People all over the world and throughout the ages have danced for healing, wholeness and holiness. From the Ghost Dancers of the Sioux to the Trance-Dancers of Umbanda to the Whirling Dervishes of the Sufi, dance has been used as a way to move into an altered state of consciousness, a way to transcend mundane reality and connect with the Spirit world, a way to experience the magic of ecstasy.
When I too, many years ago, discovered the healing power of dance, I was so moved beyond my skin-encapsulated ego that I wanted to find a way of bringing this ancient path bang up-to-date.
I felt that in today’s world with its emphasis on left-brain rational thinking, we needed a method to get us out of our heads and into our bodies. And one that could be translated into a modern lifestyle.
What better way than to do the most natural thing to human beings? What better way than to simply move our bodies by following the pulse of life deep within our bones, to breathe deeply and flow with the current of our feelings, to surrender to the passion of the moment and let go into freedom?
Add a dose of meditative awareness and a funky beat and you’ve got a truly cool recipe for transformation!
The Method
When I was developing my method of 'ecstatic trance-dance,' I researched the crucial factors that could make it work. I found that different traditions that use dance as a spiritual practice employ a combination of breathing, drumming, chanting, repetitive movements and spinning: basically, what they all have in common is repetitive rhythm.
The effect of a repetitive rhythm on the mind is to send it into trance: the rational mind switches off and consciousness is free to travel.
Research shows that the rhythm of the drum initiates theta brain waves, the deepest trance-state, which enhances intuition, increases creativity, accelerates learning and also regenerates the brain by the release of certain chemicals.
In my teaching, I used a very simple repetitive breathing pattern called the 'Breath of Fire' to switch off the thinking mind. There are a number of variations on this type of breathing, but I found the 'Breath of Fire' the most effective and easiest to learn. Not only does this particular pattern increase oxygenation to the whole body but it also takes oxygen rapidly to the brain to facilitate an expansion of consciousness.
The Healing Effects of Trance Dance
I have discovered that trance-dance heals on all levels of our being. It heals on the physical level because energy is moving, because both the physiological and the quantum mechanisms are accessed: the body is cleansed of toxins, tensions and traumas: it is re-energised, re-vitalised and ready to go!
It heals on the emotional level because there is a catharsis of stuck feelings, because the whole body-mind system is activated: trapped hurts are remembered, forgotten feelings resurface and locked emotions are released.
It heals on the mental level because consciousness expands, because your 'receiver' tunes in to a wider frequency: the mind drops its obsession with negative thoughts, suspends its habitual judgement, and is open to the greater cosmic flow. When all three levels of being are cleansed, then you’re ready for healing on the spiritual level.
For me trance-dance - in fact any form of 'free' dance - is a spiral journey, an unwinding of potential energy, an unfolding of latent power.
It has taken me to the threshold, to both the darkness of despair and to the lightness of delight. It has taken me to the edge, to the place where I must either jump and trust that I will fly or fear that I will fall.
To me, it’s a play of polarities, a meeting of male and female energies, a dance of the lovers within, a union of Spirit and Matter . . . it’s alchemy in action!
I’ve danced in sweaty clubs with thousands of people, alone in my tiny living room in London, in wide-open fields under the stars, on stages in front of thronging crowds, on deserted beaches watching the sunset on the other side of the world, precariously on the roof of my car, sublimely in a marble temple at the feet of a golden Buddha.
I’ve danced in a psychedelic space-suit, in full tribal costume and naked as a babe. And I’ve danced my inner child, my power animal and my wild woman. But wherever – and however – I have danced, I’ve found that if I keep on dancing, I’m taken to the centre, the stillpoint . . . it’s a direct route to Source!
Ultimately, dance is a 'moving meditation.' As Osho said: "You go on dancing and dancing and dancing and a moment comes of such ecstasy, of such extreme movement of energy, that in that movement the rock-like ego cannot exist. It becomes a whirlwind. The rock disappears and there is only dance. The movement is there but the mover is no more there . . . meditation has happened."
Amoda Maa Jeevan taught her unique method of “Moving Creations” ecstatic trance-dance for 10 years in the UK – she is now passing on her method to a new generation of teachers.