Saturday, July 1st, is Canada's 150th birthday, and there will be music and celebration across the country... and, no doubt, lots of dancing, singing and just plain happiness! Celebrations are good for the spirit and dancing is one of the most fun types of exercise.
Dancing can actually be used as a therapy for many conditions, including anxiety, depression, feelings of isolation and chronic pain. It’s also used in patients with brain injury, AIDS, arthritis, autism, cancer and other conditions. It can be performed by those who are physically disabled, mentally handicapped and even elderly folks in nursing homes. Last week, I watched a video of a group of ladies dancing with their walkers to “Rock around the clock” – they were having a wonderful time! Click here to enjoy it too!
Dance therapy works for anxiety, depression and pain through the mind/body connection. In addition to the exercise component and exposure to music – both therapeutic in themselves – dance allows expression of feelings and thoughts through movement. And it’s fun!
A trained dance therapist can see dance movements as a source of information… an expression of the client’s subconscious thoughts and emotions, relationships to others, and symbolic movements that are personal to each individual. Feedback to the client from the therapist is used to promote increased self-awareness. Changing movements is claimed to initiate a change in the subconscious, and vice versa. So, trying out a new dance or changing up your moves can be even more uplifting. Dance is thought to express something that cannot be expressed in any other way.
Regardless of the interpretations a trained dance therapist can extract, there is no doubt dancing is therapeutic, even without anyone analyzing your movements! Moving to music you love is great exercise and lots of fun, and guaranteed to lift your spirits. It’s an exercise you can do while socializing with a group: formally at a class, informally at a club, or at a family wedding… or all by yourself with music blaring while cleaning the kitchen! Dancing with your kids or grandchildren is especially fun. A favourite activity in our house was dancing to the music of Dire Straits on a Saturday morning…some of their tunes still make me want to get up and dance!
So, turn up the music and dance like nobody’s watching… as often as you can… no matter who is around! It will improve your fitness level and lift your spirits, and might even help reduce anxiety, depression and pain.
Happy Canada Day!
