Touch For Health International Journal, 1995
Ecstatic Body Postures: A Ritual Doorway Into Nonordinary
States of Consciousness
by Belinda Gore, PhD
Anthropologist Felicitas D. Goodman hemisphere processing of the cerebral cortex
discovered among the artworks of hunter- and simultaneously to stimulate the peripheral
gatherer and horticultural societies around the nervous system.(5) However, physiological
world evidence of body postures which, changes alone do not produce ecstasy. Some
when used in the context of ritual, produce a form of ritual is also required, and the ecstatic
highly specific altered state of consciousness. body postures provide the ritual.
Her earlier research on glossolalia, or
"speaking in tongues" (ref. 1), had identified Dr. Goodman and her colleagues at the
that the body undergoes physiological Cuyamungue Institute have identified over
changes during the religious altered state of fifty ecstatic body postures. They have been
consciousness; glossolalia is a vocalization found among wooden carvings from the
that occurs in conjunction with those changes Pacific Northwest Indians, pottery from the
in the body. Later she found that when a ritual Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, an
body posture is coupled with the necessary anthropologist's photographs from sub-
preparations and a method for rhythmically Saharan Africa, and Neolithic cave drawings
stimulating the nervous system, it is possible from Prance; they are found around the world
to induce the experience of ecstatic trance. and from 30,000 B.C to the present day.
(ref. 2) In this ecstatic trance state, individuals These postures mediate fairly specific
utilize organs of perception different from the experiences including healing, divination,
familiar five senses in order to witness and spirit journeys, metamorphosis (or
experience an alternate reality. shapeshifting), and initiations into the
mysteries of birth and death.
Religious specialists from every culture
throughout history have identified some The posture known as the Bear Spirit posture,
version of an alternate reality. Black Elk, a for example, is used for healing. Images of it
Lakota medicine man, described it as "the have been found so frequently around the
world where there is nothing but the spirits of world that it was probably used in many
all things. This is the real world that is behind horticultural and hunter-gather societies as an
this one, and everything we see here is ideogram to convey the message "good health
something like a shadow from that world."(3) to you!" It is very old; evidence of it has been
Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who found as early as 6,000 B.C.
discovered LSD, spoke in similar terms of his
chemically-induced altered state: "What The Bear Spirit posture is a simple standing
impressed me most in my self-experiments posture. The feet are positioned about six
with LSD ... was the feeling I had of entering inches apart and the toes are pointing straight
another reality. This other reality was ahead. The knees should be slightly bent.
experienced as quite real, even more than Both hands are gently rolled, as though a
everyday reality." (ref. 4) small egg was being held in the palm of each
hand. The hands form a triangle over the
The beauty of ecstatic body postures is that navel, with the first joint of each index finger
they allow individuals to enter this alternate touching to form the apex of the triangle. The
reality simply and without the risks associated upper arms rest easily beside the body. The
with hallucinogenic plants or techniques that head is allowed to fall back, as though one
induce significant stress in the physical body. were looking at a point just above the line
Physiological changes occur in response to where the wall meets the ceiling. The eyes
multiple sound frequencies recurring at an remain closed throughout the fifteen minutes
even steady rhythm, such as those produced of the trance.
with a gourd rattle or a drum. This rhythmic
aural stimulation is believed to block the left
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1995
In the worldview of hunter gatherer and one breath, fifty breaths allow enough time to
horticultural societies, healing includes curing prepare for the trance.
disease but also implies the restoration of
wholeness and harmony. Problems are Be prepared to use either live drumming or
created when people live out of balance with rattling, or an audiotape, in which the rhythm
the natural world. The consequences may be of the sound is sustained at 200-210 beats per
physical disease, emotional imbalance, or minute. The sound, which stimulates the
social disorder. Healers in these societies have nervous system and initiates the change into a
understood that in order to make things right nonordinary state of consciousness, should
again, they need the help of the beings who continue for a duration of fifteen minutes once
reside in the alternate reality. Calling upon the the trance begins. Assume the ecstatic body
Bear Spirit through this posture is a powerful posture that has been selected and begin the
way to summon that help for identifying the rattling or drumming.
source of the disease and for restoring
physical, psychological, social, and spiritual During the fifteen minutes of rattling or
balance in the patient. drumming, it is primarily important to listen to
the sound and to simply notice whatever
In order to use this or any other ritual body occurs. As soon as the drumming or rattling
posture, it is important to first select a place stops, move out of this posture and sit
that can be made into sacred space, at least for comfortably for a few minutes. Many people
the duration of the trance. It must be a quiet like to document their experiences in ecstatic
space, not subject to intrusion. Secondly, to trance immediately afterward.
prepare oneself physically, it is wise to eat
very little prior to the trance. Then a body Some people see colors or have visions, as
posture should be selected and practiced so though they were having a vivid dream.
that it can be held comfortably and without Others feel hot or may have visceral or
distraction. Finally, smudging is kinesthetic sensations. The perception of
recommended. Cleansing oneself with the sounds and smells may also accompany the
smoke of smouldering sage or other fragrant trance experience. With the Bear Spirit
herb is a time-honored tradition as preparation posture, healing usually occurs in some form,
for a spiritual undertaking which includes perhaps through adjustments made in the
contact with the alternate reality. body by heat or flowing energy, through
stories that provide insight or a sense of
In the practice of ecstatic trance developed by meaning, or through relaxation and a feeling
the Cuyamungue Institute, we always begin of well-being provided by a release of
with a blessing for the rattle or drum we will betaendorphins in the brain.
be using to invite the spirits who reside in the
alternate reality to join us in our ritual. We The practice of ecstatic trance is described in
usually offer blue cornmeal to awaken the detail in two books, Where the Spirits Ride
spirit of the instrument, then rattle or drum the Wind (ref. 2)and Ecstatic Body Postures:
toward each of the four directions--east, An Alternate Reality Workbook.(ref. 6) It is
north, west, south--and to the sky and the always recommended that people learn ecstatic
earth. We then offer cornmeal again to "feed" trance from a trained facilitator, then utilize the
those spirits who have responded to our workbook to continue the practice.
invitation. It is with their help and guidance
that we are able to safely enter the alternate References
reality.
1. Goodman, Felicitas D., Speaking in
Next we recommend a simple concentration Tongues: A Cross-cultural Study of
exercise to calm and focus the mind. The Glossolalia, Chicago: University of Chicago
exercise involves sitting comfortably and Press, 1972.
focusing on the breath as it enters one's
nostrils, then gently releasing the breath. 2. Goodman, Felicitas D., Where the Spirits
Counting each inhalation and exhalation as Ride the Wind, Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 1990.
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1995
3. Neihardt, John G., Black Elk Speaks: 6. Gore, Belinda, Ecstatic Body Postures: An
Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Alternate Reality Workbook, Santa Fe: Bear
Oglala Sioux, New York: Simon & Schuster, & Company, 1995.
1959, p.71.
Workshops offered through the Cuyamungue
4. Hoffman, Albert, The Tranmitter-Receiver Institute are scheduled throughout the United
Concept of Reality, ReVision: The Journal of States and in Europe. For a current listing of
Consciousness and Change, 10:4, 1988, p.6. workshops, write to the Cuyamungue
Institute, Rt.5. Box 358-C, Santa Fe, New
5. Lex, B.W. L., The Neurobiology of Ritual Mexico 87501, or in Ohio call 614-227-9903.
Trance, in E. d'Aquili, ed., The Spectrum of
Ritual: a biogenetic structural analysis (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1979).
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