The Love of Movement
Why We Should Dance
Dancing is a great way for people of all ages to tone their physique and stay in shape. This has many positive health benefits including; Flexibility, strength, endurance and a sense of well-being
Dance is physical exercise and in turn, increases endurance. Endurance is the ability of muscles to work hard for increasingly longer periods of time without fatigue. Regular dancing is great for improving endurance, especially vigorous dancing as elevating the heart rate can increase stamina. Just as in any form of exercise, regular dancing will build endurance.
Flexibility is an important part of being healthy and dance requires a great amount of flexibility, therefore most classes begin with a warm-up including several stretching exercises. Dancers must strive to achieve full range of motion for all the major muscle groups and belly dancing is about controlling and isolating the upper and lower half of your body. The greater the range of motion, the more muscles can flex and extend. Belly dance requires moves that involve bending and stretching, so dancers naturally become more flexible, simply by dancing.
Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle to exert a force against resistance. Dancing builds strength by forcing the muscles to resist against a dancer’s own body weight. Belly dance incorporates lots of moves on the balls of the feet whether small controlled steps or large leaps; these require tremendous strength of the major leg muscles.
Dancing is a social activity. Studies have shown that strong social ties and socializing with friends contribute to high self-esteem and a positive outlook. Dancing provides many opportunities to meet other people and joining a dance class can increase self-confidence and build social skills. Physical activity reduces stress and tension and gives an overall sense of well-being.
Source: dance.about.com
