Why Ballroom dancing is good for your mind and soul?

Ballroom Dancing is a great way for people of all ages to get in shape and stay fit.

​​Dancing has many positive health benefits and is a wonderful activity that will benefit your mind, body, and spirit. Dancing will improve your health and fitness, mental acuity, and social connections. Dancing is a great social activity and studies have shown that socializing and dancing with friends can contribute to high self-esteem, increased self-confidence and a more positive outlook. Dancing reduces stress and tension, so over time one can feel an overall sense of well-being.

For many ballroom dancing becomes a lot more than a hobby or a fun pass time. Dancing turns into a new lifestyle filled with events, friendships, excitement and to top it all off a slew of heath benefits! 

Check out all the reasons why ballroom dancing may be just the thing you need to try out for yourself and understand why it could be good for you!

Meeting new people 

Dancing is recreational and entertaining. It creates a social life for us, while affording us the opportunity to make new friends. Friends help us grow, make us laugh and support us as we learn. 

If you are getting bored and tired of the same people around you, and would like to expand your social circle, ballroom dancing will provide you with plenty of great opportunities; From dancing class to going out to ballroom dancing events, you will be meeting many new people from all walks of life. In fact, ballroom dancing classes and events are a melting pot for people of wide age ranges, racial, cultural and occupational backgrounds. With all the studio practice dance parties, local, regional and national competitions and nights out on the town allow dancers to have a full social calendar.

Self-confidence
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While dance brings a lot of joy to participators, it can also make them feel very nervous and bring out a lack of self-confidence in both social and performance dance contexts. Every week I see new students who are very anxious about even setting foot into  dance studio for the first time. I’ve had students tell me stories of how they waited outside the studio in their car a good half hour before walking in the door to ask about taking classes. Even students who have made it in through the door and taken classes can still get nervous.

One of the best ways to gain self-confidence in dance is to get as much experience as you can. The more times you’ve performed a move or danced for an audience, the easier it becomes. If you’re delving into a dance experience for the first time, visualization can work as an effective tool. Our wedding couples getting ready for their first dance often have never performed before. I encourage them to visualize as much detail of the upcoming dance as they can before its debut. I tell them to visualize the venue, their guests, the lighting, themselves going through each step of the dance, and most importantly I tell them to picture their dance going successfully.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that self confidence and self esteem need not be based on how well you “perform,” but rather on the fact that you’ve overcome an internal block. Self esteem and self confidence based on performance will come and go, depending on how you perceive yourself as performing. Overcoming an obstacle, however, is always with you. There is also a subtle difference between self esteem and self confidence. Self esteem is the regard you hold for yourself… your self concept. Self confidence, on the other hand, is your belief in your ability to perform a task, it is not a judgment. Dancing can increase both… if you let it. Like everything else, you bring to the dance floor who you are and what you believe about yourself.

​Learning to dance can help you learn to stop comparisons and dance your own dance. Just as in life in general, it is important to live your own life and not be overly concerned with what others think. True friends and family love you for who you are. Dancing offers the potential to accept your own body and revel in its beauty, its movement and rhythm. Dancing offers another area where you can be your own best friend instead of your worst enemy. Dancing of any kind is fun, joyful and can improve social skills. Dancing keeps you in the present moment and thereby increases self esteem, because being present keeps you grounded  and in the flow of life.

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Exercise & great health.

 Dancing is tremendously beneficial in keeping us young. It retards the aging process immensely. It benefits our heart, cardiovascular system and increases our lung capacity.

Fact: The muscle exertion and breathing rates of dancers performing in one dance competition is equivalent to those of cyclists, swimmers and an Olympic-level 800-meter runner.

Dance exercises our bodies to allow for increased circulation. It helps us burn those calories away, while improving our stamina. It is estimated that dance burns anywhere from 5 to 10 calories per minute depending on speed and intensity. For example, swing and mambo burn more calories than a slow waltz. Check out approximately how many calories you burn while dancing to your own tune:
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Dance aids in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis for men and women. For women during post-menopause, there can be a significant drop in estrogen levels which stops calcium from being absorbed into the bones.  Dancing can also help keep joints lubricated in order to prevent arthritis.

Fun 
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Few activities can be as cheerful and exciting as ballroom dancing. Low energy, sadness and lack of spirit have no place on the dance floor. While you will need to practice and concentrate in the beginning, instruction will happen in a fun, lively atmosphere; you will be surrounded by happy, smiling people and awesome music. Once you learn how to dance, it will be wrapped in fun and joy of the magic dance environment.

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