Imagine a soft breeze moving over a blue lake between two grandmother volcanoes. Imagine a gathering of beautiful spirits focused on learning how to journey into their innermost recesses. Imagine wonderful food, a warm welcoming people, and a facilitator who is wise beyond his credentials of this lifetime. This would describe my ten day journey to Guatemala to learn a form of moving meditation called Trance Dance.
In an article on his web site, www.journey2theheart.com, Trance Dance Intensive Facilitator Ernesto Ortiz, describes Trance Dance as having its origins in ritual dance used by almost all cultures to connect to the Divine, to pray, and move to ecstasy. Ritual dance is used today in many indigenous cultures by the shaman, the medicine men or women, to create a spiritual connection that facilitates healing (Ortiz, 2011).
Ernesto is recognized in the holistic, health, and metaphysical field as an inspiring facilitator, teacher, and therapist. In his private practice he is approved by the state of Florida and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a Continuing Education Provider. Ernesto believes deeply in the ability of the body to heal itself. As such, his certifications include numerous healing techniques such as CranioSacral Therapy, Karmapa Reiki, Integrative/Shamanic Techniques, Breathwork, the Akashic Records, Somato Emotional Repatterning Therapy (SERT), and music therapy (Ortiz, 2011).
In 1994 Ernesto created Journey to the Heart, a company dedicated to uplifting consciousness and increasing well-being by using practical tools that help integrate the physical with the mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies (Ortiz, 2011).
My 2008 journey with Ernesto was a life-altering experience. Trance dance itself can be described as a form of moving meditation. It is 90 minutes of movement to music while blindfolded. The music is chosen and placed in a specific order to move the participant forward on a journey. The journey belongs to the participant. As a trained facilitator, I hold the space, provide a brief orientation to the breathing techniques used, and make sure that everyone is physically safe during the process. A very simple sounding description of something much more complicated!
It is said that the average person experiences an 80% loss of energy through their eyes. The blindfold provides the opportunity to focus that energy inward. It allows us to concentrate on our breath, which moves oxygen to the brain and limbs. Trance dance provides many of the same healing qualities achieved by deep breathing as yoga and meditation.
One health benefit of this form of meditation is movement. While the level of that movement is up to the participant, it is a great opportunity to shake it all out, sweat, and get those endorphins flowing. I have had those who moved a great deal during the sessions, and others who were simply moved to stillness by some of the pieces of music. One of the beautiful things about this modality is that you don’t have to be a great dancer. Participants move past the hang ups that go along with being seen dancing once they truly internalize that no one can see them with the blindfolds on.
For larger sessions, I use spotters, or people who participate without the blindfolds. Their job is to keep the dancers from colliding, and help them avoid any obstacles that may be in the room. Large open rooms like yoga studios are ideal, but sometimes having immovable objects in the room can’t be avoided. I have facilitated many kinds of groups, and one of the most extraordinary things I have seen is the relationship that develops between the dancers and the spotters during a trance dance session. There is a tremendous amount of trust on the part of the dancers, and an appreciation of the beauty of the movement from the spotters. There is a wonderful sense of community that develops. It’s amazing to see!
Another thing that happens during this process is the surfacing and processing of emotions. During the training in Guatemala, one of the women said that she had felt very threatened by one of the pieces of music. She actually retreated to a corner while the piece was playing. Once we debriefed after the session, it came out that she was a survivor of sexual and physical violence. The experience had evoked those emotions of fear and anger, but she was able to name them, and experience them in a non-threatening way. I have found this modality to be very helpful in strengthening emotional literacy.
Ernesto offered during the training that one needs to be connected to three things for emotional well-being. One is a connection to yourself and the body that you’re in. The other is to the world around you. The last is a sense of connection to however you may define the Divine. Trance dance offers a way to strengthen all three of those connections. This sense of emotional well-being is directly related to our physical well-being. As author and medical intuitive Carolyn Myss says, “Our biography becomes our biology.” If there is no care given to the spiritual and emotional self, the physical self begins to suffer.
While in Guatemala, we dressed in a specific color each day. These colors represented the seven chakras. The chakras are believed by many to be energy centers within the body that control the health of body systems, and their functioning. It is possible to use trance dance as a form of chakra activation and clearing as well.
I believe thoroughly that we are a society that seeks out quick solutions to discomforts and we neglect the true core of ourselves, the true core of what we seek. We don’t make time to make those physical and spiritual connections. If you would, think for a moment about the last time you spent 90 minutes fully present with yourself? When was the last time you experienced that presence with no distractions? I have facilitated trance dance sessions at conferences, and in my living room. Each is a wonderful and enlightening experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to share information about it with CoSozo Living readers!
Works Cited
Ortiz, E. (2011). Trance Dance & Tantric Shamanism . Retrieved July 22, 2011, from Journey to the Heart: http://www.journey2theheart.com/trancedance.shtml.
