So how else does it improve your wellbeing? Physically dancing is one of the best forms of exercise you can do. Cognitively dancing shifts your minds focus. It helps you to tune out and take a step back from the daily rise and grind. Socially you get to interact with a new group of people and connect on something that makes you all feel good! Just ask a dancer. Tayler Beth Anderson has been dancing all her life, both socially and professionally. I know a lot of people who have turned to dance for help and healing.
A bulk of research is dedicated to the emotional benefits of dance. In a study conducted in Poland, mood was assessed before and after dance activity among competitive and recreational dancers. While the competitive dancers were admittedly just as stressed as any athlete practicing their thing, the recreational dancers reported higher energy, less tension, and a better, more creative mood than before.
A different study , this one in Greece, found that women who recently had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer experienced an increase in life satisfaction and a decrease in depressive symptoms when they participated in dance therapy, compared to a control group. Those who indicated depression before the study experienced a decrease in fatigue. It helps you relax. Dance can help solidify the mind-body connection. We all know that when we are stressed out, our bodies let us know… sometimes even before our minds are aware.
By focusing on movement, practicing muscle isolation and especially by stretching, dance helps release physical tension. The controlled breath patterns that can accompany many stretches and exercises help to regulate breathing and slow the pulse. The body awareness that dance encourages helps participants relax on command which is key to reducing tension in areas like the shoulders and neck. This awareness will aid a dancer in maintaining good health and avoiding chronic illness.
It relieves stress. Dance is a mental break from the rest of your day. When a student enters dance class, they have to leave their troubles at the door. Dance requires intense focus and concentration on the physical. While doing a plie, a dancer is thinking about keeping her sternum lifted, using resistance to create the movement, rotating her legs open from the hip joints instead of the knees or feet, the position of her arm in relation to the movement, keeping the neck straight, the eyes focused front, letting the shoulders relax and so much more!
There is little mental room for anything but the myriad of technique points to remember. By the end of class, the dancer has had an hour or more of uninterrupted focus.
When a student steps back into reality, she has a new perspective on all of those troubles she left at the door on arrival. This mental space is one of the reasons I love ballet so much. It releases endorphins Its exercise!
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