Concepts of Biodanza

​Biodanza is a system of affective integration and renewal of the organism, and of relearning the original life functions. It’s methodology consists of generating integrative vivencias through music, song, movement and group encounter situations.

The brain, body and psyche form a whole and cannot be seen separately. The psyche resides in every cell of the body. Making unconscious conflicts aware is not enough to solve problems. The body in motion is involved in the whole process of change on several levels: neurological, endocrine, immunological and emotional.

The integrating or healing core in Biodanza is affectivity. Biodanza is more than a body therapy. The body is not treated. The core of the Biodanza system is tenderness, caress, creativity and meeting. Those experiences feed our whole being. The unity between feeling, thinking and doing is restored. We call this affective-motor integration (integration of emotions, feelings and movement).

The affective-motor integration is one of the seven powers in Biodanza. The other forces are music, the vivencia, trance, the caress, the expanded consciousness and the group.

​Organic renewal is mainly brought about by specific forms of trance that activate processes of cellular repair and overall regulation of biological functions. Reduce disorganization and stressors.

​​​This means: living from our main life impulses. These instincts are intended to sustain life and enable its development.

Biodanza addresses many fundamental developmental needs, each dance in the Biodanza system is designed to stimulate and integrate five developmental opportunities:

The development possibility of vitality

Vitality is the expression of life energy, dynamism, life motivation and the fundamental function of organic self-regulation, i.e. the alternating between phases of activity and rest. We learn to indicate our boundaries authentically and respectfully.

The developmental possibility of sexuality

In Biodanza this mainly means reconciliation with cenesthetic pleasure: the virtue of being in one's own body, also in connection with others. We gradually rediscover and cultivate opening to smiles, to intimacy, to (eye) contact, to sensuality, to caresses and to everything that allows us to enjoy life. Caresses bring about changes on an organic and existential level: they awaken desire and express our identity. The dynamics of existence are enriched by the power of Eros and the desire for love. The development of eroticism and sensuality is essential in a process of change.

The development possibility of creativity

This is the ability to innovate, to explore the world with confidence, to make choices and go for them. The freedom to effect change and the courage to express your potential is enhanced. Developing creativity allows us to enrich our verbal and non-verbal expression, to shape our own lives.

The developmental possibility of affectivity

Affectivity is the core of Biodanza: the predisposition to experience love, tenderness, friendship, generosity, security and togetherness. Learn to trust again in your ability to create an encounter, to be there without prejudices and expectations, both towards yourself and towards the other.

Therapies and healing arts are generally highly technological and sophisticated semantics, but affection is often lacking. In Biodanza, we open a space to feed each other as a group to meet our need for original tenderness.

The developmental possibility of transcendence

Transcendence is related to the inner sense of fulfillment, to the expansion of consciousness, to perceiving and being connected to all manifestations of life, to transcending self-interest. It is the experience of being part of a larger dimension than ourselves: humanity, nature, the universe.

​​The word 'vivencia' has no translation into Dutch, but "experience" comes close. “Vivencia” is a translation of the German word “Erlebnis”. It means: 'experiencing the present moment intensely here and now'.

What then is the importance of facilitating vivencias? The fundamental importance is that through that experience we can change our life history. The vivencia creates something between what we have been and what we are beginning to become, and it is precisely this “being intense here and now” that generates an evolutionary possibility. To “become anew” is to find the dynamic meaning of existence. The reality of the vivencia in Biodanza is powerful and can gradually transform our entire being.

We can poetically describe vivencias as water that bubbles up from the source, it has the quality of the original. It is not subject to the control of consciousness, it can be stimulated, but not directed by the will. Vivencias are essentially short, they are concentrated moments of life, little pearls of eternity.

Vivencias always go together with bodily sensations and movement, they encompass the whole organism. They are a dynamic connection between our organic and psychic aspects. It is a transformation process in which learning affects the whole organism (and not just the cognitive intelligence).

In Biodanza we follow the path from movement to meaning. That is why we never interpret or analyze when sharing verbally about our inner experience, about what triggered a vivencia. We listen without judgment and with receptivity.

The vivencia is one of the seven powers in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), trance, the caress, the expanded consciousness, and the group.

