You’ve had a long week at work. Your to-do list is constantly regenerating, you can barely keep up with meal prep and you’re feeling desperate to let loose. It seems like the only true medicine is to call up your girls and hit your favorite dance spot. As the DJ is playing hit after hit, all your worries wash away while your body pulses to the beat.
Whether it’s the club or a proper dance class, this kind of movement is deeply therapeutic. There’s significant science to explain why it feels to good to dance. Dance and movement therapy directly accesses the primitive parts of the brain responsible for movement, heartbeat and breath. It regulates your emotions and nervous system, amongst many other physical, psychological, spiritual and social benefits.
Trauma Release
Often referred to as the emotional junk drawer, neuroscience and somatics both conclude that emotional trauma lies within the hips. The psoas muscle is particularly susceptible to holding onto tension. Hip movement is so healing because you’re releasing any stagnant feelings begging to be processed.
Natural Mood Boost
Any form of cardio that gets your heart rate up is good for the body. Endorphins, the chemicals in your brain that improve mood, reduce pain and decrease depression and anxiety, are released as you dance. Alongside that, dance can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, and increase serotonin, a feel-good hormone. Besides the physical exercise, your spirit is getting a significant cleanse when you dance as well.
Ancestral Ties
When you liberate your body through dance, you’re connecting even more deeply with your ancestors who did the same. Dance is an ancient practice, and it’s a cultural privilege that must be protected. Your ancestors celebrated significant rites of passage through dance, using the bare connection of feet to land to jump and gyrate. They’d also use dance to express anger, channeling their passion through stomping and chanting. For them, it was both healing and communal.
Self Love
On the dance floor, there’s no room to worry about aesthetics. Everyone is equally sweaty and liberated, taking up space with uninhibited joy. It’s a deep honor to your body to make the time for reckless abandon, an act of self-love your cells will thank you for. Dance gives you permission to be present, within community and aligned with your body.