June 19, 2003

Become Entranced
By Jules Verdone

When a Body Temple Holistic Celebration is in full swing, you’ll find yourself surrounded by dancers dancing and drummers drumming (sorry: no maids a milking). If you came at 11, you would think that the people are drunk or stoned, says Alok, director of Alok Holistic Health Center and an organizer of this monthly event at West Chelsea’s Space 515. Actually they’re experiencing a natural high resulting from combining hatha yoga, dancing (with global trance spun by DJ Haj), active kundalini meditation and ‘live’ food consumption (No cooking is involved, Alok explains). Attendees can also pay for mini sessions of massage and other therapies, including Harp Healing ($10 for about 10 minutes), in which you recline on a massage table connected to two amplified zithers, with two more zithers on your body. When strummed, the instruments trigger vibrations and an immensely relaxed state," says practitioner Tom Cushwa. "Summer Drum," the next Body Temple event, coincides with the summer solstice; it takes place on Saturday June 21 from 5pm to 2am, with workshops running from 5:30 pm to 10pm.