Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices
  4. Volume 17, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 17, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1757-1871
  • E-ISSN: 1757-188X

Abstract

For centuries, Buddhist traditions have regarded the body’s processual and phenomenal nature as a profound source of insight into the transient nature of reality and a platform for cultivating a flexible, non-attached attitude towards experience. Recently, the phenomenon of non-attachment has gained momentum in research, particularly in the context of mindfulness practices, as a reduced tendency of the mind to fixate on the valence or meaning of experiences. In this study, we conducted fifteen interviews to explore the bodily experiences of non-professional dancers who regularly practise the Gaga movement language. To interpret and capture the rich data, we used interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants’ lived experiences reveal a shared process of encountering and embracing the constant flux of bodily phenomena, gradually learning to let go within the movement. Rather than imposing rigid expectations on their experiences, some participants learned to be present and non-attached to whatever phenomena arose within their awareness. Additionally, participants who could enter states of non-attachment repeatedly reported changes towards healthier self-perceptions and relationships with others.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Masaryk University (Award CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016943)
© 2025 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jdsp_00134_1
2025-07-22
2025-12-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Banth, S. and Talwar, C. (2012), ‘Anasakti, the Hindu ideal, and its relationship to well-being and orientations to happiness’, Journal of Religion and Health, 51:3, pp. 934–46, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9402-3.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Barton, E. J. (2011), ‘Movement and mindfulness: A formative evaluation of a dance/movement and yoga therapy program with participants experiencing severe mental illness’, American Journal of Dance Therapy, 33:2, pp. 157–81, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-011-9121-7.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bossenbroek, R., Wols, A., Weerdmeester, J., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Granic, I. and van Rooij, M. M. J. W. (2020), ‘Efficacy of a virtual reality biofeedback game (DEEP) to reduce anxiety and disruptive classroom behavior: Single-case study’, JMIR Mental Health, 7:3, https://doi.org/10.2196/16066.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Brocki, J. M. and Wearden, A. J. (2006), ‘A critical evaluation of the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in health psychology’, Psychology & Health, 21:1, pp. 87–108, https://doi.org/10.1080/14768320500230185.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Caldwell, K., Harrison, M., Adams, M., Quin, R. H. and Greeson, J. (2010), ‘Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: Effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality’, Journal of American College Health, 58:5, pp. 433–42, https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480903540481.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Chao, S.-H. and Chen, P.-H. (2013), ‘The reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the nonattachment scale: Reliability, validity, and its relationship with mental health’, Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 45:1, pp. 121–39, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-05529-007. Accessed 19 May 2025.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Christensen, J. F., Gomila, A., Gaigg, S. B., Sivarajah, N. and Calvo-Merino, B. (2016), ‘Dance expertise modulates behavioral and psychophysiological responses to affective body movement’, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 42:8, pp. 1139–47, https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000176.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Chyle, F., Boehm, K., Imus, S. and Ostermann, T. (2020), ‘A reconstructive hermeneutic analysis: The distinctive role of body- and movement-based interventions with male offenders’, Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 15:2, pp. 106–23, https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2020.1748902.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Cox, L. and Youmans-Jones, J. (2023), ‘Dance is a healing art’, Current Treatment Options in Allergy, 10:2, pp. 184–95, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-023-00332-x.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014), Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Dreeben, S. J., Mamberg, M. H. and Salmon, P. (2013), ‘The MBSR body scan in clinical practice’, Mindfulness, 4:4, pp. 394–401, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0212-z.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Eatough, V. and Smith, J. A. (2017), ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis’, in C. Willig and W. S. Rogers (eds), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd., pp. 193–209.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Elphinstone, B., Egan, P. and Whitehead, R. (2021), ‘Greater autonomous motivation for study and basic psychological need satisfaction by being presently aware and “letting go”: An exploration of mindful attention and nonattachment’, Motivation and Emotion, 45:1, pp. 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-020-09836-4.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Elphinstone, B. and Whitehead, R. (2019), ‘The benefits of being less fixated on self and stuff: Nonattachment, reduced insecurity, and reduced materialism’, Personality and Individual Differences, 149, pp. 302–08, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.06.019.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Elphinstone, B., Whitehead, R. and Bates, G. (2020), ‘“Letting go” and flourishing in study: An investigation of the indirect relationship between nonattachment and grades via psychological wellbeing’, Learning and Individual Differences, 78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101847.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Feliu-Soler, A., Soler, J., Luciano, J. V., Cebolla, A., Elices, M., Demarzo, M. and García-Campayo, J. (2016), ‘Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the nonattachment scale (NAS) and its relationship with mindfulness, decentering, and mental health’, Mindfulness, 7:5, pp. 1156–69, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0558-0.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Fisher, L. M. (2020), ‘Listening to the body: Interoception through Gaga movementlanguage’, UF Journal of Undergraduate Research, 22, https://doi.org/10.32473/ufjur.v22i0.121935.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Fuchs, T. (2005), ‘Corporealized and disembodied minds: A phenomenological view of the body in melancholia and schizophrenia’, Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 12:2, pp. 95–107, https://doi.org/10.1353/PPP.2005.0040.