Be it dancing on the stage or simply locking yourself in the room to sway to your favorite RnB tunes, dancing is a very enjoyable thing to do. Sure, you’d feel you’re not for it thinking you have two left feet but as the saying goes, “Everybody can dance, it’s the passion and drive that makes you a dancer.” If this does not motivate you enough to finally ‘get your groove on’, then perhaps we can pique your interest by sharing some of the benefits of dancing to your health and well-being? Read on.
1. Helps you stay in shape. If you did not know already, dancing is one of the best workout routines there is. By simply dancing and moving around to some upbeat music, you can stay active and live a healthy lifestyle. As dance is a form of exercise, it helps with building muscle, gaining strength, improving flexibility, increasing lung capacity, and improving heart health, among many others.
Imho, this should be reason enough to start dancing because who would not want to stay fit while having the best time, right?
2. Keeps you motivated and disciplined. When you decided to take up dancing lessons or dance professionally, you are committing to a lifestyle that is rewarding but requires a great deal of hard work, consistency, passion, and discipline. Relating it back to dancing being a form of exercise, some routines may be challenging and may cause some discomfort especially for beginners. If you wake up on Day 2 with a sore leg and unmemorized routine, would you still go back and try dancing again? Dancing helps make discipline a habit rather than a chore. And once you get the hang of it, you will stay motivated and dedicated, setting goals you never thought you would ever even consider. You sure will be coming back for more.
3. Allows you to release trapped emotions. Dance will allow you to express yourself creatively and be able to release trapped emotions in your body. According to Dan Leven, the founder of LIFE Movement, “Movement and dance engage the right side of the brain, allowing you to access your deepest self, visceral feelings, and intuition more easily. Movement also spurs the growth of new brain cells. Right-brain activities such as dancing, drawing, painting, and singing strengthen the brain pathways that connect to and express your emotions.”
If you hear a voice in your head that you simply cannot express, you may try to do so through movement and dance.
4. Improves mental health. If you or anyone you care about is struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issues, you might want to encourage them to take up dancing. Dancing helps improve your mental well-being. This has been proven in patients with depression and various medical research. One research noted that a group of patients diagnosed with clinical depression attended several recreational dance sessions through which their symptoms have greatly reduced.
Remember though that dancing can be of great help to improve one’s symptoms but it’s still best to seek a professional’s advice when necessary.
5. Makes you happy. Have you been feeling down, unmotivated, or discouraged lately? Then heed Ke$ha’s advice when she said, “I command you to dance!” because in a non-medical sense, dancing simply feels goooooood. It can give you that boost of energy that you need when you feel sad, or hopeless even. And to back this up, dance and movement alongside some feel-good music stimulates the release of Endorphins a.k.a the “Happy Hormone” which, by the way, does not make you happy the way that you might think it does, but rather help us in the way we deal with stress and pain.
And hey, who would not like that?
Dancing really is your physical, emotional, and mental being’s best friend.
So what are you still waiting for, get rid of your inhibitions, get up, wear your dancing shoes, move to you favorite tunes, and get ready to feel and be the best you have ever been! 😊