The Biodanza group forms the breeding ground for affective security, in which it is possible to change. This group framework is the basis of the therapeutic effect of Biodanza.

Reaching out to each other, giving and receiving tenderness, experiencing new forms of solidarity, joy and generosity are just some of the ways to dance together and express the joy of being together.

The group is one of the seven forces in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), the vivencia, trance, the caress and the expanded consciousness.

In Biodanza, music is the binding agent between dance and experience. We choose the music for each dance based on its semantics: what kind of movement and experience does it stimulate?

The message of music reaches our core directly, without going through analytical thinking filters first. Music thus stimulates the expression of identity, of who we really are. Depending on the theme of the session, the Biodanza facilitator carefully chooses music from a universal heritage: primitive, classical, pop, folklore and contemporary.

Music is one of the seven forces in Biodanza. The other forces are affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), the vivencia, trance, the caress, the expanded consciousness and the group.

It is not that in Biodanza we start to dance, but rather that with Biodanza we restore the conditions that restore our original and natural aptitude for dance inherent in life. When we start Biodanza, we often forget how complete we are. But no one arrives incomplete at Biodanza, and yet in the beginning all of us live with a feeling of being short. Our culture takes advantage of that feeling of being short with the promise of filling it up. She promises us to take it out too short in exchange for adjustment.

​In Biodanza, the movements offered invite us to discover our own way of dancing through authentic and meaningful gestures. In contrast to the striving to meet external aesthetic conditions, in Biodanza we experience a completely different possibility: the dancer himself becomes movement.

Being a dance is an extraordinary experience, and the most powerful source of renewal and inspiration. Biodanza offers the possibility of an organic dance, which is based on the experience of completeness.

Dance is one of the seven forces in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), trance, the caress, the expanded consciousness, the vivencia and the group.

The Biocentric principle in Biodanza focuses on life and restores the value that all life is sacred from the experience. Rather than asking the question why we live, the compass is rather this question: Does the path I am taking point towards respect for life in its various aspects?

The Biocentric Principle is a starting point that helps us to structure new views and sciences that have existence itself as its subject. Linear thinking is increasingly abandoned in favor of topological views (topology is the study of properties in which coherence is preserved). Mindsets that seek one unique truth are shunned, for from every truth a new one is born.

The intellectual habit of merely analysing, selecting, weighing and judging objects and phenomena is replaced by the perception of all expressions of life and its movements - the language of all life. The meaning of life is life itself. The study of the phenomenon of human consciousness extends beyond anthropological premises. Instead of "why", the emphasis is on "how".

The vital unconscious is the psyche of cells and organs that have a memory and defense systems. They know affinity, rejection and mutual solidarity and can communicate extensively.

The vital unconscious manifests itself in everyday life as endogenous mood and cenesthetic perception of the presence or absence of harmony.

Biodanza is the direct way to vivencias and the vivencia gives direct access to the vital unconscious. This cannot be accessed through images, thought associations, memories or transference processes. The vital unconscious is connected to the state of harmony, vitality and health in which we find ourselves.

Rolando Toro coined the concept of the numinous unconscious in the latter part of his life. This is a short summary of his words:

It is the deepest stratum of the human unconscious, it consists of a set of possibilities of extraordinary differentiation and refinement, which constitute man's capacity for excellence and also the most repressed.

The concept of wonder is foreign to many people, although wonder surrounds us. Wonder is a way of perceiving innocent joy and intimate purity, it is also the variety of nature, the mystery of life.

The numinous unconscious gives us access to a sense of intimacy, to love without boundaries, and to creation as a revelation of beauty and mystery.

After this I will briefly discuss some possible contents of the numinous unconscious: intase, enlightenment, courage and love.

Love

Usually we feel in control of ourselves, but life takes over us when we love, and our whole existence is transformed into an impulse to be with and for the other. Learning to love without fear is the maximum learning. Undifferentiated love is tenderness, an essential condition for living together.

