Use of the words 'inner dance' or 'innerdance' can be found in various texts, as early as the 1970's, and in a variety of contexts including historical anthropology, spirituality, therapy, psychology, musicology, neurology, phenomenology, and somatic or kinetic experiencing. Many of these contexts include various forms of practice, ritual, or meditation to support clients/participants/patients on a journey into inner states of movement and change. Various texts write about the inner dance through the lens of tribal or ancient origins. Each text describes various rituals, ceremonies, performances, and trance states that evoke a remembrance of the energy in spontaneously arising forms and flows.

Several historical examples contribute to the understanding of inner dance. In his 1975 book on tantra, Osho gives an example of the inner dance in his description of latihan, saying that "it is not only that your body is dancing; inside the energy is dancing and they both cooperate with each other... you have found the universal rhythm." In 1987, Diane Mariechild and Shuli Goodman wrote a book called "The Inner Dance: A Guide to Spiritual and Psychological Unfolding". Diane describes the inner dance as "the pulse of the universe that exists within our hearts. The awakened dancer moves to that pulse... [The inner dance] is designed to take us beyond logical thought into direct experience." Renowned sound therapy expert Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, known for his groundbreaking research on the effects of frequency on brainwaves, recorded albums that aim to achieve desired behavioral effects. In 1995, his Inner Dance album featured what Dr. Thompson refers to as "brainwave pacing," - believed to stimulate the brain to create overall balance and health. In 2010, Pi Villaraza wrote a book called "Conscious Trance: The Journey to the Dancer Within". In this book, he says that the inner dance stands for "simplification, returning to nature, non-attachment, and the transition to a lighter diet... the Inner Dance [is] merely the invitation to go to the source of the energy... as people go deeper into their understanding of the energy, they will find that the Inner Dance experience delves more into perspective than the experiential practice of it." In the 2015 book "Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives", Kathleen & Pat Debenham wrote about one's self-discovery of the inner dance stating that "deep inside each individual, there resides a dance—a unique and sacred personal narrative. Though no one can tell another how to find this dance, we believe that engaging in a constructivist pedagogy where value is placed on embodied knowing and meaning making leads dancers to access their own ‘sacred’ dance." The embodiment of this energetic knowing brings meaning to the emergence of the dance within.

Both similarities and differences exist between KAP (Kundalini Activation Process) and Innerdance. In fact, innerdance is not unlike a number of different practices and modalities related to sound, movement, music, and changes within vibratory states of being, awareness, and conscious experiencing. A number of different healing practices that, closely or distantly, resemble each other have been co-evolving for more than 60 years. Among many of these co-evolving practices, techniques, and therapies, an improvisational or spontaneous movement emerges. This movement is innately 'inner' and it can arise both internally and externally. As the energy emerges, it has the potential to take on many forms. Kundalini is just one of these forms. However, it is only one of many forms and does not hold greater weight or significance in the movements of energy within the dance. When emphasis is given to the Kundalini energy, the inner dance changes and becomes intentionally directional. This changes the energy from a universal potentiality into a structured form of flow. Any practice or modality that claims to activate kundalini or life force is an intentional direction within the practice and is no longer in full alignment with the universal rhythm that is inner dance. Similar forms of music, group setting, and energy work may be used during sessions of different practices, but key differences do exist between innerdance and kundalini/life force practices at a fundamental level of experience and foundational understandings.

