Majid was born and raised in the ancient city of Tehran, Iran, at the bottom of the Alborz mountain range. He lived through and survived the final tough years of the Iran-Iraq war. Raised in a rich culture of Sufi traditions, Majid learned from his father, a mystic Sufi, to seek refuge in spiritual practices in the midst of chaos, and thereafter he continued to seek teachers from different Sufi orders and other traditions for his vital studies.
Majid's first teacher was his beloved father, who played a very important role in Majid's life, introducing him to the sacred practice of Yoga. He benefited greatly from yoga techniques in all stages of his life and decided to pursue an RYT (registered yoga teacher) status in order to share the priceless gift of yoga with others.
He is also a Trance dance facilitator, a student of Wilbert Alix, internationally recognized contemporary healer and teacher of progressive psychology and neo-shamanic studies. His extraordinary website can be found at www.trancedance.com.
Majid's passion for practices that strengthen mind-body connections led him to explore a world of teachings. An enthusiastic, intermediate Wushu practitioner of the ancient Chinese martial arts, Majid also holds Iranian lifeguard certification and first aid CPR AED training.
Moving to the United States on his own in his early twenties, Majid was able to earn a living, communicate well in hia new surroundings and meet the challenges of basic human survival. He earned his Bachelor of Computer Science degree at North Carolina State University in 2008 and became very fluent in English, to such an extent that some people guessed he was native born or that he might even be from New York, which he found quite amusing.
Majid's informative and exciting presentations and speeches on Iranian culture take his captive audience on an insider's perspective on the more authentic aspects of the country, including its people, arts, spirituality and nature, which garner far too little attention in the media.
Majid's life affirming philosophy says it all: "I like to think that I walk a spiritual life. That I strive for staying connected with the natural world and remembering the unity of all beings at all times, staying away from the materialistic world beyond just earning a living. I also pride myself on being open minded to anything that may help advance my spiritual practice. I have explored Buddhism, Hinduism and Paganism and my spiritual practice has been influenced by all of my explorations."
Majid has taught yoga in classroom settings and privately and has facilitated trance dance workshops. He has organized immensely popular events in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Asheville NC, dedicated to Rumi (14th century Persian mystic Sufi and a poet) at which he and his band played Sufi music of Persia and recited and interpreted Rumi's poetry. Majid plays several Persian instruments: Ney (Persian flute), Setar (Persian Lute), and Daf (Persian hand drum).
Adventurous Majid has proven time and again that he is easily adaptable to and unafraid of new situations and environments and is always looking for incredible new ways to do things along life's journey, toward the quest of exploring contemporary application of old world healing practices and rituals.
Though, Majid currently works as a software developer for SAS Institute, he is in the process of shifting his career towards yoga and movement teaching.
Majid is truly bi-cultural, bringing forth his unique perspective on both cultures, which he uses to promote mutual understanding in his vital peace activism work.