Enlightenment

It was Carl Gustav Jung who described the human soul as the eternal rebirth between light and shadow. The light is the dazzling part of our soul, the zone where love and joy of life are awakened. The light is active, warm and close to the miracle. The shadow is the place of our horrors, guilt, violence and fear. Shadow and light coexist in us. Light enables us to discover the light in others

Courage

Courage is the ability to face our own shadow. To enter the mysterious realm of our pains and frustrations, to seek out the darkness and kindle the light there, to carry on the sacred project, to enter the Great Work, the Ark of redemption through love .

"He who has not descended into the depths of darkness has no access to praise," said Rainer Maria Rilke.

Courage is our ability to ignite love like a strange attraction in the dark regions of chaos. Courage: defying fears, outside oppression; courage to face suffering.

Intase

The state of intase is about awakening the god within. Feeling the purity and strength of our own identity. Intase allows us to assume our identity as cosmic beings and as possessors of the power to connect. Intase is the origin of consciousness and ethical lucidity.

Intase is also the origin of the feeling of happiness, it gives us access to creativity and the perception of beauty.

Finally, I think that everything that makes us worthy as human beings comes from the numinous unconscious.

While caressing is one of the most inhibited forms of human communication in our culture, it is highly revalued in many therapeutic approaches. Many of them focus on the beneficial effects of caressing, touching, the art of touching and the importance of touching and being touched.

In Biodanza we make a very big distinction between caressing and touching. Not every kind of touch is a caress. It differs in that it is a focused and deliberate form of touch. A touch animated by a kind of affective and sensual compromise that promotes resonance and empathy. Touch becomes caress when we focus all our attention and being on the person we caress. It creates a circuit of subtle exchange between the giver and the receiver by mobilizing the emotional center of both. At the same time as the emotional awakening, there may be a more or less pronounced erotic component. That is, we experience strongly sensual caresses colored in the background by affectivity and tenderness or vice versa. In any case, because the very act of caressing provides a form of pleasure and well-being, there are nuances of eroticism in every affective caress.

Caressing is a highly integrated and integral act when it takes place in the encounter between the desire to offer it and the availability or desire to receive it. It implies an integration between the gesture and the emotion (affective-motor) and between the emotion and the sensation of pleasure (erotic-affective), as well as stimulating the capacity for feedback communication.

Due to the fact that the capacity for interaction and the perception of the self and the other are involved, forced caressing is out of the question. What is imposed, even with the "best intentions", is not respectful.

Our hands, which are one of the physical extensions of our being, are heavily involved in the act of caressing. In fact, the hands have an anatomical shape that is perfectly adapted to the contours, curves and volumes of the body being caressed. Their shape as well as their movements and sensitivity allow the expression of an infinite number of feelings and emotions through the simple variation of pressure, speed and intensity of touch. Over time we discover that hands possess a complex language and that a simple touch, a simple caress, can say much more than many words.

Of course, the world of caresses does not only concern the hands. Where there is skin, there are endless ways to express yourself through caress. But there are also caresses that don't even require direct contact and have a very high intensity. The caress of a glance, for example, can be both very subtle and very powerful.

In Biodanza we learn that it is possible to look without judging, without asking, without doubting. That it is possible to "see with the heart" and thus perceive the essence of beings. Our eyes can be so sensitive and expressive! They translate our emotions, even when we try to deny them with expressions that are mere masks. And maybe that's why sometimes we find it so hard to show ourselves and look back. When we immerse ourselves in the gaze of a person, we encounter a life story in which strength and vulnerability pulsate together. In the gaze, masks fall away. Under the caress the resistance melts away. Is this one of the reasons why both are so taboo in our culture?

And what about that other kind of caress, the loving word, the simple, sincere and qualifying dialogue? People are conditioned by the habit of using words to express intellectual concepts, to talk about superficial things. But when it comes to expressing their feelings, emotions or deep needs, many remain silent. The verbal caress is the simple, clear, poetic and enchanting expression of a being's intimate world: what it feels on the surface of its senses and in the depths of its bowels.

Rolando Toro Araneda proposes with Biodanza a new way of being related, based on what he calls "anthropological aesthetics", i.e. the ability to see and express what surprises us in the other. In many relationships, violent, sloppy, or shallow attitudes are considered "normal," taken for granted, or easy. Words and actions then acquire the emotional density of disqualification. The anthropological aesthetic, on the other hand, is directly linked to caressing, insofar as it is and becomes an expression of love and tenderness. It gives the relationship the quality of care for each other, through each other.

