Physical Benefits of Dancing

In addition to helping you socially, mentally and emotionally, social partner dancing also has amazing physical health rewards. Strengthen your bones and muscles, improve your posture and balance, ward off certain illnesses and gain more stamina and flexibility-all through social dancing!

Now you can burn calories and avoid the gym by learning to dance! Why do things the traditional way when there are so many more fun and exciting ways to get into shape?! If you’ve tried an hour of Salsa or Swing dancing, you can attest to the fact that you at least “feel” like you have burned off at least 500 calories. This number is not far from accurate based on studies that reveal that a one-hour dance lesson can help you to shed anywhere from 300-450 calories.

While shedding those pounds, ballroom dancing can assist in you learning to lengthen your spine and gain better posture. Stronger core muscles earned through dancing over a period of time will keep the spine in alignment and improve spinal flexibility. These physical benefits can aid in relieving or erasing upper back and neck pain, not to mention improving balance, coordination and body presence.

Overall flexibility gained through dancing Salsa, Foxtrot, Tango and other styles of social dance comes as you execute new dance movements. Each dance genre lends itself to using different parts of the body that may not be often utilized. Through the process of learning to dance, new muscle movements gives your body diversity in terms of working out and getting fit.

Social partner dancing is even heart-healthy. At the Flagstaff Medical Center, they use monthly ballroom dance classes as part of their Cardiac Rehabilitation program. Heart patients benefit from ballroom dancing through aerobic activity to help improve their balance, stamina, and mental acuity. Another reason why social Ballroom dancing is good for cardiac rehabilitation comes from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. According to them, dancing can lower your risk of coronary heart disease and decrease blood pressure.

Ballroom dancing is also recommended during certain rehabilitation processes. As an alternative to other forms of exercise to strengthen your muscles, ballroom dancing has been known to be beneficial for those who have recently had heart or knee surgery. On the Knee Society’s website, for example, ballroom dancing is actually listed as a suitable activity. Ballroom dancing can help with stretching and strengthening muscles around the knee with low-impact pressure on the joints. **Always consult your doctor prior to any new physical activity if you are undergoing rehabilitation.

Feel good both inside and out and learn to dance! Social dancing heals the mind, body and heart while boosting confidence, offering a creative outlet and so much more. So what are you waiting for? It’s never too late to give yourself the gift of dance.