Everyday life can be complicated, the return to routinehousehold chores, work or taking care of children is often difficult. That’s why, It is important to take time for yourself and disconnect from those “invisible duties”and to be able to charge yourself with energy from the tranquility of being with yourself. Nowadays there are many disciplines or sports for combat that feeling of overwhelm or anxiety, such as yoga or meditation, among others. But there is another well-known exercise that has great advantages in mitigating stress; I’m sure you don’t expect everything it can do for you.
We refer to the dance, a practice characterized by free movement; Furthermore, we can find it in multiple cultures. María Martínez, psychologist specialized in the ‘Kaizen method’ explains to Women why dancing is so beneficial for mental health and the differences we can find compared to other sports or disciplines.
How does dancing help mental health?
Within the dance there are many variants: salsa, merengue, tango, zumba…the list is very extensive, but as the psychologist tells us, “dance is freedom. It is emotion. It connects body and heart when united with music; it is strength and passion.”
It is a practice that generates serotonin and It is wonderful for reducing depression and anxiety as he adds. Likewise, it improves coordination and balance, and makes your life happy. You release tension and unpleasant emotions immediately.
Psychologically, he emphasizes that leisurely exercise seeks to calm the mind, be present, return to yourself from a point that allows that introspection, by having your mind focused on each movement. The change in emotional state is slower, but it should be noted that in the end, each exercise is also linked to the type of personality.
Yes indeed, When you focus your attention on music, you free your mind from other thoughts. And, of course, the neurotransmitters: serotonin, responsible for a good mood; endorphins, hormones related to pleasure, and oxytocin, which generates feelings of attachment, security and love. “This entire cocktail cancels out states of stress and anxiety, also significantly improving depression.”
Finally, dopamine must be taken into account. The greater the emotion produced by the music, the more dopamine you generate, which is what gives you pleasure and encourages you to repeat to continue feeling that sensation.
How does dance improve your self-esteem?
There are many ways to improve women’s self-esteem.and dancing directly influences itsince it releases endorphins and breaks down barriers such as shame or fear of ridicule. “Dancing, as if no one was watching, makes you feel free, it makes you feel like you,” he says. This improves self-esteem and makes you feel better about yourself. Besides, If you do it with more people, you create bonds and strengthen your circle of support.
Regarding stress, it stands out that it is closely linked to rigidity (physical and mental), it is a product of thinking without doing. It blocks you and paralyzes you in what you want to do but you don’t have time or you feel like you can’t. In this sense, the subconscious is symbolic, and that means that If you generate physical movement, the mental jam is unblocked.
Now, it has to be a movement that makes you feel free as María declares. Dancing is that, emotional release, You cannot be sad or angry dancing to music that activates you. Likewise, when your mind receives that music and connects with it, it disconnects from what was spinning around and that was generating stress (because stress is always mental, although it is later somaticized physically).
Why dance and not another sport
As we mentioned before, there are many exercises, sports or disciplines to relieve stress and reduce anxiety. The truth is that “no exercise or sport is universally better than another”, but rather it adapts better to different types of people.
But, What is it about dance that makes us feel this way? The psychologist says that it is not so much because of the movement but because of the type of movement. “Each sport stimulates something different, just as the intention or emotion it generates in us will produce one state or another.”
For example, yoga aims for peace of mindbut you will not achieve peace of mind if you do it suffering or thinking about everything you need to do. For its part, pilates aims at physical strengthso it is very beneficial mentally when we feel weak on an emotional level. But if we do it out of obligation or it is not pleasant for us, it will be an ordeal.
Although what is certain is that dance is universal, since all cultures go to it to celebrate, to communicate and to generate bonds. “Maybe there’s something in him that benefits everyone who dares to start,” he says. The point is that not everyone dares because they think they have to “do it well” for it to be effective. And nothing could be further from the truth. It is the only exercise that you can do however you want and feel, and it will help you.
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