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Fuchs, T. (2015), ‘From self-disorders to ego disorders’, Psychopathology, 48:5, pp. 324–31, https://doi.org/10.1159/000432404.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Fuchs, T. (2020), ‘The circularity of the embodied mind’, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01707.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Fuchs, T. and Koch, S. C. (2014), ‘Embodied affectivity: On moving and being moved’, Frontiers in Psychology, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00508.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Fuchs, T. and Schlimme, J. E. (2009), ‘Embodiment and psychopathology: A phenomenological perspective’, Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 22:6, pp. 570–75, https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0b013e3283318e5c.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Galili, D. F. (2015), ‘Gaga: Moving beyond technique with Ohad Naharin in the twenty-first century’, Dance Chronicle, 38:3, pp. 360–92, https://doi.org/10.1080/01472526.2015.1085759.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Gentili, C., Rickardsson, J., Zetterqvist, V., Simons, L. E., Lekander, M. and Wicksell, R. K. (2019), ‘Psychological flexibility as a resilience factor in individuals with chronic pain’, Frontiers in Psychology, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02016.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Giummarra, M. J., Gibson, S. J., Georgiou-Karistianis, N. and Bradshaw, J. L. (2008), ‘Mechanisms underlying embodiment, disembodiment and loss of embodiment’, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32:1, pp. 143–60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.07.001.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A. and Lillis, J. (2006), ‘Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes’, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44:1, pp. 1–25, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Ho, C. Y., Ben, C. L. and Mak, W. W. (2022), ‘Nonattachment mediates the associations between mindfulness, well-being, and psychological distress: A meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach’, Clinical Psychology Review, 95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102175.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Homann, K. B. (2010), ‘Embodied concepts of neurobiology in dance/movement therapy practice’, American Journal of Dance Therapy, 32:2, pp. 80–99, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-010-9099-6.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Katan-Schmid, E. (2016), Embodied Philosophy in Dance: Gaga and Ohad Naharin’s Movement Research, London: Palgrave-Macmillan.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Khoury, B., Knäuper, B., Pagnini, F., Trent, N., Chiesa, A. and Carrière, K. (2017), ‘Embodied mindfulness’, Mindfulness, 8:5, pp. 1160–71, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0700-7.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Koch, S. C. (2017), ‘Arts and health: Active factors and a theory framework of embodied aesthetics’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 54, pp. 85–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.02.002.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Koch, S. C. and Fuchs, T. (2011), ‘Embodied arts therapies’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38:4, pp. 276–80, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2011.08.007.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Koch, S. C., Riege, R. F. F., Tisborn, K., Biondo, J., Martin, L. and Beelmann, A. (2019), ‘Effects of dance movement therapy and dance on health-related psychological outcomes: A meta-analysis update’, Frontiers in Psychology, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Laird, K. T., Vergeer, I., Hennelly, S. E. and Siddarth, P. (2021), ‘Conscious dance: Perceived benefits and psychological well-being of participants’, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101440.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Lama, D. (2009), For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on the Way of the Bodhisattva, Boston, MA and London: Shambhala Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Lamis, D. A. and Dvorak, R. D. (2014), ‘Mindfulness, nonattachment, and suicide rumination in college students: The mediating role of depressive symptoms’, Mindfulness, 5:5, pp. 487–96, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0203-0.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Lynch, J. M. and Troy, A. S. (2021), ‘The role of nonduality in the relationship between flow states and well-being’, Mindfulness, 12:7, pp. 1639–52, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01627-3.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Marich, J. and Howell, T. (2015), ‘Dancing mindfulness: A phenomenological investigation of the emerging practice’, Explore, 11:5, pp. 346–56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2015.07.001.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1968), The Visible and the Invisible: Followed by Working Notes, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Montero-Marin, J., Puebla-Guedea, M., Herrera-Mercadal, P., Cebolla, A., Soler, J., Demarzo, M., Vazquez, C., Rodríguez-Bornaetxea, F. and García-Campayo, J. (2016), ‘Psychological effects of a 1-month meditation retreat on experienced meditators: The role of non-attachment’, Frontiers in Psychology, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01935.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Muro, A. and Artero, N. (2016), ‘Dance practice and well-being correlates in young women’, Women & Health, 57:10, pp. 1193–203, https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2016.1243607.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Pande, N. and Tewari, S. (2011), ‘Understanding coping with distress due to physical disability’, Psychology and Developing Societies, 23:2, pp. 177–209, https://doi.org/10.1177/097133361102300203.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Pinniger, R., Brown, R. F., Thorsteinsson, E. B. and McKinley, P. (2012), ‘Argentine tango dance compared to mindfulness meditation and a waiting-list control: A randomised trial for treating depression’, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 20:6, pp. 377–84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2012.07.003.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Purser, A. (2019), ‘Dancing intercorporeality: A health humanities perspective on dance as a healing art’, The Journal of Medical Humanities, 40:2, pp. 253–63, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-017-9502-0.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Pylvänäinen, P. (2003), ‘Body image: A tripartite model for use in dance/movement therapy’, American Journal of Dance Therapy, 25:1, pp. 39–55, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025517232383.