PHYSICAL, MENTAL & EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
Those of us who are already line dancers know the benefits. It isn’t simply getting some exercise. While many may start out with the intention of taking a session of classes for four to eight weeks, many more find themselves becoming addicted to line dancing because they love the music, the confidence that grows from mastering a dance, the friendships that start to form and more. If you’re someone contemplating joining a line dance class, below are some great reasons. For those of you already line dancing, know that you’re doing one of the best activities you can for total body wellness.
Dancing is a unique form of exercise because it provides the heart-healthy benefits of an aerobic exercise while also allowing you to engage in a social activity. This is especially stimulating to the mind, and one 21-year study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found dancing can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in the elderly. In the study, participants over the age of 75 who engaged in reading, dancing and playing musical instruments and board games once a week had a 7 percent lower risk of dementia compared to those who did not. Those who engaged in these activities at least 11 days a month had a 63 percent lower risk! Physical activities like playing tennis or golf, swimming, bicycling, dancing, walking for exercise and doing housework were also studied. One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing which lowered the risk by a dramatic 76 percent. Of all the physical activities, dancing involved the most mental effort.
You may have asked yourself, why teach line dancing at a senior center. Isn’t that outdated? Aren’t we onto newer things? Guess what. Line dancing may surprise you with all it has to offer, and how it can benefit you and your mental/physical health. Many people love to line dance. It is fun, good exercise and is a great form of dance all on its own. BUT, line dancing can also be a fun way to improve your dance skills. The same skills learned in line dancing will apply to any form of couple dancing. Below 7 benefits of line dancing are identified for you.
Line Dancing will:
1. Teach you to dance. If you can’t dance by yourself, how can you possibly expect to dance with a partner? Line dancing teaches you to actually move your body.
2. Improve your Balance: teaches you how to maintain your own balance while moving to the beat
3. Help you Find the Beat: Oh a big one. Staying on beat (on time) is critical in any dance whether by yourself or with someone else. Learning to find the beat and timing of any dance is critical before getting with a partner.
4. Teach you basic footwork. Learn how to do triple steps, turns and spins, rocking steps and many other steps that you will use in every form of dance.
5. Improve your confidence. Helps overcome feeling of having “two left feet”; Offers sense of pride and accomplishment and improves your coordination.
6. Provide you with a dance outlet whether you have a partner or not. Today, it seems there is a line dance for just about any song you can think of. If not, many line dances are timed that they can fit multiple songs providing you many dance opportunities.
7. Provide you a way to practice. You always hear that practice is necessary to improving your dance but you may not know exactly how to, or what to practice. Line dances are a perfect structured means to practice dance technique.
And the list goes on and on. Take advantage of the opportunities to improve your dance. Join Brenda Holcomb every Monday at 3pm at the Shepherd’s Center, 1700 Ebert Street in Winston-Salem. You can contact her for more information or to register for her class at: 775-0971. The cost is $20 per 4 week session. Learn some exciting line dances, have a lot of fun and improve your well-being. Contact Susan Meny at the Shepherd’s Center at 748-0217 about the many health and wellness opportunities waiting for you through the Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem.