Last night I joined the Sacred Groove meditative dance.

The room was transformed into a cozy, mystical setting, with low lights, draped materials and mysterious nicknacks.

Most everyone was dressed in folksy, loose fitting clothing. I felt out of place in a polo shirt and dockers, like I was the corporate guy in a dark suit at a hippy convention. I took my shoes off to get with the program.

The room was full. We sat on the floor in a large oval, knee to knee, "closing the gaps," according to Suzmiche, our leader.

Suzmiche said, "This is a chance for you to be in a non-judgmental place." I am not sure what else she said, except she kept mentioning "non-judgmental". When she was done, she asked if there were any questions.

I wanted to ask, "Yeah, what do we do?", but I did not say anything.

The music started, which felt like Hindo Rhythm and Blues, if there could be such a thing. Everyone got up and started dancing.

Being someone who practices with a video camera, if I was going to get my Sacred Groove on, I had to shut my eyes. There was no way I could watch these people dance without judging them and without judging myself in the mirror.

Until Suzmiche invited me, I had no intention of going. Have to say, it is fun to have a unique, unexpected challenge, especially when you do not expect it. Sounds like something Yogi would say.

For an hour and a half, we bounced around. I peeked a few times. The music changed like the scenery in a cross country drive and so how we moved. There was dancing, sitting, rolling and laying, with and without partners that came and went, not me though. I was strictly celibate.

When the music reached a pitch, and the room was pulsing, I wondered if people were going to start throwing their clothes off. Later I was told, no alcohol and no drugs permitted, which explained the temperance, though it could have gone either way.

Towards the end, people ended up on the floor with a slow ohm hum and a few isolated dancers. I laid on back, my eyes were open by then, and I was not judging a thing, only appreciating the patterns on the ceiling and admiring a woman's hands dancing in a corner of my vision. I was Sacred Grooving.

The next one is April 29.