The energy of each person's unique inner dance state is innate. It can be remembered, awakened, activated, and embodied through numerous techniques and practices that may or may not include music. The inner dance pedagogizes a link between inner movement and a powerful potential for healing and change. This does not require music to naturally arise and occur. Deep History includes nature and the origins of rhythm in our human song-story of musical movements, trance, and expanded states of consciousness.  Stillness, dance, silence and noise each contribute to the qualities of a Universe we begin to remember in the spaciousness of flow.  This can happen with or without music.  It may rise up when immersed in the beauty of a forest, sounds of a waterfall, crashing waves on a beach, or insects in the night.  White noise may carry us far into the dream-like spaces of infinity and nothingness that catapult us back into memories of the womb or a sensation of life before the universe's first breath.  When remembrance enters a state of embodied wisdom, innerdance becomes the living quality of life itself. It is always a dance; there is always a rhythm; life is the remembrance of this rhythm through the flow of the dance.   To assist in the process of remembering, curated soundscapes, playlists, or a mixture of electronic and live music can be used as navigation tools that support the process of journeying into the inner dance state. When specific brain entrainment soundscapes are used during innerdance sessions, the capacity to experience the conceptive field and universal creative force energies is amplified. In group settings, music plays a key role in helping participants to feel safe and supported during a session. When the movements of sound, from start to finish, are specifically designed to enhance the potential for heightened vibratory response, the inner dance energy has the capacity to move with little to no human facilitation needed. The deeper theories of this phenomenon are embedded in the motor dimension of imagination and authentic movement as aspects of embodied consciousness essential for relational healing on this planet.

The innerdance is both a practice and a healing or spiritual modality, and a way of life. The inner dance is part of an intuitive energetic flow that moves between space and time. It can arise with no intention, practice, or guidance as much as it can be facilitated during specific sessions. However, unlike many other practices and modalities, innerdance does not structure a specific form through which the energy flows.  It is flow.  The body itself is the form.  All that rises comes from the harmonization of that which emerges and the diffusion of tension points into cognitive and visceral embodiment.  On both a personal and collective level, diffusion is also a consciousness.  At boundary sites and strong tension points, innovative consciousness moves towards the potential for profound life transformation.  In this way, awakening can spontaneously occur.  The embodiment of this 'awakened energy' is unique to each one of us like a finger print, iris, or astrological birth story.  It is You.  When you feel it, you remember fragments of that which moves you from the ignited spark lighting the path towards your inner illumination and return.  No modality or practice can produce this for you - the generative force is within.  Innerdance is a portal through which the energy of this wisdom is embodied - empowering the being and expanding the horizon.  It is simply an invitation.

To answer simply, No!  Actually, every session is different.  Expanding this moment into the length of a session opens infinite potentialities for experiencing the rhythms of Now.

Firstly, when expectation for what might/might not occur is dropped, innerdance happens intuitively and spontaneously.  This is true for any innerdance.  During the soundscape portion of an innerdance session, music supports the process as a playlist that shifts between various brainwave states in a rhythm symmetrical to human sleep cycles and planetary motions.  As brainwave sounds change, the body and mind move through many different possible expressions for this energetic movement.  The brain experiences this as a surge of electricity that leads to greater synaptic stimulation and response - especially in the right hemisphere.  The autonomic nervous system moves through various stages of transformation.  And the physical body often witnesses non-linear time expressed as sensations, colors, emotions, feelings, and movements - occurring with or without logical rationalization.   Facilitators use a variety of techniques for energy mapping and intuitive connection.  From this creative field, conceptive energy rises.  Facilitators work with various energy points on the body and in the surrounding energy field.  They may place hands on the body, assist in the body's motions, relate through synergy or energetically work within the body's field of symmetry.  Many facilitators also have highly sensitive intuitions that guide their movements throughout a session.

1:1 sessions are usually 90-180min long depending on the facilitator, the context for the session itself and how the facilitator both maps and supports the initiation and integration stages of transformation during the process. The innerdance soundscape is usually 60-90min and the remaining time consists of sharings, dialogue, integration and possible next steps for continued growth or change.

