Biodanza, the dance of life
Personal transformation.
Connecting you to life through dance, music, beautiful emotions
& the healing power of pleasure.
A worldwide community putting life first!
Biodanza, meaning to dance with life, is a fusion of music, movement and emotion. It is a scientifically proven method of personal development aimed at raising your capacity to communicate, to improve the quality of your relationships and your sense of well being and happiness.
“Have you ever danced until you flew? Danced so hard, so fast, so freely that you reach a level of overwhelming, ecstatic joy? If you haven’t you should – it can change your life.”
Simple and Direct
It works by opening people’s sense of joy, self esteem and self confidence. It’s simple, direct and immediate. Ten minutes into a class, people have already found their sense of inner joy – a joy similar to that of a two year old – confident, strong and from the heart. It works with this joy and with regular classes, this grows and strengthens.
This sense of joy and self-confidence carries over into people’s daily lives. Over time, people find that life becomes more joyful. People start reaching for what feeds them in life and begin to change those things that need changing.
Biodanza Method
Introduction
The purpose of Biodanza, meaning to dance with life, is to bring people back to a life-centred principle of living. Created by its founder, Rolando Toro Araneda. Music, movement, expression and a sense of community are the instruments used to create a safe space for people to get back in touch with the joys of life. It does this through:
- Creating unique intense, joyful experiences, known as vivencias
- Working with Identity and Regression and
- Evoking each individual’s inherent human potential
The Motivation: How Biodanza works
We all need a balanced life of work, play and rest but this is not always possible.
Many people live busy, stressful lives and if there is no relief, things can get really problematic.
Life can start to get overwhelming. This can effect work, finances, love, home life, or create any number of pressures we all experience from time to time.
Biodanza gives you a space to come back to yourself and regain some balance. .
Biodanza effectively enables the body’s nervous system to return to balance, through the combination of dance and relaxation.
At the start of the class we activate the nervous system in a positive way through specific modes of dance and music.
We create joy, exhilaration and positive connection with other people. We later relax the nervous system through slowing down and doing exercises that help us connect inwards.
The nervous system gets a chance to create a new balance, one based on wellbeing, which releases stress and generates a healthier state of happiness.
By returning to a state of wellbeing and happiness through Biodanza, people are then more able to respond more appropriately to the daily stresses of life and make better decisions to enhance their quality of life.
Life choices become more conscious, participants become more aware of what is necessary to build on a happier, more joyful way of living. Deciding how you really want your life to be and taking steps to achieve this.
So How Does Biodanza Help?
If you are living in anger, anxiety or fear, are you capable of making good decisions or responding appropriately to the people in your life?
By returning to a state of well being and happiness through Biodanza, people make better decisions and respond more appropriately to the daily stresses of life.
After regular classes, people really do improve their lives. And they start to put life first. They just know life can be lived in a better way and they start to do so.
“Putting life first” will be different for each person. But the result will be a happier, healthier person whose life choices are more conscious and more in line with how they want their life to be.
The Vivencia – Awakening Potential
The potential of the participant is awakened in a group process by living in the now with full intensity. This moment of full intensity, known as vivencia in Biodanza, may be felt physically, emotionally, in the joy of movement, connection with others in the group or through contact with nature.
Identity and Regression
Biodanza works with two states – pulsating between the two. First, we work with identity – evoking that strong positive sense of who you are. And second with regression – where you dissolve into larger groups, others, nature and so on. This wave, from strong identity to dissolution, allows your identity to emerge and to be rebuilt progressively with time.
Five Lines of Vivencia
Rolando Toro isolated five flows, inherent in each individual, towards expansion of life.
These are: Vitality | Affectivity | Creativity | Sensuality | Transcendence
First we need the vitality to reach out for what we need and want in life and also time to rest to create a healthy balance.
Affectivity – When we meet another, we need the ability to like and be liked by others, to put ourselves in their place, a natural empathy
Next we need to create a relationship, a moment or a future. Creativity is how you create and live your life for yourself and others.
Sensuality is inherent in almost every aspect of life but rarely acknowledged – in a smile, a gesture, a hand held gently. With Biodanza, this area of life is gently explored. Your capacity for intimacy and sensuality will be increased substantially.
Transcendence is that moment where you go beyond yourself. It is a step outside your current self and is an opening towards increased human potential.
By working intensely with vivencia, identity and regression and the five lines in an experiential way, your human potential is accessed and opened.
“Everyone can understand from natural experience and common sense that affection is crucial from the day of birth; it is the basis of life. The very survival of our body requires the affection of others, to whom we also respond with affection. Though mixed with attachment, this affection is not based on physical or sexual attraction, so it can be extended to all living beings without bias.”
by the Dalai Lama
Abstract From Dr. Stueck’s Evaluation
“Biodanza, a form of intervention intended to further health and well-being, originated in South America by Rolando Toro and encourages self-expression and self-management through music, dance and interaction. Since 1998, we have been investigating the influence of a 10-session Biodanza program on 150 subjects on various psychological (regulation of emotion, health, personal psychology), physiological (skin response, blood pressure) and immunological (immunglobulin A) variables.
“Initial results from the experimental-control-group study in Argentina and Germany reveal significant changes in psychological health and personality variables after 3 Months (Post 1). After a further 3 months without Biodanza, the effect could be seen to have stabilized. It could be shown that regular, long-term participation in Biodanza had positive effects on the experience and behaviour of the subjects.”
Dr Stueck
Dr Marcus Stueck is an award winning researcher at the world famous Institute of Applied Psychology, University of Leipzig, Germany. In 1995, whilst on a scientific expedition studying the behaviour and physiological reactions of high altitude mountaineers in the Andes, he came across Biodanza. Since then, he has devoted much of his professional life to the empirical study of Biodanza and its behavioural and physiological effects on participants. In the process, he has also trained as a Biodanza Facilitator.
Information courtesy of Biodanza South Africa
www.biodanza.co.za
