Dancing Is Capturing The Rhythm Of Life
Dancing is a way of making poetry with the body. They say that dance is one of those arts in which only those who really like themselves stand out. This is very logical if we take into account that to be good dancers we have to know our body well, make it connect with our deepest emotions so that they are expressed through movements.
The physiological advantages of dancing
The first big benefit of dancing is physical. Dancing is a demanding exercise, which implies a great physical effort to which is added a high demand for coordination between the different parts of the body and the music that is playing.
Like all exercise, dancing helps to release endorphins, channel adrenaline and reduce stress. A study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience in 2005 showed that a group of teenagers with mild depression significantly improved their condition thanks to dancing. It allowed teenagers to lower their dopamine levels and raise their serotonin, which ultimately improved their mood.
In other research carried out at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York, it was shown that dancing favors the structures of the brain and prevents premature aging of this organ. Apparently, dancing reverses the loss of hippocampal volume, a structure that is directly related to memory. In its findings, the survey further points out that while other activities such as completing crosswords and other hobbies reduce the risk of dementia by up to 47%, dancing does the same by up to 76%.
At McGill, a Canadian university, a curious study was carried out which proved that people with Parkinson’s Disease remarkably improved their condition when they danced tango on a continuous basis. Several of the patients reported that when they were willing to dance to the sound of the music, the trembling in their bodies began to disappear. The rhythm of the music passed to their bodies!
dancing to enrich life
For better or worse, as we grow into adults and fill ourselves with responsibilities, our bodies begin to adopt repetitive postures. Much of our body seems to transform into an alien. We rarely think about it, except when there is an illness here or a pain there. If, by chance, the body appears, it is as an aesthetic concern, but never as a channel of expression and art.
The truth is that the body reflects our personality and our internal conflicts. There’s nothing like dancing to make all this evident. And this is precisely the first great benefit of dance: it helps us to connect with ourselves, it allows our inner world to express itself. The ability to follow the rhythm of music with the body promotes self-recognition and reveals what is out of place in us.
But not only that. Dancing is a social activity and, for that very reason, we not only allow ourselves to connect with ourselves, but also with others. Dancing requires, in most cases, adapting to another person’s body and movements. Without realizing it, this increases empathy and sociability. Furthermore, it is an excellent antidote to shyness, especially during adolescence. Dancing is, without a doubt, capturing the rhythm of life in our hearts.
