ground in Presence, Create Healthy Boundaries & Ease Anxiety, Overwhelm, and Stress (February 29)
Reconnecting to the earth element is more about doing less than adding more. Simplifying, letting go, and getting back to our most primal selves can serve as a way to feel grounded, rooted, and earthed.
Grounding can lower levels of inflammation, enhance the immune system, help wounds heal quicker, and gently treat chronic inflammatory conditions.
In this module, you’ll learn to ground yourself and establish presence in your body with a focus on form and technique. You’ll explore how to execute dance and daily life movements using the economy of movement to feel energized and to prevent injury.
Clear yourself of busy forgetfulness and fragmentation, so you can come to see and feel and know the blazing truth that all is love. Dedicate your dance as a prayer to Gaia, our precious Earth.
This week, you’ll:
- Discover how to ground yourself through dance when you feel disembodied, anxious, and fearful
- Connect deeply with the Earth and access the stability and security of this connection
- Become present and focused — and become more adept at dealing with mental and emotional overwhelm
- Discover the changes that happen in your body when you set clear boundaries and accept “what is,” including your body itself
- Be guided through the “Weave” and Middle Eastern/tribal dances
Module 2: Water Initiation — Release Resistance to Transform Anger, Increase Flow & Become More Adaptive and Resilient (March 7)
Enter the element of water in this module as the inner space and the realm of the psyche, the unconscious, emotions, and feelings.
What is water like? Water is life-giving and generative — it’s fluid and flows continuously. It’s cooling, refreshing, purifying, nurturing, and nourishing. It’s resilient and adaptable, taking the form of what it’s poured into yet always free, always maintaining its own identity.
You’ll get in touch with how your body is 50 to 70% water (depending on your age) through fluid movement inspired by Tai Chi and Dance of Oneness “Waves” and “Infinities”...
... and embody the oceanic Goddess Aphrodite through liquid, sensual movement that unveils the fountain of the water of life within.
You’ll:
- Summon the cooling power of water through dance to ease anxiety and anger — and to calm your senses
- Let your creativity flow by being fluidly present in your body
- Come in touch with how your body is 50 to 70% water
- Be guided in Tai Chi-inspired movement and Dance of Oneness “Waves” and “Infinities” to get into the flow and become more fluid
Module 3: Fire Initiation — Transmute Lethargy, Depression & Uncertainty Into Passion, Joy & Enthusiasm for Life (March 14)
This module takes you into the fire element as passion, transformation, creativity, destruction, and resurrection.
You’ll learn basic Flamenco as the alchemical dance of fire, sparking the transformation of shadow content into art and the transmutation of lead into gold...
... and how to use fire as a tool to uplift yourself during moments of low energy, sadness, depression, uncertainty, or despair.
By summoning the energy of fire, you can transmute these emotions, sparking enthusiasm, passion, and unconditional joy. Ultimately, this exploration empowers you to activate a fiery resilience, transforming adversity into vitality and embracing life with renewed zeal.
You’ll discover:
- How to summon fire through dance to enliven your energy and uplift your mind and spirit when in despair
- Flamenco dance as the alchemical dance of fire and its transmutative power
- Your own capacity for easeful change through renewed vitality and a revived zest for life
- How to turn adversity into passion and purpose for being alive
Module 4: Air Initiation — Dispel Mental Overwhelm & Pressure and Feel Lighter Through the Synergy of Breath & Dance (March 21)
What is your breath but the presence of the unlimited — the presence of Spirit in you?
For an element that can’t be seen, air certainly holds a vast array of sacred symbolism — such as communication, breath, and life. When we consider how the air element interacts with our senses, we can experience this part of nature in a way that helps us become more present and sensitive to the world around us.
This week, you’ll discover air as the element that connects you to the present moment through your breath... and dance with awareness of your life-giving breath and the divinity within you.
You’ll experience how what you seek is truly within you and learn to blend the celestial and the sensual through the ethereal beauty of Persian Dance as you experience your body as more energy than matter.
You’ll:
- Summon the buoyancy of air through dance to uplift you when you feel heavy — and when situations and responsibilities are weighing you down
- Learn how to breathe for optimum health
- Experience the celestial and sensual through Persian Dance
- Be guided through a breathing practice to build coherence between the mind, heart, and body
Module 5: Sound Initiation — Chant & Whirl to Create Unity, Harmony & Coherence in Your Body, Heart & Mind (March 28)
For the journey into sound, you will be initiated into Sama, the Sufi practice of whirling, which means “to listen.”