Sessions begin with dialogue.  Space to speak, share, ask questions, express feelings, thoughts, emotions or story elements that are being looked at, worked out, needing support, coming into clarity, or perhaps rising from the unconscious into the conscious awareness.  Anything and everything that rises is valid and compassionately given space to be seen, heard and felt.  The earliest stages of speaking and bringing visibility to the unseen and unheard are already very healing.  Once hidden elements or underlying factors are gently brought to the surface, a much deeper process of unraveling and disentangling can spontaneously occur.  The facilitator is NOT the healer!  The facilitator is merely s/he who bears witness to the miraculous healing capacity that innately lives within each one of us. Facilitators use a variety of techniques for energy mapping and intuitive connection.  From this creative field, conceptive energy rises.  As this energy is seen and met, it changes - allowance and permission for this change sparks the first movements.  Here, the innerdance emerges.  Facilitators work with various energy points on the body and in the surrounding energy field.  They may place hands on the body, assist the body's motions, relate through synergy or energetically work within the body's field of symmetry.  Many facilitators also have a highly sensitive intuition that creates space for channeling or accessing information on a clairvoyant, clairaudient, or clairsentient level of experience and interpretation. After the music, space for reintegration is honored and supported.  This may be in the form of dialogue, sharing insights, answering questions, or providing additional space for reflection through writing, drawing or any other creative means of expression.  PLEASE NOTE: Growth often comes from the application of change.  Integrating a 1:1 session can take time.  Changes to vibratory and cellular levels of experience shift into homeostasis at varying rates.  Allow space for the session to continue shifting even after the 1:1 ends.

Depending on the space, booking times or available class schedule, group sessions range from approx. 90-180min with soundscape and playlist durations usually a 60-90min experience.  After the soundscape, sessions usually close with space for re-integration and sharing.  Depending on number of participants and length of sharings, allow 15-45min for this closing circle.

a) Introductions Introductions come in the form of sharings, dialogues, demos, or other ceremonial/practice-based sequences or rituals held in alignment with the space. b) Innerdance Soundscape or Playlist Close your eyes.  Breathe.  Trust.  Allow.  Listen.  Be.  Become. For more information, check out the MUSIC or IDES Videos c) Re-integration Rest into the silence.  Durations of sound continue to move across vast expanses of non-linear time.  Non-linear time yet experiences the elasticity of its own durations.  Find a moment of stillness to pause and feel all that flows.  Give the sensations, emotions, thoughts and vibrations space to continue moving.  Inertia runs deep in these experiences and it may take hours, days or longer to fully re-integrate.  Trust whatever is there. d) Sharing Circle Sharing circles may only be a few minutes or can extend for much longer.  There's no requirement to speak aloud during this circle.  However, many participants find that verbalizations of any kind help with the re-integration process.  To vocalize brings voice to the words and resonant vibrations in the moment - creating a network of memories akin to neuroplasticity.  The collective conscious becomes more intelligent of itself as, it too, undergoes a surge in synaptic connectivity.

a) An Open Space Facilitators each have unique ways to help open the space.  This often happens even before participants arrive.  Some facilitators swear by sage before any spiritual activity, others find protection and blessing in palo santo or crystals.  For others, a humble heart connection and joy is more than enough to lovingly open a space.  Trust that the opening is of love - however it happens.  b) Invitation to Circle Tribal wisdom of the elders and ancients remembers us in circle.  We are simply the mirrors of What Is.  Circles are both sacred and common.  Circular space honors the collective and the equanimous center balancing us all.  With gratitude for the circle's geometry and nature of essence, we sit.  NOTE: Whether any depth of circular wisdom is made visible before or after the innerdance, is not important.  This is a well documented part of human culture available for interpretation.  We invite you to connect however is meaningful for you.  This invitation is usually non-verbal.  You might find cushions or yoga mats in a circle on the floor, or an offering in the middle of a space.  Facilitators help set the space so you feel welcome and safe.

Whether it be cacao, meditation, yin yoga, breathwork, voice activation, full moon ceremonies etc, innerdance harmonizes with many other practices, modalities, rituals and experiences.  Although innerdance is also simple trust with just headphones and a playlist, when groups energetically align at heightened levels of connectivity - the experience can be profound, magical, and out of this world.  Co-adaptive energy blossoms and flourishes in these moments while in a coherent heart and mind state.  It is both the "feel good 'effect'" and "whatever feels good is also good 'ripple effect'".  With that said, let feel good cacao love lead the way - happy journeying.