And what about the therapeutic effects! A person who is caressed is a person who develops more easily. We know that stroking is physiologically essential to the development of the myelin sheath that surrounds the axon of the neuron in early childhood. But its preservation also depends on the affective environment throughout life. Hugging also facilitates the formation of synaptic networks that, without stimulation, would remain poor and restricted.

Freely translated from an article by Myrthes Gonzales, Director of the RT school in Pelotas - Brazil, didactic teacher and psychologist

Caress is one of the seven powers in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), trance, the caress, the vivencia, expanded consciousness, and the group.

It is one of the concepts of Biodanza, in which it is defined both as a state of consciousness and as a transition from one state to another. In general, in our culture, there is a kind of fear of trance, which is associated with mysticism, loss of control and madness. There is a belief that normal, well-adjusted people should not have access to the trance experience.

In fact, trance is a natural physiological need. Each day, when we fall asleep, we enter a trance state that is the transition from one form of perception (that of alertness) to another state of perception (that of sleep). These states correspond to well-differentiated brain activity in terms of frequencies and so on. The alternation between waking and sleeping is related to natural circadian cycles, to the cyclical and rhythmic part of our nature.

Biodanza understands trance as the transition from a state of self-awareness as an individual to a state of self-awareness in fusion with the whole, in which the participant feels part of a larger whole (family, group, species, ecosystem, planet, universe).

Due to their physiological effects, trance states promote cell turnover. In addition, they open experiences of expanded consciousness that prompt integrated action in the world.

In fact, people seek trance states because they need them. When their integrated and natural manifestation is suppressed by the cultural environment, the social mechanisms provide compensatory loopholes to meet this need while still maintaining order.

Today, trance is practiced in various religious and other rituals, through the absorption of hallucinogenic substances, and through participation in various socially accepted collective events (mass events, mass sports, music festivals, carnivals). The use of hallucinogenic and other substances, sought after for the changes in consciousness they produce, can cause dependence or explode psychotic "cores" or compulsive neurotic structures. In addition, its effect cannot be regulated by the body, so once the process has begun, it cannot be stopped. People who are extremely inhibited and conform to social norms can sometimes even unleash all of their contained aggression during large-scale events.

In itself, and regardless of the circumstances in which it arises, trance is natural and necessary for all human beings. However, depending on how it is directed or guided, it can be very destructive and decompensating, as it mirrors the environment in which it takes place.

When we propose trance in Biodanza, we want to promote the integration of the person on different levels, while respecting the intra-organic harmony. In this way, the trance state does not cause the "explosion" of psychotic or neurotic cores, on the contrary. It promotes well-being and allows the gradual dissolution of the muscular armor caused by chronic tensions and increases the level and quality of self-perception.

The trance, as established in Biodanza, will always be progressive and gentle and will be offered in a protective, welcoming, safe and affective environment. This results in the person being able to reconnect with their physiological rhythms and essential needs. It is an experience that will never be imposed, but accepted of your own free will. An "integrative" trance gives rise to greater body awareness, helps restore a positive self-image and self-esteem. The trance state opens the way to a perception of oneself as a naturally erotic, emotional and transcendent being. It offers the opportunity to return to a state of reduced vigilance in the face of introjected repression. If possible, the vivencias that unite soft eroticism with affectivity allow the integration, unification and reconciliation of the perception of oneself as a being with an innate potential for love and pleasure.

Indeed, experiences of the self and of the world, such as natural love and pleasure, are not highly valued by our culture, which primarily favors productivity, efficiency, and the achievement of material goals. Not to mention the appreciation of suffering. We, on the other hand, believe that the common pursuit of self-actualization and goals, coupled with satisfying relationships while enjoying what we do, is the foundation of our health. But more than that. The satisfaction of achieving our objectives and goals is related to essential values: those of being.

Freely translated from an article by Myrthes Gonzales, Director of the RT school in Pelotas - Brazil, didactic teacher and psychologist

Trance is one of the seven powers in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), trance, the caress, expanded consciousness, the vivencia, and the group.