An inner journey to the Beloved as the source of all that is, Sama dissolves the limited mind into the unlimited ocean of presence, and you begin to simply be... a channel for compassion and wisdom.
Physics states that matter is actually space spinning. How profound to spin consciously, activate supernatural powers, and upgrade ourselves.
Rumi’s poetry flowered while whirling in perfect rhyme and meter — a testament to the power of Sama to receive direct transmissions from the source... and create body-heart-mind coherence.
Banafsheh will also guide you through a chanting practice to open to unconditional loving.
You’ll:
- Embody the element of sound through sacred dance to dissolve the limited mind and open to deeper presence
- Discover how to effectively ground and center yourself in preparation for whirling
- Learn how to whirl without getting dizzy and persevere in the spin for a sustained period of time
- Learn the philosophy and short history of Sama as a spiritual path
- Create unity, harmony, and coherence between your body, heart, and mind through the profound Sufi movement meditation of Sama
- Begin to surrender the chatter of the mind and become empty
- Become silent and still enough to listen to your inner voice for guidance through a seated meditation following the Sama
Module 6: Light Initiation — Ignite Your Life Force & Your Intuition to Awaken Inner Vision & Embody Radiance (April 4)
This week, you’ll clear yourself of distractions — including the incessant need to stay busy — and open to receiving and filling yourself with light.
You’ll explore how the more light you can hold and emit, the higher the frequency of your being and your level of consciousness.
As you begin healing and repatterning ailments, limited beliefs, and fragmentation, you’ll begin to access your lightbody more and more...
... and sustain an elevated and empowered, loving, and joyful state in your heart, body, and mind — truly opening your wings to fly.
Through the “Shake to Liberate” routine, you’ll free the central channel of your body to receive light unobstructedly — and activate your inner vision, imagination, and intuition.
You’ll:
- Access your lightbody through sacred dance and illuminate your true self and potential
- Awaken your life force and let it ignite your whole body, energizing and uplifting you through the “Shake to Liberate” dance routine
- Gain deeper access to your inner vision, imagination, and intuition
- Elevate yourself — and feel energized — throughout the day
- Feel and begin to embody your own beauty with radiant confidence
Module 7: Ether Initiation — Quiet Mental Chatter, Come Home to Your Body & Access Possibility, Interconnectedness & Freedom (April 11)
Moving from the stability of earth, through the flow of water, the passion of fire, the lightness of air, sound, and light... you’ll reach the element that makes everything else possible: ether (or space).
In this final module, you’ll explore ether as nothing and everything at the same time. It’s stillness, yet it’s the very thing that makes all movement and life possible — connecting us to spirituality, intuition, and our full potential.
Medieval alchemists were fascinated with the ether element, believing it could turn lead into gold and even prolong life. They referred to the space element as “quintessence,” a term also used to describe the heavenly bodies, such as stars and galaxies.
For the journey into ether, you’ll deepen your experience of Sama (whirling) and access the profound stillness at the core of your being.
You’ll also integrate all that you’ve learned through a celebration of coming home to your body and discover your capacity to dance the pain and the joy, the sorrow and the deliverance.
You’ll:
- Embody the element of ether — emptiness and spaciousness — through sacred dance to open to possibility when feeling confined and hopeless
- Integrate all that you’ve learned over the past 6 weeks
- Be here now, surrendered to what is as you access inner peace and joy — regardless of circumstance
- Experience the sacred and the unfathomable in the still depths of your being beyond concepts, dogmas, conditioned activity, and all preferences
- Learn to summon an element on the spot when you need its qualities
The Sacred Dance to Activate All 7 of the Elemental Forces Bonus Offering
In addition to Banafsheh’s transformative 7-week online course, you’ll receive this special bonus offering to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Oneness Yoga and Stretching — A Mixed-Level Practice
Video Teaching From Banafsheh Sayyad
In this 45-minute, mixed-level yoga and stretching practice, Banafsheh will guide you on a journey from rigorous asanas to a lying down meditation that will ground you deeply in the soil of your body. You’ll explore what true embodiment feels like as you reconnect with the wisdom of your body and this expanded awareness fills your cells and enlivens your soul. It’s recommended to do parts of this practice or the whole practice after each course module to stretch and unwind.
