20
april 2019yogajournal.com.auWhen executive editorMeghan Rabbittfound herself at
an ecstatic dance class in Bali, she dropped all of her
inhibitions—and it changed her yoga practice.
I’M NERVOUSLY STANDINGtoward the back
of the main studio at the Yoga Barn in
Ubud, Bali, waiting for class to start. I
have no idea what to expect, but I’ve been
told it could very well be “the most
ecstatic experience of my life”—which is
why I stood in line for three hours to
secure a ticket.
I scan the room and quietly size up
my fellow ecstatic dancers. The tan,
long-haired guy in front of me is shirt-
less and wearing cropped Thai fishing
pants; there’s a girl in a sports bra and
short shorts who’s also wearing elbow
and knee pads; there’s a 50-ish-year-old
woman in a long, flowy dress right next
to a 20-something with feathers in her
hair and a glittery bra top that shows a
lot of side boob. It’s my first lesson in
what ecstatic dance is all about: anything
goes.
The music starts and we move slowly
at first, breathing deeply and warming
up our necks, arms, shoulders, backs,
and legs. In ecstatic dance, there’s typi-
cally some guidance from the instructor
at the start of class, but then no talk-
ing—and definitely no directives on how
to dance. There are no cues, and no
instructor asking you to follow a chore-
ography. Just loud, beautiful music that’s
a mix between what you’d hear at a
trendy vinyasa flow class and a new-age
hippie rave. The dancing definitely lookslike the latter, despite being a drug- and
alcohol-free event.
At first, I feel like an outsider, even
though I’m wearing my best harem-pants
jumpsuit to at least try to fit in on the
fashion front. It’s just that everyone
around me looks so comfortable—like
they’ve done this a million times
and know that ecstasy awaits. As I start
to dance, I wonder, What will everyone
think when they catch a glimpse of my
moves? Then, something awesome hap-
pens. Maybe it’s the music, which feels
almost trance-like at times. Or the fact
that when I glance around the room, lots
of dancers have their eyes closed, which
prompts me to close my own eyes and
start moving my body however I damn
well please. Within minutes of class
starting, I start dancing like nobody is
watching (because, as it turns out, they
aren’t!) and it feels good.
My hips start gyrating as if I’d been a
Latin dance pro in a past life, and my
arms take on lives of their own, swirling
around my head and down my body. I
jump. I shake. I drop to my knees and lie
on my stomach (instantly understanding
the elbow and knee pads) and stretch my
entire body out on the floor before rolling
onto my back and then undulating up to
stand. I take up more and more space and
move to more areas of the room as the
class goes on, and as I do that, mythoughts take up less space in my brain. I
become fully present in the moment,
simply moving as freely as I like, in
community with a hundred other people
doing the same.
When class is over, I walk out feeling
like I rode an epic wave of collectiveWE TRIED IT
Om
PHOTO: CREDIT JAVIER ALLEGUE BARROS“I am out of my head and
fully present in my body. And
it feels downright ecstatic.”EVOLUTION
Dance
(Dance)
vibration. I feel embodied.
But the next day is when things get
even more interesting. I roll out my yoga
mat for a morning yoga practice and as I
start doing Sun Salutations, I notice I’m
less fidgety than I’ve been in about a year.
I’ve got 400 hours of yoga teacher
training under my belt. Plus, I’ve learned
so much from the experts and
anatomists I work with at Yoga Journal.
So, I find myself thinking—a lot—while
holding yoga poses: are my upper arm
bones externally rotating as the inner
arch of my hands press down during
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-
Facing Dog)? Am I engaging—not
gripping—my glutes in Setu Bandha
Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)? Worthy
efforts, to be sure, but I’ve found myself
wishing I could trust that my body
knows what to do so I can simply flow.
The morning after ecstatic dance,
that’s exactly what happens. I move
through those Sun Salutations—and
the rest of my practice—with ease. I
definitely keep all of my knowledge
about good alignment in mind, but I’m
also not as keenly focused on it as usual.
I am out of my head and fully present in
my body. And it feels downright ecstatic.AT A GLANCE
WHERE YOU CAN TRY IT
You’ll find ecstatic dance classes all
over the world. Check out ecstaticdance.org
to find a class near you.GUIDELINES
All you really need is a great music playlist.
Then, simply follow these rules, set by the
Ecstatic Dance Community Foundation:- Move however you wish.
- No talking on the dance floor.
- Respect yourself and one another.
- No drugs or alcohol.
- No photos or video.