We love dance as a form of movement and fitness. It helps us get out of our comfort zone, move our bodies, express ourselves and shake up our regular routine.
Five Vegatopians opened up about the style of dance they can’t get enough of, the reasons they love to dance and more. Consider these your top six benefits of dancing.
1. It Mixes Up Your Routine
Todd Al, Strategic Accounts Marketing Specialist, is a big believer that fitness should be diverse, and interesting. It should also challenge and surprise both your mind and body in new ways regularly. Todd is an avid runner and has been dancing off and on since he was eight years old.
If you want to get out and dance but aren’t sure where to start, take a cue from Todd and check out local community centers and dance organizations for events in your area. He took a break from busting a move for a few years and has since incorporated it back into his life again. He’s done everything from taking short swing dance classes to dancing all night to a live band through local social dance organizations.
2. It allows Expression through movement
Paige Snyder, Vega Regional Educator, loves pole dance so much she’s been doing it for about five years. Why pole? It’s safe space to be expressive. Paige says “S Factor, my dance studio, fosters a safe place to express any emotion. Excitement over a promotion, nourishing a broken heart, love you feel for family, friends, life or a partner, anger or frustration about social justice issue or whatever is happening in your life; you can express it all through movement. Engaging all of your muscles in a way that feels positive, strong, and empowering creates a healthy outlet for expression.”
3. it Helps You Get in Touch With Your Body
Looking for a great way to literally shake up your workout routine and get outside your comfort zone? That’s how Chantal Denis, Vega Chef, describes dancing. She says “dancing is a great way to push myself out of my comfort zone, which is somehow both empowering and often laughter-inducing.” She loves how dancing pushes her out of her comfort zone, which allows her to be in touch with her body and really feel the music. Using dance to connect to your body and listen to what it is telling you can be very beneficial for your overall health regime.
4. It allows for cardio and Stress Relief
For Jose Gonzalez, Director of Digital Marketing and break dancer, dance is a great cardio workout and stress relief. He loves it because it’s an opportunity to be expressive and go with the flow.
5. it’s an inclusive activity
Dance is for all ages, all abilities, and as Amber Kennedy, Vega Content Manager (and Lindy Hop swing dancer) says, you don’t have to wait until you have a partner to learn a social dance. Do it for you. Just get out there, and you’ll find a community of willing leads or follows to dance with.
Some Friday nights you’ll find her on the dance floor for up to three hours, and while she dances until her face hurts from smiling, there’s no question that a breathless, sweaty night of swing is as much of a cardio workout as fitness activities she considers far less fun. Amber’s son shares her inability to resist the urge to break out in dance when the music strikes. As he takes jazz and hip hop classes himself—often one boy in a class full of girls—she takes him along to all-ages swing dance events sometimes, and she considers her regular dancing a positive model to normalize the idea that a love of dance knows no gender (lots of men dance, too!).
6. It brings Self-empowerment
What about me? I love dance because it makes me feel like a boss. I feel like I can take on the world and nothing can get in my way. Recently I’ve started taking Beyoncé-inspired dance workshops where I get together with a group of fabulous people and for an hour each week and we own the stage like we’re on tour.
If you can’t get to a class or aren’t ready to head out to a community dance group, schedule 10 minutes (actually schedule it, book it in as you would any other appointment) and do a light routine in the comfort of your home. There are loads of videos on YouTube, any style, difficulty level and duration you’d like. Or forget the video, crack up the music and start moving your body. You’d be surprised how quickly you could turn a dull evening into a party.
Note: Consult your health care provider before starting any exercise regimen.
What’s your favorite kind of dancing?