How to Ground Your Spirituality in Your Body
Video Session With Banafsheh Sayyad From the Mystics Summit
Gain potent insights on how to shift out of the patriarchal mindset and embrace the healing principles of grounding, belonging, and interconnectedness. In this one-hour video, Banafsheh will share how the archaic patriarchal system is based on a severance of humans from the Earth, our bodies, and the feminine principle. By consciously reclaiming the sacredness of living in a body as part of the Earth and your connection with the whole of life, you’ll gain a profound appreciation of the physical body as truly limitless... as you viscerally experience how important it is to ground and center yourself, especially in the turbulent times we live in. You’ll also gain simple tools you can use to ground and center yourself in peace.
What Graduates of Banafsheh’s Courses Are Saying...
“This course helped me rediscover my love of dance, to feel the presence of love surrounding me as I move...”
This course helped me rediscover my love of dance, to feel the presence of love surrounding me as I move, to use the power of dance to transmute challenging emotions to feelings of sovereignty and power, and to feel inner peace and connectedness to oneness. Each module was powerful and transformational for me!
— Jennifer, Woodbury, Connecticut
“Massively transformational for the body, heart, mind, and soul.”
Massively transformational for the body, heart, mind, and soul. An absolute privilege to be part of the magic.
— Muhammad Dawood, Johannesburg, South Africa
“Now to practice what was taught in this class!”
Now to practice what was taught in this class! I am in total agreement in the strength of our teacher’s commitment to her inner truth and her ability to offer her knowledge and skill with courage and grace.
— Helena, Hillsboro, West Virginia
“Banafsheh speaks in poetry, and her teachings are profound.”
This course was transformational. Banafsheh speaks in poetry, and her teachings are profound. I am in awe of her! She is beauty personified!
— Lois Einhorn, Vestal, New York
“Working with Banafsheh has brought me so much closer to feel within my body the subtle energy flows...”
Working with Banafsheh has brought me so much closer to feel within my body the subtle energy flows , the locked emotions and move from there.
— Nathalie, Hamburg, Germany
Join the Global Community
Sacred Dance to Activate All 7 of the Elemental Forces offers some of the most transformational online teachings available, within a thriving global community of learning and practice.
Join fellow students and practitioners to support and inspire each other as you integrate the teachings and practices Banafsheh Sayyad will share in this powerful program.
You’ll join an international community on the leading edge of manifesting a world grounded in the principles of cooperation, harmony, and reverence for all of life.
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven 90-Minute Class Sessions With Banafsheh Sayyad
Experience a unique opportunity to be mentored by and learn from sacred dancer and choreographer Banafsheh Sayyad, founder of Dance of Oneness® — from the comfort of your own home. Each class session includes a livestreaming video option and will guide you through sacred dance practices that activate the seven elemental forces of healing. Course sessions are on Thursdays at 10:00am Pacific.
Seven Video Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the video will be available for you to stream in a high-quality format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the audio will be available for you to stream. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Transcripts of Class Sessions
You’ll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Seven 30-Minute Interactive Group Practice Sessions
With live class attendance, there will be a 30-minute optional interactive practice session directly following each class. You’ll be placed in an intimate group with several other participants on the Zoom call to interact, share, and do additional practices to help you further integrate the weekly lessons. Practice sessions are not recorded for playback; if you’re unable to attend the live sessions, the Facebook online community group allows you to connect with each other and find alternative times to interact.
Interactive Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between class sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue the discussion about your course materials and interact with your fellow students to take your exploration to an even deeper level.
The Sacred Dance to Activate All 7 of the Elemental Forces Bonus Offering
- Oneness Yoga and Stretching — A Mixed-Level Practice
Video Teaching From Banafsheh Sayyad - How to Ground Your Spirituality in Your Body
Video Session With Banafsheh Sayyad From the Mystics Summit
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Online Course, Sacred Dance to Activate All 7 of the Elemental Forces
We feel honored that Banafsheh Sayyad has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive LIVE online course. This is a unique opportunity to interact directly with a sacred dancer, choreographer, and founder of Dance of Oneness® whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about learning how to harness the elements within you through sacred dance for healing, peace, and coherence, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind program.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your own evolution, click the register button below to reserve your space now.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! If you don’t absolutely LOVE Sacred Dance to Activate All 7 of the Elemental Forces — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form on or before March 14, 2024 and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
More Praise for Banafsheh Sayyad...