Consciousness consists of our ability to perceive the world and to perceive ourselves in the world. Our perception, however, only covers a small part of reality. Moreover, even if our senses can perceive only a fraction of the stimuli in our environment, we limit the range of these stimuli through the barriers and other filters we put up. What we call consciousness is the field of perception that enables us to have a partial and relative notion of our existence. We grope around in a rather vague environment of notions about ourselves and our place in the world. The organization of consciousness is thus formed by a double symbolic and conceptual impulse.

Today we live in a world that values ​​and facilitates access to the universe of information. But to be well informed does not mean to be aware. Consciousness is formed through a process of interaction with the world as we create our own history. One of the hallmarks of consciousness is the ability to open and expand. Indeed, throughout our lives, we have the opportunity to open up, to deepen our perception and to reach ever more subtle and elaborate levels. But we also have the option to shut down. This is our paradox.

Biodanza proposes a process of consciousness development based on integration with everyday reality and on a better knowledge of the world around us. The information overload that we are exposed to day after day and that the media pours out on us does not bring us closer to this reality, but distances us from it and ultimately leads to a feeling of powerlessness, loss and frustration: how to change the world, how to understand the world, how to make ourselves heard?

But true knowledge of facts implies action, experience, life. To experience something is a more extensive state than to be informed about it. Knowledge then becomes experiential knowledge that can be enriched with information. Understanding is a more complex step than knowing. Understanding and wisdom come from the maturity that comes not only from the time, duration, and quantity of the experience, but also from its depth and intensity. That's what vivencia offers. We are all capable of understanding and knowing, but to do so we must get out of the doldrums that characterize our culture. First we must rediscover the magic of life, enter into its game, which invites us to let go of control over everything. Knowledge, understanding and wisdom are then born of the intimate, affective and passionate relationship with reality, which is not an object to be known, but a world to be lived.

Biodanza opens us to a new sensitivity to existence. The knowledge to which she invites us has nothing to do with power, image or ego. It is an invitation to be, to feel, to perceive the world with sensitivity. The softness of the perception, the sensitivity to the manifestation of life and the singularity of each moment are values ​​that Biodanza cultivates from the vivencia.

Freely translated from an article by Myrthes Gonzales, Director of the RT school in Pelotas - Brazil, didactic teacher and psychologist

Expanded consciousness is one of the seven forces in Biodanza. The other forces are music, affective-motor integration (between sensation of feelings or emotions and movement), trance, the caress, the vivencia, and the group.

Introduction

Numerous experimental studies have shown profound connections between the emotional world and intelligence.

Rof Carballo, Howard Gardner, Antonio Damasio, David Gelerner, are among those who promote this concept of a more integrated intelligence.

Gelerner says that emotions are inextricably linked to thinking, because they inhibit or stimulate decision-making at a given moment.

In fact, intelligence is an integral part of all our functions and existential history. We don't just think with our brains, but with our whole body.

Evolution of the concept of intelligence

The concept of "intelligence" has evolved over time.

Etymologically, intelligence refers to cognitive function (from Latin "cognitivo" = to recognize).

In the psychological work of Terman, and later Binet, intelligence was regarded as the ability to solve problems. Therefore, to evaluate this, problems of increasing difficulty were proposed, which were called "intelligence tests". The score obtained, compared to an overall average, gives the "intelligence quotient" (IQ). Those who score well fit the intelligence model proposed by the test designers.

It later turned out that some individuals with higher IQ were psychopaths, without identity, unable to understand life. This was the case with the Nazi leaders, who were geniuses in their IQs yet showed profound imbecility about life.

Raven, with his "progressive matrix" test, proposed an understanding of abstract intelligence that fostered the ability to establish specific relationships between particular images and, in addition, to discover the correlations (family of families) between images. This test is really very ingenious.

Rorschach's personality test links intelligence to the ability to discover global images from blobs in which the elements of detail are integrated; this test demonstrates the ability to integrate the parts into a whole in ambiguous situations.

