The Seven Major Arkanas

Arkana 1

   The first Arkana, “The Cascading Fountain,” is a kind of warm up, awakening and activating our energetic centers; after practicing “The Cascading Fountain,” our physical and energetic bodies are optimally prepared for the following Arkanas.

Arkana 1, The Cascading Fountain

Arkana 2

   The second Arkana, "Reeds in the Wind," acts upon our digestive system and vertebral column.
   What we can't discover through our body, we can't discover in any other place in the world; practicing the seven major Arkanas, we learn to know ourselves through our own body. 

Arkana 2, Reeds in the Wind

Arkana 3

   The third Arkana, "Hip Dance," acts mainly upon our nervous system and regulates our body’s energies. When we practice this Arkana regularly, it correctly realigns our hips and sacrum, the foundation of our vertebral column. The result is that the energies circulate much better the length of our entire vertebral column, and afterwards throughout our entire body.

Arkana 3, Hip Dance

Arkana 4

   The fourth Arkana, "Sun Salutation," is the ultimate exercise for health. It acts upon all our body’s functions, especially our heart and blood circulation and also our joints.
   When we practice the Sun Salutation, we pass again through all the stages of our human evolution. When he stands upright, man is who he truly is: a being who one day acquired the vertical position, like a bridge between heaven and earth. When he bows, he is like the plant, like the reed swaying in the wind. When he is kneeling, on all fours, he is like the animal. And when he prostrates himself on the ground, he returns again to the mineral kingdom.

Arkana 4, Sun Salutation

Arkana 5

   The fifth Arkana, "Stretching of the Joy of Life," acts mainly upon our skin, kidneys, and bladder, and also has a detoxifying action.
   Stretching is a tension followed by a relaxation. The tension created when we stretch has a homeopathic effect; we live with many tensions, most of the time without even noticing it; when we practice "Stretching of the Joy of Life," we increase the tension for a moment so we can relax it even more afterwards, with a practically instantaneous effect of well-being.

Arkana 5, Stretching of the Joy of Life

   The sixth Arkana, "Sparks of Fire," acts mainly upon our digestive and immune systems. It also has positive effects on our back and neck and harmonizes our thoughts and emotions.
   When the movements begin to degenerate in a person’s body, they harden and rigidify in him. When the inner movement of his emotions and thoughts is no longer harmonious, this movement is also blocked and hardens in his physical body. Practicing "Sparks of Fire" dissolves these tensions and brings a new movement of harmony in our body, thoughts, and emotions.

Arkana 6, Sparks of Fire

Arkana 7

   The seventh Arkana, "Sama" or "Dance of the Planets," mainly reharmonizes our nervous and endocrine systems. It also harmonizes our psyche and brings us physical well-being, emotional purification, and mental clarity.
   Sama, the whirling movement or whirling dance, is known especially thanks to the whirling dervishes of Konya and Rumi, the master who founded their brotherhood.
   Through the Sama, we enter into resonance with the primordial movement of all things that are in movement, from the planets above us down to the smallest atoms inside us. The Sama is an exercise that gives us greater energy and intensity, wholeness, and a new joy of living. It fortifies our body, purifies our heart, and clarifies our thoughts.

Arkana 7, Dance of the Planets

      For more detailed information on the Seven Major Arkanas, and above all how to practice them, the book Dervish Yoga for Health and Longevity provides step-by-step instructions and illustrative photographs. A Dervish Yoga instructional DVD is also available.