Ecstatic Trance Postures

I highly recommend incorporating ecstatic trance postures into your shamanic practice. Some of my most profound journey experiences have taken place while holding shamanic postures. Anthropologist Felicitas Goodman discovered that specific yoga-like poses recur in the art and artifacts of world cultures, even societies widely separated by time and space. Goodman's hypothesis, therefore, was that these postures represented coded instructions on how to produce consistent trance-like effects. Goodman researched and explored ritual body postures as a means to achieve a bodily induced trance experience. Her studies led her to many countries, and to trying out these body positions practically with hundreds of participants worldwide. She discovered that people who assume these body postures report strikingly similar trance experiences irrespective of their worldview or belief systems.

These postures produce a common effect, according to Goodman, because they all share one thing in common: the human body, the basic structure and functioning of which has remained unchanged since the time of our most ancient ancestors. The nervous and endocrine systems are, in fact, all much the same as they were 30,000 years ago, a fact which enables contemporary urban dwellers to enter non-ordinary reality as effectively, and through the same neural doorways, as shamans throughout history. You can access, energize, and integrate your creative and intuitive potential. Combined with shamanic drumming, the postures engender a profound change in consciousness, leading to new insights into healing, inner development and soul purpose. In her book, Where the Spirits Ride the Wind: Trance Journeys and Other Ecstatic Experiences, Goodman describes different postures that facilitate divination, healing, spirit journeys and more. In my next post, I will introduce you to my favorite trance posture.

Goodman identified several prerequisites for a successful trance posture experience, many of which will be familiar to you from your standard shamanic journey:

1. Preparing oneself spiritually, mentally and physically;
2. Establishing a sacred space with intention and respect;
3. Quieting the mind through meditation and breathing practices;
4. Inducing a trance state with a repetitive rhythm on a drum or rattle;
5. Holding a specific trance posture for at least 15 minutes.

What you will experience

Ecstatic trance is not always what many people anticipate it to be, and sometimes there may be doubt that anything at all takes place. There are, however, some key indicators that confirm a transcendent state of consciousness. Once you enter a trance state, the rhythm or sound of the drum tends to change. The drumbeat may appear to speed up or slow down while the sound may grow louder, softer or disappear. You may experience a change in body temperature, feel energy flowing through your body, or find yourself twitching, swaying or rocking.

It is not uncommon to hear sounds or voices. You may even smell specific aromas. You may see colorful patterns, symbolic images or dreamlike visions. Some people may find that they have a highly developed inner vision, whereas others may rely more on an inner voice of insight or an inner feeling of certainty. Be prepared to experience ecstatic trance with any of your senses. The key is to observe whatever happens without trying to analyze the experience.