7 Ways Dancing Can Reduce Stress
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”
-Martha Graham
When we celebrate weddings, birthdays, and job promotions, what comes to mind? Food, music, and dancing. Be it a night out with your girls at the club, swaying romantically with your boo after dinner, or twerking to the music as you clean, dancing is woven into the fabric of our daily lives. This simple activity can be used for many different reasons, but my favorite is stress relief.
Dancing is as natural as breathing to many of us, even those who don’t believe they have much rhythm. Dancing is an activity that is open to all and can cross boundaries that otherwise may be difficult. You can place two dancers from opposite sides of the world, who don’t share the same language, and after a couple of hours, they will have found a way to communicate through their bodies using song and dance.
Dancing is such a fun and exciting activity for all. It is not uncommon to find babies bopping along with you, wiggling their tiny bodies to the music around them. For all ages, genders, and sizes, dancing is a common language that we can all use to relate to ourselves and each other.
From Bachata to Ballet, people all over the world have used dance to express their inner joys and their heartaches. From the slow modern and contemporary pieces to the fast-paced hip-hop beats and the slow and sensual Latin moves, dance can fully express your intentions through the way you move your body to the beat. Dance is a way for your body to interpret what is inside on the outside.
Too often we keep our emotions bottled up. Whether we are unwilling or too unaware to express what is trapped inside. Leaving it to fester and develop into a greater problem than it would be to just let it out.
Not everyone feels capable of expressing their emotions. It can be too difficult to face what is hidden or unknown. The stress that can build up from that disconnection to self can lead to chronic stress, deeper anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. For those who have difficulty expressing themselves in words like with journaling, dance may be a great alternative.
There are so many different types of dances it is hard to keep track of it all. There are categories of dance like Ballroom, West African, Ceremonial, Disco, Historical, Latin, Social, Street, Swing, Improvised, and more! Each with its own subcategories, for example:
Latin Dances:
Swing Dances:
Historical Dances:
And those are just to name a few!
We all have a particular song that comes to mind when we think of having a good time. When we want to let loose, celebrate, or kick away the stress of the week and just groove. And while some are better at it than others, there should be no real judgment as long as you are having a good time…and not hurting yourself in the process.
Be sure to stretch friends
Dancing is one of those few activities that can allow you to say everything that is in your heart, without speaking a word. It is such a prevalent activity that each culture can boast its combination of movements. Some of us can get so good at it that it becomes their profession.
From the perspective of health, there are multiple benefits that dance can offer you. To help persuade you to start incorporating dancing into your weekly routine, here is a list I have compiled to illustrate the 7 ways dancing can reduce stress:
Dancing Improves Your Mood
Dancing releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, which not only reduce pain but improve your overall mood. It is difficult to be on the dancefloor (even if the dance floor is your living room carpet), blasting your favorite music, moving your body along, and still be in a bad mood. In Grey’s Anatomy, the main character and her best friend would often “dance it out;” a way of releasing whatever they were holding onto and just have fun being in the moment with each other. A practice that is simple to implement and can have some very real and positive benefits.
Dancing Reduces Stress
This is right on the nose but dancing can reduce stress. Beyond the chemical reaction happening within you making you feel good. Dancing takes both mental and physical focus to perform, making it difficult to focus on anything else (like your stressors). When your mind is focused on one fun task it can forget anything that may be worrying you in the background.
Have you ever heard of the Somatic Dance Movement? What you might have heard about it recently is the relationship between our bodies and our emotions – especially related to stress, anxiety, or trauma. For a long time, psychologists and doctors thought that just talking through our emotions and past experiences could help us heal and move forward. Which can work and be helpful, but sometimes it doesn’t.
In the book “The Body Keeps The Score,” scientific researcher and therapist Bessel van der speaks about how traumatic experiences can affect our minds, brains, and bodies.
Tension and trauma get stored in our bodies and often do not fully release until we engage our bodies in our healing. Yoga, mindfulness, meditation, dance – all of these, when approached intentionally, allow us to reconnect with our bodies, tune into our internal experiences, and learn to regulate our tensions and stress without avoidance.
Dance Is a Viable Alternative To Traditional Exercise
From stress relief and increased flexibility to building stronger bones and muscle tone, dancing is a total workout for the brain and body.
Dancing can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes, and sizes. It has a wide range of physical and mental benefits including:
- Improved condition of your heart and lungs
- Increased muscular strength, endurance, and motor fitness
- Increased aerobic fitness
- Improved muscle tone and strength
- Weight management
- Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
- Better coordination, agility, and flexibility
- Improved balance and spatial awareness
- Increased physical confidence
- Improved mental functioning
- Improved general and psychological well-being
- Greater self-confidence and self-esteem
Depending on the style of dance you choose, it can be a gentle way of moving your body without feeling like it’s a chore. Any movement that is geared towards benefiting your physical health also benefits your mental state.
Dance Improves Memory
“Study after study has shown that children who are exposed to rhythm learn better; plus, we know movement increases the capacity to learn,” she said. “Choreographed dance aids memory function since you have to remember the steps. Even social dance, when you don’t have to remember combinations, works your brain because it wants to make your body move and change with the rhythm. There have also been studies showing that dancing can stall dementia in elderly people.”
-Brenda Goodwin, instructor of health and physical education.
Like sudoku is to your brain, dance is to your body. Expanding your mind through your body is an underappreciated way of bettering your health and overall well-being. It is said one of the symptoms of depression is reduced memory capabilities. The origin of that relationship is still being researched, and while I wouldn’t claim dance can solve that problem, it doesn’t hurt it either.
Dancing Improves Interpersonal Skills
Many forms of dancing like the Waltz, Salsa, and the Lindy Hop, require a partner. While others like line dancing or folk dancing require a group. These activities make you interact and learn to work with the people around you in a nonthreatening environment. Being with other people learning active listening, patience, and teamwork are wonderful ways of expanding who you are as a person.
Stress and overwhelm can be a lonely state to be in. When we get stressed we tend to shut down and shut people out. Engaging in the community aspect of dance can be a gentle way of stepping back out into the world.
Dancing Develops Awareness of Spatial Relationships
Big words but, Ruth Barnes, an associate professor of dance and dance program coordinator said:
“You’re working on yourself in a group, so you begin understanding spatial relationships between yourself and other people,” she said. “You learn how much space you occupy and need without running into other people, which brings awareness of negotiating space and time that you might not have had before.”
So dancing just might help you the next time you are trying to parallel park or sneak across a crowded room without bumping into anything. Beyond the humor, dance can help you relearn how to take up space. Reducing the stress response of curling into yourself and minimizing your needs. You are allowed to take up space in the world, so dance like no one is watching; just look out for sharp corners.
Dancing Is A Creative Outlet
Many of us lead a 9-5 lifestyle, working in an environment where we need to be professional and buttoned up. Environments like those leave little room for self-expression. So after work, when you can leave responsibility at the side, try out dancing. Getting into the spirit of the movement, the music, and even including costumes and friends can allow you to be free to let loose and have fun like only you know how.
So the next time you’re feeling stressed or creatively blocked, lonely or bored. Try dancing as a way of letting loose and having fun, and catch a few of those well-being benefits while you’re at it.
Final Notes:
It can feel awkward at first if you are unaccustomed to dance. The unknown often does. Just remember this is something you are doing for yourself. You are prioritizing your needs, reducing your stress, and finding yourself again in a fun and unique way.
Be it simple, flamboyant, or slow, try out dance the next time you feel overwhelmed with stress and see if it helps tip the balance back in your favor.
Until nest time,
