Abstract: Background: Dancing to music can induce states of trance as well as very pleasant or ecstatic experiences – particularly when the music is repetitive, monotonous, and rhythmic. The consciousness-changing and trance-inducing effects of electronic music resemble some of the psychoactive effects induced by specific drugs. We hypothesized that the effects of dancing to electronic music...
Distress is a growing public health concern. In this three-armed randomized controlled trial, n = 102 adults with elevated stress levels and stress-related symptoms were randomly assigned to (1) “integrative” yoga classes which combined physical exercises, mindfulness training, and ethical/philosophical aspects of traditional yoga; to (2) Iyengar yoga classes which entailed primarily physical...
In a comprehensive meta-analysis on the effects of mindfulness meditation, Eberth and Sedlmeier (2012) identified a multitude of positive effects that covered a wide range of psychological variables, such as heightened mindfulness as measured through contemporary mindfulness scales, reduced negative emotions, increased positive emotions, changes in self-concept, enhanced attention, perception,...
Music is known to alter people's ordinary experience of space and time. Not only does this challenge the concept of invariant space and time tacitly assumed in psychology but it may also help us understand how music works and how music can be understood as an embodied experience. Yet research about these alterations is in its infancy. This review is intended to delineate a future research...