DANCE YOUR WAY TO FITNESS

Do you remember when you had your first dance? How did you feel? It was refreshing, right!

The benefits dance can give, can be attained through other means as well. So, why dance? Well, the reasons may vary for everyone. We dance for physical fitness. We dance to enhance cognitive abilities. It may provide emotional and physical stability.

However, one thing remains unchanged. We dance to express ourselves and show the world who we are. There is something in dance that we can not stop ourselves from taping our feet to music. It is something we feel.

Any dance form keep you alert and running on your toes. The benefits are humongous. It is impossible to pen down all of the benefits. But, I’ve written some of it. So, here it goes:-

Makes you feel alive :-

Be it Bharatanatyam or Ballet; your soul and body flows with the melody of the art form. Due to the release of happy hormones, that is, endorphins, your mood lights up. Your body let go of any stress and makes you feel alive.

Dancing is a good source of entertainment; as you have so many to choose from. People of any age can choose to dance.

Fitness:-

It has to be the most obvious benefit of dancing. Dancing involves rotation on all planes of our body. These enables every muscle of the body is used. Not only you can increase your endurance and balance, but also coordination and mindfulness is increased. Since dancing involves repetition of steps.

Are you having difficulty in losing weight ? Do you find gym to be boring? I think dance is just the perfect option. Dancing is fun, if you do it mindfully.

Social development :-

Dancing is a great way to me friends. Are you wondering how! Participating in various dance events allow you to meet thousands of different people over time. When you interact with them, you gain knowledge and brush off your social skills.

Performing in front of people gives you courage and trains you for your future professional relationships. It becomes better with practice. More you dance, more courageous you become.

Express yourself :-

Dance expresses those emotions when words fail. Do you agree? It brings people together. You get to travel various places, if you’re a professional dancer, and dance with people even though you don’t speak their language.

When you decide to learn to dance, you re-wire your brain. Your brain starts to learn something new and refreshing than your usual routine. This generates new brain cells and increase memory , coordination between mind and body.

Choosing the dance form:-

For the newbies, go for something you’d enjoy or like to learn. Gradually, you can change to your taste. Before doing so, try keeping the following points in mind :-

• Do I prefer slow dancing or fast dancing ?
• What’s my aim? Fitness? Competition?
• Can I continue it for long run?
• Do I want to dance solo or with partner ?

Where do you start?

You can tune your body anywhere you like- be it your house or studio. Getting started is so easy, trust me. YouTube is the most resourceful place to go to. You can play any video on your TV screen and start dancing.

If you’re someone who enjoy interacting with people, I’d suggest you take offline classes. Dance has garnered attention of millions, that is the reason why most clubs have dance sessions as a part of their fitness program.

You can dance for fun as well as to compete. It is for you to de ide. Dance is a great recreational activity , without any age restriction. It can be done at a tender age of 3 / 4 years and even at 60 years. This is the most attractive feature of dance. Anybody , of any age can participate in this art form.

Types of dance :-

If you’ve come this far, go through these different types of dance forms. Here are some of the most popular forms:-

• Belly dance:-

This form focuses on the core, hips and arm movements. It is more suitable for adults. It will be a good dance form to get started.

• Pilates :-

Pilates conditions the dancer’s body with techniques required for other dance forms. It strengthens muscles of the core.

• Zumba :-

Zumba consists of low to medium to high intensity steps, to increase cardio-endurance. It also helps in weight loss from  all parts of the body.

• Bharatanatyam :-

Bharatanatyam is one traditional and oldest dance form of India. This form is more than mere body movements, the steps and facial expressions portray mythological stories. I must admit it is not an easy from, it requires precision, strength and discipline.

Many more forms are available for you to get started. The gear required is negligible if you’re doing it for fun. In some forms, you might need shoes or other equipments.

Here’s one tip for all the beginners. Avoid making excuses. Excuses have negative impact on our mind. Hence, erase all your negative thoughts and hit the floor. Being consistent will take you a long way.

Featured image source: Ballet dancer photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com