Posts

Flexibility Through Dancing

 

Flexibility and Dancing

 

We’ve touched on the physical benefits of dance before briefly, but we didn’t get into one of the best benefits of all: Flexibility. A skill many man and women lose as they age, flexibility is one thing that dancing brings out in all dancers.  If you are not constantly stretching them out, adults tend to lose flexibility in their joints. This stiffness can even begin to hinder you from doing everyday tasks (you might also know this as arthritis, which can occur in the hands, knees, back, and hips).  This is both unhealthy, and can increase the risk of injury later on in life. By loosening up these joints through dance, you can prevent arthritis and increase flexibility.

Within three months of dancing, you might also see improved flexibility in your spine too. Dancing helps to create better posture and proper alignment, to ease or erase the upper back/neck pain that some people constantly feel. When applied properly, ballroom dancing can benefit your spine by strengthening your core muscles. These are worked out because of the direction changes, weight shifting, and other movements required in ballroom dancing. Dancing will also help lengthen and align your spine through better posture. Since the basic frame in almost every dance is very precise, it aligns your organs and your spine.

You can also gain flexibility by just stretching before you dance and while going through each and every step. Performing these simple tasks, you can quickly see improvement in joints, muscles, and ligaments in your body.  You will even see these benefits as you keep dancing, not just when you’re first starting out. Different types of dances require different muscle movements, so by learning and practicing a variety of dances, you can get a larger spectrum of benefits. Try learning fast dances with smaller movements, like Country Swing, or with a dance that has bigger, more stretching movements, like Argentine Tango.

With so many benefits, dancing really is an investment in yourself. It can give you a new outlook on life, improve your health, and give you an incredible workout.  Not only does it help you build muscle strength, but it can also improve your posture, your flexibility, your appearance and your balance as well. The perfect frame can really make all the difference for both your dance and your spine. It just so happens that here at Dance FX Studios, we are great at working with you to perfect your frame and getting you to dance. We realize how important it is to a healthy lifestyle and improved flexibility. Don’t waste any more time. Get up and start dancing with Dance FX Studios today!