How Learning To Dance Helps You In Many Ways

I remember when I started dancing, I was a mess—mostly because I never took the time to learn. This changed when I started going to a hotel next to my apartment, and I began practicing regularly.

Then, I met a really good friend who gave me free salsa lessons every weekend. He was so patient! I warned him from the start that I was not good at following dance steps. I always see people dancing and try to do the steps on my own.

I became really good with practice, and even received compliments about my dancing. While I’m certainly not the best dancer, I love to dance! Not only does it give you many emotional and physical benefits, but it is a way to feel free, to speak without words and to express love.

You don’t need to know how to dance to try it. You don’t need to pay for lessons either. Not convinced yet? Here are some benefits of dancing, and why I recommend that everyone should learn to dance.

Physical benefits of dancing

Dancing is a great way for people of all ages, shapes and sizes to meet new friends, stay fit and improve their muscle tone, strength, endurance and fitness.

There are even more physical and emotional benefits to dancing that will definitely convince you that this is the activity for you.

For example, the physical benefits include: improved condition of your heart and lungs, increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness and increased aerobic fitness.

Any dance form is good exercise. Plus, every movement we do is like doing aerobics, and the more practice we have, the more endurance and strength we develop.

There are, of course, several other physical benefits associated with dancing. Among these are: improved muscle tone and strength, weight management, stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis.

With these benefits, we could even say that dancing is like taking calcium. Since I began dancing, my weight has remained constant, and I am more toned. I highly recommend it.

And, let’s not forget about the improved coordination, agility and flexibility that dancing offers while also improving your balance and spatial awareness. These benefits will help you with other sports or activities.

Emotional benefits of dancing

As mentioned, dancing offers not only physical benefits. Among the emotional benefits it offers are improved mental functioning, improved general and psychological well-being and better social skills.

I’ve witnessed these benefits firsthand in a friend of mine who is shy, but has gained significantly more confidence since he started dancing.

While the benefits of dancing do vary from person-to-person, I’ve also seen improvement in myself, not only in my physical agility, but also emotionally. Personally, dancing helps me to forget my problems and generates more positive feelings overall.

Personal improvements

Remember what I wrote about not being good at learning every step of the dance? Well, this fact pushed me to be better and to keep trying to improve my dance skills.

Despite being a perfectionist, I realized that I love dancing and that it doesn’t matter if I’m not perfect at it. It’s no longer something that I aim for as I simply enjoy every minute that I’m dancing.

As I continue to improve my dance skills weekly, my confidence continues to rise. With each new step that I learn, I feel my confidence grow and know that this budding confidence will impact other parts of my life, too.

I love it when people ask how I can be secure in myself. The answer is simple: I feel sexier and more feminine when I dance. The important thing is how you feel about yourself, not how you look while dancing.

The discipline required to commit to such a hobby is yet another benefit. Don’t compare yourself or your progress with that of others. Everyone progresses at different speeds, and takes time and patience to become good at something.

If you are going to compete, compete only with yourself and everything will fall into place. Remember: the most important thing is that you enjoy yourself and that you notify the benefits of dancing within yourself—whatever those benefits and improvements may be.

So, what are waiting for? Put on some music, grab a partner and start dancing—or dance alone! If you don’t know how to dance, look up a few videos online and start practicing. Let us know what you enjoy most about dancing by commenting below.