Techno Trance Therapy

Rave goers have known for years that the powerful combination of loud music and drugs could put somebody into a state of trance, where the setting drifts into the background and a feeling of overwhelming connection and love comes to the foreground. In the sixties and seventies, new age music created this hypnosis meditation. Before that, shamans mesmerized themselves around the fire to the sound of drumbeats. Techno trance therapy has been taught in various workshops from London to California but is primarily a form of self-hypnosis that folks teach themselves.

Trance music is the primary component of the techno trance self-hypnosis. While various forms of electronic music may be used to invoke a dance trance, Goa Trance is said to be the most mesmerizing of all. The energetic music pulses at four-quarter note pulses per bar (a "4/4 beat"), while light melodies and rhythms overlay the thumping bass drum kicks.

Goa's roots are in ancient shamanic dance rituals that aimed at transcendence. These long eight to twelve minute tracks focus on gradually building energy and creating mental imagery, much the same as classical music and producing a hypnotic and intense feeling much like a state of trance.

Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom, Juno Reactor, Etnica, Dimension 5, Doof, Hallucinogen, Man With No Name and Transwave are some of the most notable artists producing techno, dance trance music.

Anybody that enters a techno trance, may feel a lightness of body, perhaps even a numbness or disassociation, where the mind and body feel detached, as though the individual is watching him or herself move. Blinking slows down, there is a distortion of movement, space and time, and the senses become more vivid.

An additional frequent occurrence is catalepsy, which is a condition where the muscles contract and remain soft, rather than rigid. The body's natural endorphins and pain relievers flow freely, allowing dancers to continue moving for hours on end.

While listening to trance music, folks often report feeling that they are less inhibited and more able to talk about their emotions. Often a deep sense of interconnectedness takes hold and the dancer begins to feel a bond with those around him or her. It is almost as if these dancers are in another time and place, where rules do not apply and the outside world has ceased to exist.

Techno trance therapy is most commonly prescribed for patients suffering from mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. With hypnotherapy training, it is believed that an individual can calm his or her thoughts, increase the body's natural dopamine and serotonin production and improve moods. It is natural to feel a sense of alienation or oppression from our current system of laws, rules and regulations that feel so far removed from the natural order. Ancient shamans and tribes of Africa knew the power of dance, which helped them get in touch with a more spiritual side that transcended time and place.