Howard Gardner has proposed qualitative derivations of intelligence. According to this author, there are 7 types of intelligence:

1. verbal dexterity

2. logical-mathematical dexterity

3. spatial matrices

4. kinesthetic genius

5. Musical talent

6. Personal talent (human understanding)

7. interpersonal talent (living in accordance with deep feelings)

These designations are neither satisfactory nor rigorous in absolute terms, but at least they have the merit of a deep intuition of the complexity of intelligence.

Instinct, vivencia, intelligence:

We can think of instinct as a cosmic intelligence. An innate ability to respond to specific stimuli that facilitates adaptation and maintenance of life.

The vivencia is an experience lived by a person, with great intensity, in the present moment (here and now), activating his neurovegetative and kinesthetic functions.

The vivencias form a door through which we enter this pure space of being, where time vanishes and settles us forever in the here and now.

The vivencia has the ontological property of relating us to the depth of our being; the vivencia also has a regulating effect when it integrates an affective dimension.

These two things, instinct and vivencia, are deeply connected and are part of our biological root that connects us to life.

Gardner and Damasio speak of the influence of feelings on the logical-rational function, and this in itself is a conceptual advance over the role classically attributed to emotions.

Feelings are a way of perceiving an organization of tendencies, the predisposition to feel certain emotions.

I think the permanent factor that integrates and structures intelligence as a global function is affectivity.

Affective intelligence

Affective intelligence is not a special form of intelligence.

All differentiated forms of motor, spatial, mechanical, semantic, social, etc. intelligence have a common source: Affectivity.

To understand this, the connections between intelligence, perception, symbolic elaboration and the level of consciousness must be explored.

The connection between perception and affectivity has already been demonstrated by the studies on perception in Ames' "House of Altered Perspectives".

The size of the figures (seen through a hole in the house built by Ames) is perceived in a completely different way, depending on the level of the affective relationship that exists between the observer and the observed person. This means that affectivity organizes perception.

During hallucinogenic experiences, the perception of colors changes dramatically depending on the quality of the affectivity and humor.

During deep depressive states, colors appear opaque and lifeless.

In psychoses, the perception of shapes, spaces, time and colors changes according to changes in the structure of affectivity.

I believe that an essential definition of intelligence would be the affective-motor ability to make connections with life and to relate personal identity to the identity of the universe.

All members of humanity possess this potential of identity with the universe, but it is deeply blocked by the affective dissociation that plagues society.

To be connected to life is to participate in the cosmic intelligence.

Biodanza's proposal is precisely to connect life with life.

Affectivity is the genius of man.

Emotion and affectivity:

The effect of the spread of the concept of emotional intelligence in recent years is due to the popular preoccupation with overcoming abstract conceptions of intelligence, disconnected from the general conception of the human being.

For more than 50 years, Jose Lopez Ibor and Rof Carballo have drawn our attention to the importance of the "emotional world" and its relationship to the organic and mental regulatory systems and, in general, to lifestyle.

A study by Raul Terrén and Rolando Toro Araneda shows that the practice of Biodanza develops intelligence.

Gardner emphasized the existence of social intelligence in his classification of 7 types of intelligence.

He defined it as the ability to establish a sophisticated relationship between people, which is related to the perception of situations of coexistence in our society.

I think it is now time to bring some intellectual order to this legitimate interest in new forms of intelligence and its integration into the whole of human functions.

This is consistent with the complexity theory proposed by Edgar Morin and Murray Gell-Mann, according to which the classical concept of intelligence is extremely simplistic. After all, it does not take into account the deep and complex aspects of the human mind.

First of all, I want to clarify the difference between emotionality and affectivity. From these awards we have found that the practice of Biodanza increases: global intelligence and intelligence of details (Rorschach criteria), abstract intelligence (Raven criteria), musical intelligence, motor intelligence and especially affective intelligence.

In reality, there is no such thing as emotional intelligence. By being part of a living universe, we participate in the cosmic intelligence that generates life and is connected to the capacity for love. Emotional intelligence is the ability to solve life's problems through life itself.

Thus, from a scientific point of view, it can be said that war is an activity of the mentally handicapped that is close to the level of idiocy. The total expression of human intelligence is love and friendship. Love is a subtle interplay between two identities that confront each other to build a unified identity with the other. It is an impulse to merge with others. Love does not arise from the nature of the moment, but rather is a process that animates existence.