How many of us look at dance as a form of exercise?

For me the word “Dance” itself has so much of energy and power that it sets my pulse rate in motion. Dance is something that I have been doing since my childhood. Being a child, I used to dance just for fun and enjoyment… little did I know about the positive changes that it was creating within me.

Dance has several benefits not only in terms of our physical health but also for our emotional and mental health.

The best thing about dancing is that there is absolutely NO AGE LIMIT for it! It’s something that can be taken up early in life and still provide plenty of entertainment well after retirement.  It’s the perfect example of “joyful workout”. While, we’re having fun grooving to music and meeting new people, we’re getting all the health benefits of a good workout.

Dance by large is an aerobic workout that speeds up your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time. It also involves some movements which are typically anaerobic in nature. We nearly use every muscle in our body to perform certain moves, holds, lifts, squats, spins, jumps or leaps. In fact, we build and tone our muscles while dancing, making them stronger with each session.

A good warm up for about 10 minutes is very essential before starting the dance to get into the groove. Once you get into regular dancing, it ensures increase in flexibility and agility as it involves stretching, bending and twisting.

Dance has innumerable benefits. No doubt it’s the best way to lose weight (provided the diet is correct)  but it’s also been shown to be beneficial for heart health, blood pressure management,  reduction of total blood cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase in levels of HDL (good cholesterol).

I have been looking at dance not only as a way to get better in terms of physical health but mental health as well. It’s one of the best ways to release stress and get your endorphin levels (feel good factor) up! Dance also helps you release all kinds of emotions. May it be happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, boredom…it all gets expressed while you dance. It’s a creative outlet as well wherein you can create your own new moves and choose a variety of music.

So let’s get active!! Put on your dancing shoes, turn the music on and dance. You may not have the best turns or neatest moves, but as long as you feel the rhythm, you’re a good dancer. And I assure you that you’ll never get bored with this workout as there is so much to explore in dance and try out new forms or steps. Of course, it’s way better than jogging on the same old treadmill every day.

Dance on, burn the calories and say good bye to a gloomy/lazy day!