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Röhricht, F., Papadopoulos, N., Suzuki, I. and Priebe, S. (2009), ‘Ego-pathology, body experience, and body psychotherapy in chronic schizophrenia’, Psychology and Psychotherapy, 82:Pt 1, pp. 19–30, https://doi.org/10.1348/147608308X342932.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Röhricht, F., Papadopoulos, N., Holden, S., Clarke, T. and Priebe, S. (2011), ‘Therapeutic processes and clinical outcomes of body psychotherapy in chronic schizophrenia: An open clinical trial’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38:3, pp. 196–203, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2011.06.001.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Sahdra, B. K., Shaver, P. R. and Brown, K. W. (2010), ‘A scale to measure nonattachment: A Buddhist complement to western research on attachment and adaptive functioning’, Journal of Personality Assessment, 92:2, pp. 116–27, https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890903425960.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Sahdra, B., Ciarrochi, J. and Parker, P. (2016), ‘Nonattachment and mindfulness: Related but distinct constructs’, Psychological Assessment, 28:7, pp. 819–29, https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000264.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Sanger, A. (2019), ‘Gaga as embodied research (New Writer’s Prize article)’, Research in Dance Education, 20:1, pp. 5–18, https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2018.1518973.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Schumann, K., Zaki, J. and Dweck, C. S. (2014), ‘Addressing the empathy deficit: Beliefs about the malleability of empathy predict effortful responses when empathy is challenging’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107:3, pp. 475–93, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036738.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Schwender, T. M., Spengler, S., Oedl, C. and Mess, F. (2018), ‘Effects of dance interventions on aspects of the participants’ self: A systematic review’, Frontiers in Psychology, 9, p. 1130, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01130.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W. and Griffiths, M. D. (2016), ‘Ontological addiction: Classification, etiology, and treatment’, Mindfulness, 7:3, pp. 660–71, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0501-4.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Siah, P. C., Tun, P. Y. and Chan, M. P. (2020), ‘Non-attachment and happiness: Mediating versus moderating roles of grit personality’, Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 8:1, pp. 31–40, https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2020.95147.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Smith, J. A. (2017), ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Getting at lived experience’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12:3, pp. 303–04, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262622.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Smith, J. A. and Fieldsend, M. (2021), ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis’, in P. M. Camic (ed.), Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design, 2nd ed., Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 147–66.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. de Sousa, S. and Shapiro, S. (2018), ‘The dance of presence: Mindfulness and movement’, in B. Kirkcaldy (ed.), Psychotherapy, Literature and the Visual and Performing Arts, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 113–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Sys, S., Van Gordon, W. and Gilbert, P. (2024), ‘A qualitative comparison of secular and Buddhist-informed mental health practitioners’ perceptions of non-attachment’, Mindfulness, 15:2, pp. 345–58, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02291-5.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Sze, J. A., Gyurak, A., Yuan, J. W. and Levenson, R. W. (2010), ‘Coherence between emotional experience and physiology: Does body awareness training have an impact?’, Emotion, 10:6, pp. 803–14, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020146.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. van Geest, J., Samaritter, R. and van Hooren, S. (2021), ‘Move and be moved: The effect of moving specific movement elements on the experience of happiness’, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.579518.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Dunn, T. J., Garcia-Campayo, J. and Griffiths, M. D. (2017), ‘Meditation awareness training for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome: A randomized controlled trial’, British Journal of Health Psychology, 22:1, pp. 186–206, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12224.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Vowles, K. E., McNeil, D. W., Gross, R. T., McDaniel, M. L., Mouse, A., Bates, M., Gallimore, P. and McCall, C. (2007), ‘Effects of pain acceptance and pain control strategies on physical impairment in individuals with chronic low back pain’, Behavior Therapy, 38:4, pp. 412–25, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2007.02.001.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Wang, S.-Y., Wong, Y. J. and Yeh, K.-H. (2016), ‘Relationship harmony, dialectical coping, and nonattachment: Chinese indigenous well-being and mental health’, The Counseling Psychologist, 44:1, pp. 78–108, https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015616463.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Whitehead, R., Bates, G., Elphinstone, B., Yang, Y. and Murray, G. (2018), ‘Letting go of self: The creation of the nonattachment to self scale’, Frontiers in Psychology, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02544.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Whitehead, R., Bates, G., Elphinstone, B., Yang, Y. and Murray, G. (2019), ‘Nonattachment mediates the relationship between mindfulness and psychological well-being, subjective well-being, and depression, anxiety and stress’, Journal of Happiness Studies, 20:7, pp. 2141–58, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0041-9.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Yeager, D. S. and Dweck, C. S. (2012), ‘Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed’, Educational Psychologist, 47:4, pp. 302–14, https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2012.722805.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jdsp_00134_1
Loading
The non-attached dancing body: A qualitative study in Gaga people
Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices 17, 81 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1386/jdsp_00134_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jdsp_00134_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jdsp_00134_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): awareness; body; dance; embodiment; flexibility; Gaga; non-attachment; phenomena

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test