Dance is more than just technique and presentation. It’s more than being on a stage with perfect lighting and beautiful costumes, moving to music in a choreographed way. While this is a wonderful side of dance that’s worth exploring and being in, recognizing movement through dance as a medium for healing is beneficial too. Here are four ways in which dance can be used as a way to find happiness beyond the stage and beyond the audiences eye.
- Movement helps us get into our bodies. What do I really mean when I say “get into our bodies?” I mean connecting with ourselves and giving ourselves permission to feel whatever we’re feeling at the moment. We can then express this through the movement we create. Feeling our feelings through movement is a great way to become present because when we’re moving, we’re being conscious and connecting with our breath. When we’re connected to the breath, we’re in the present moment. This is a very cyclical process.
- It’s a non invasive, soothing form of exercise. At its core, movement through dance is a wonderful form of exercise that’s focused more on how we feel, than how we look. If you go to a gym, you’ll probably find people huffing and puffing, staring at themselves in the mirror in an attempt to sculpt their bodies- or change the way their bodies look. In dance however, we’re getting our heart rates up and also doing strength building exercise in a way that’s creative and easy on the joints. Rather than worrying about how we look, we’re focusing on the patterns we’re creating with our bodies. A bonus is, it’s proven that aerobic exercise is an excellent way to heal depression and feel good in ourselves.
- When you’re moving, you’re creating. Therefore, dance is an excellent way to consciously create our way to happiness. Adding an element of creativity to our practices adds excitement to our lives and gives us a greater sense of purpose. In dance, we create organically without any props, paintbrushes, or instruments- all you need is yourself. The fact that you can create something using only your own body is so freeing.
- It raises your frequency. We are vibrational beings and attract other beings and events at the same frequency as us. Have you ever taken a morning yoga class, then noticed the rest of your day went so smoothly? Or, have you ever gone on an evening run, and that night you slept so much better? That’s because movement creates a sense of calm, excitement, or well being within us, and these feelings all raise our frequency. Dance is a wonderful way to instantly feel better about ourselves, and to move energy around to become more positive. In this process, we become high vibe creators.
These are just a few of the many reasons and ways in which you can use dance to call in more positivity into your life. Now, I have a challenge for you: I urge you to create a dance practice for yourself for a week. This could be as simple as turning on some music, lighting a candle, and dancing around your living room for ten minutes. Don’t focus too much on how the movement looks and don’t get caught up in perfection mode; just focus on creating movement that feels good to you.
Take note of how your mind and body feels, and then notice if you connect with any of these four ways in which dance can be used as a healing practice. You can create your own practice that works for you, which can be as simple or elaborate as you want. Think of this as time you’re giving to yourself in your busy day. You deserve to allot time just for you.