— Andrew Harvey, Bestselling Author: “I Believe That Banafsheh
Is Quite Simply the Greatest Living Teacher of Sacred Dance”
“Her dancing is more than a feast for the eyes, it’s a joy to the spirit and an opening of the heart.”
Banafsheh uses dance as a holy ritual. Her dancing is more than a feast for the eyes, it’s a joy to the spirit and an opening of the heart.
— Marianne Williamson, internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer
“Banafsheh is one of the greatest sacred dancers I have seen.”
— Deepak Chopra, bestselling author and founder of The Chopra Foundation
“Banafsheh is the quintessential professional in her field...”
In watching Banafsheh dance, I knew I was witnessing a master performer in action. Banafsheh is the quintessential professional in her field not only as a dancer but as an artistic interpreter of Rumi, and in explaining the brilliance of that renowned Sufi mystic.
— Caroline Myss, bestselling author, medical intuitive, and the founder of CMED (Caroline Myss Education)
“... when Banafsheh teaches or performs, she moves with an attitude of liquid gold pouring over silk velvet.”
Master of mystical Persian dance, when Banafsheh teaches or performs, she moves with an attitude of liquid gold pouring over silk velvet. She embodies what it means to dance with abandon, what it means to fully live the ecstatic poetry of Rumi, of luminous moonlight on radiant silver clouds.
— Felicia Tomasko, editor-in-chief at LA Yoga magazine
About Banafsheh Sayyad
Banafsheh Sayyad is a Persian master sacred dancer, choreographer, acupuncturist, transformational teacher, activist, and the founder of Dance of Oneness®. A deeply profound and highly accessible spiritual teacher of embodiment, Banafsheh performs and teaches internationally, initiating people into the wisdom of their bodies. Her signature style of holy wildness infused with ancient wisdom activates transformation and illumination in all those who watch and dance with her from around the globe.
Banafsheh invites the dancer within to remember, reclaim, and resource the innate healing intelligence spiraling in us and all around us. Her easeful instruction and welcoming spirit empower students to feel a true sense of belonging in their bodies. Students experience more passion in their lives by integrating wisdom teachings from throughout the ages.
She is among the few virtuosos of authentic Persian dance in the world, and a pioneer in creating a liberated feminine expression in the Sufi dance genre, previously performed only by men. Her modality, Dance of Oneness®, is a spiritual path and a science of embodiment. It’s a fusion of three dimensions, including healing, wisdom teachings, and the rigorous technique and self-expression of the art of dance.
Banafsheh has a master’s degree in dance and choreography from UCLA and a master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Her award-winning work has been presented throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. Her dance film, In the Fire of Grace, with Andrew Harvey, traces Rumi’s journey of the soul in dance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s a virtual course?
A: It’s a great way to engage with live and pre-recorded teachings and each other from the comfort of your home! All you need is any connected device. We use Zoom video conferencing to make it just like an in-person event, where you can ask questions and deepen your exploration of the course themes.
Q: Can I still benefit from the course if I miss the live classes?
A: Absolutely! You can stream the recordings and download the transcripts of all course sessions, so you never need to worry about missing live calls. You can also engage with the full community and leaders in our private online community group.
Q: Can you tell me about the private online community group?
A: We’ll have a private online community group for all course participants on Facebook that will support you in making connections with others, sharing insights, engaging in discussions, and completing homework assignments that can supplement your transformational journey. You’ll have the ability to share your experiences, projects, and growth throughout the course.
Q: Are there scholarships available for this course?
A: Yes, we always make a certain percentage of spaces available for partial scholarships, for those who otherwise would not be able to enroll at the regular rate. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, please review our guidelines, which include a link to our online application form.
Q: What’s your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee so that you can sample the course risk-free. The deadline to receive a full refund is March 14, 2024. To request a refund, please click on this refund request form and submit your request. Qualifying refunds will be processed within five business days and an email confirming the refund will be sent. However, we’d love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there’s something we can assist you with, please email us at support@theshiftnetwork.com and we’ll be happy to help! (No refund requests accepted after the above date or with scholarship awards.)
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to your problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
