It’s 7pm on a Friday and we just had a glorious sunset with shades of red, violet and blue in Koh Phangan. As the night falls it is time for me to join 100 others for a journey of music, connection and dance. Ecstatic dance, and connection with a certain inner energy, a playful and innocent aspect of the Soul.
When I started regular attendance of Ecstatic dance, some 3 years ago, I was determined to try out something new and free style dancing was something I enjoyed during my weekend London nights, what seems like a geological era ago or a previous life. I joined the first event on the island as some sort of physical exercise, with the intent to keep on moving no matter what, for 2 or 3 hours as a form of sport.
3 or 4 classes later, the magic happened and the magic is part of Ecstatic ever since. That is when music and movement form a perfect unity, my mind is calm, meditative and detached, my body moves on automatic, following the rhythm, the melody and the warm, loving energy of everyone else around me.
There are two major venues where I do ecstatic every Friday and Sunday. I will tell you a secret: the best way to suck in the powerful vibration of 100 people moving to the rhythm of music, is to face them, at the top of the yoga shala/dance floor, next to where the DJ is and that’s where I am on a Friday evening! Being a DJ, wow, I can see what a cool thing that would be.
On Sunday morning, the energy is different and the community in daylight feels more present as we dance in a circle, everyone facing the centre of the space. Right in the middle of the shala, more creative, inspired, happy or confident types twist and turn, whirl and jump, circus like. As the rhythm of the music goes up, movements get faster and the collective energy grows more and more into an ocean, a huge wave of engagement, happiness, life!
It all starts with a circle. People holding hands, closing their eyes and feeling each other’s presence. The facilitator then leads participants through playful exercises with breath or aimed at bringing everyone to be in the moment and connecting as a group, a tribe. The session ends 2-3 hours later with a savasana, yoga style and possibly a live sound healing session.
What’s the music like at Ecstatic? It really depends on the DJ and the tracks he or she feels like playing that specific day. It usually starts slow and melodic, picks up to a faster bit to then mellow again. A great Ecstatic session carries at least a couple of long waves when ravellers increase the speed and engagement to reach a level of loud, almost blissful “ecstatic” state of being. As the pace builds up, I hear whistling, bird like noises, barking and howling sound coming from the crowd.
If we want to delve a little more into the core of this fun and spiritually lifting activity, the name provides plenty of inspiration already. Ectsatic sounds like ectsasy but not the chemical pill some might abuse in dark, loud clubs. A very different type of natural, inner ecstasy, similar to a gentle but sustained dopamine rush mixed with the effect of endorphins after a run. A mellow, warm hint of raw happiness which, when the music ramps up and the crowd follows, can touch a temporary height of bliss, to then slow back into a feeling of unity, presence and joy. No drugs or alcohol allowed, you can go has far as boosting your physical stamina and opening your heart with raw cacao balls or hot chocolate.
And what’s special about dance? Oh… what’s so special about music, poetry and art? Ecstatic dance is creative and free flowing. You can be yourself and move as you like, connect with people directly or be on your own, surrounded by the glorious vibe of everyone else in the space. The only way to really enjoy Ecstatic is to let go. Let go of fears, comparisons to others, let go of feelings of shame and insufficiency, pride and inhibitions. In one word, let go of the ego and just be.
Ecstatic dance is pretty old and found in shamanic traditions as well as ancient Greece! This is quite fascinating, it seems that in Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus. Their name literally translates as “raving ones”. Dyonysus is the god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. Pretty fitting for the Koh Phangan’s version of Ecstatic, minus the wine. Who needs wine, when you’ve got YOGA, gorgeous international people and tropical sunset? Slow melodic and sensual music that builds up to high pitched, raving tunes? Who needs a hangover when you can wake up the following day with sore legs, a calm mind and a bit of warmth from the evening before still tickling your Soul?
Variations of Ecstatic dance include 5Rhythms and if you are not shy, contact improvisation, when dancers playfully and spontaneously dance with each other.
Have you heard of DMT as in dance/movement therapy? This is a psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support the intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. Well, it turns out that dance can be therapeutic, and I so much feel it, I don’t need any science to validate this, although there is science behind dance as therapy. Some studies exist and sixteen different pathologies were studied, with a large predominance of neurology diseases. In short, dance “seems beneficial to adherence, mental health, the psychosocial aspect, cognitive, balance and motor skills”. Felling a bit low? Experiencing negative feelings of social threat an adversity (another definition of stress)? Join me here and let’s shake this off.
Could this alone, be reason enough for me to live in Koh Phangan 😉 ?
My Kundalini Yoga teacher, ending a vigorous breathing exercise with intense physical movement often tells us to visualise an expansion from within towards the outside. I imagine it like some sort of ethereal shield, an aura, growing out of me and surrounding the whole body.
At the end of Ecstatic dance, this sensation, this feeling of expansion and well-being happens naturally. I feel tired and satisfied, hard in the body and soft in the heart. Connected and ready for 8 hours of peaceful, regenerative sleep or an easy Sunday afternoon.