As Meghan Trainor once said in one of her songs, “I feel better when I’m dancing!” Without a doubt, dancing sure does lift our mood and spirits energized for our day. There’s just something in following the beats and rhythm of the music that brings us so much joy. Dance is an activity that everyone indeed loves to do, whether you flaunt your every move on the dance floor or sway to your favorite songs in the car. Dancing is a form of recreational and sporting activity that uplifts and stimulates both the mind and the body. It can not only make you smile and able to boost your mood, but it can also help you enhance your physical and mental health. Dancing is an excellent form of exercise that engages both your mind and muscles, regardless of your age. “I guarantee you will see a huge difference in your overall mood, decrease stress levels, and have an extra pep in your step,” said Kelsey Sheahan. It's child’s play to select your favorite preferred dance style/s once you get started because there are so many variations to choose from.
It's impossible to move our bodies without putting some force into the effort. Every dance movement requires energy to communicate to understand its meaning entirely. Energy is a force, and physical and mental energy efforts are crucial in creating dance training. Energy is concerned with how movement occurs. It necessitates and gives off a lot of energy expenditure from the body as it entails “movement in all directions.” says Nick Smeeton of the University of Brighton. We are most familiar with the physical sort of energy since it can be seen and described visually in dance, such as when someone jumps or leaps from a standing position. The mental form of energy is more difficult to detect, yet expert dancers understand its significance. Dancers can use mental energy to improve their performance on competition day, focus, or any time they need to push themselves further than they have before! Variations in movement flow and the utilization of force, tension, and weight are all factors that give energy to the body. The up-and-down and side-to-side movements when dancing may stimulate and train many of your body's small support muscles and tendons, just as trail jogging and trekking better use your lower-body joints and muscles than straight-ahead, level-ground locomotion. While running, swimming, and other propulsive kinds of physical activity rely on rhythm and momentum to keep you moving, "dance involves a lot of accelerating and decelerating," according to Smeeton.
Dancing benefits both physical and emotional health by preventing falls, improving posture and flexibility, elevating mood, and reducing anxiety. Dancing also pushes people to make split-second decisions, which can aid in the formation of new neural connections in the brain. It also "integrates numerous brain functions at once — kinesthetic, logical, musical, and emotional — further enhancing your neural connectedness," according to a Stanford University review. A growing number of scientific experts have demonstrated that the dancer's body releases various mood-improving subs during dancing. According to a study conducted by The Arts in Psychotherapy, when these chemicals are released, they enhance one's mental state; even one "live" dancing session can help lessen depression. Besides that, It is also a pleasurable pastime that sharpens the intellect, improves cardiovascular power and strength, strengthens social ties, and can help with pain and stiffness.
"Movement and dance are extremely expressive, allowing you to let go and escape," Tylicki explained. This "letting go" improves your mental and emotional health by reducing stress, lessening anxiety and depression symptoms, and raising your self-esteem.
The beautiful effects of dance on physical and mental health have led to different methods in utilizing dancing in terms of treatment and therapy. Dance/movement therapy, often known as DMT, is a type of treatment that uses movement to assist clients in achieving emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration. Dance therapy can be utilized for stress reduction, disease prevention, and mood management and is beneficial for both physical and mental health. Research has provided that dance movements have been helpful to fight depression and a decrease in other diseases such as chronic pain and hypertension. DMT's physical component also promotes muscular strength, coordination, mobility, and a reduction in muscular stress. Dance therapy, in general, increases self-awareness, self-esteem, and a safe space for emotional expression.
“Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythm of your life. It’s the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness, and envy.” as said by Jacques d’Amboise.
By
Glaiza Reyes
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