Dancing can keep you happy and healthy

Listen up – all you wallflowers – hear me out!

Social dancing is not only in again, but there’s compelling proof of its validity as an activity that will keep our bodies youthful and in shape, too … way into our 90s. And dancing just plain makes us happy.

When we dance, we exercise both the brain and the muscles, plus, could anyone disagree that listening to music – moving and keeping time with the rhythm – nurtures our spirit? If there is a better way to stay out of a nursing home – except for short stays for rehab and recuperation from injuries we’ve sustained on the dance floor – I wish you would let me know.

Where in the world can you find a more thorough body-mind workout? For sure, while we’re dancing, the whole body gets an effective aerobic and strengthening workout. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Think about the wide array of rusty neurons up there in our brains that are being jolted out of their slumber, suddenly having to fire fast and furiously to keep up with our body’s sudden demands for such exquisite muscle coordination.

When we’re dancing, keeping up with the beat of the music, we may become out of breath or break a sweat. And, what’s more … (and here is some of the magic of dancing) … we’ve completely forgotten what we were so worried about, even an hour ago. Dancing away our cares is “quicker than liquor”; it doesn’t make us drunk and the only hangover we may get is in our leg muscles.

Oh how those leg muscles can complain the next day, though. But, those screaming calves and shins have a way of pushing other worries aside, and that’s good. It’s a great reminder of the good time we had while working those muscles. Was the stationary bicycle, the treadmill, or the stair master at the fitness center ever that much fun?

And what do you think dancing does for our balance and sure-footedness? It’s terrific. And I can assure you, dancing beats the boring, albeit valuable, “balance” exercises – which can be done with minimal disturbance of neurons.

We need to disturb those neurons – stir them up every chance we get. There’s incredible potential in our brains, just awaiting a nudge from us to show its stuff. If you don’t use it … well, you know …

“Dancing with the Stars” participants say they have never worked so hard, physically, in their lives. They were tired. They had sore muscles. And learning all the new steps and complicated routines was a real stretch along with everything else. But learn them they did. And, watching them perform it was easy to see how energized and happy they were – they were literally bursting with a sense of accomplishment. How great a feeling is that?

Dances are “happy happenings.” Plenty of folks go to the dances, perhaps not even to dance, but for the sheer joy the outing offers. Dancing or not, they can sway with the music, tap their fingers to the beat and talk to friends and others at the dance. When we go to a dance, we’re actually celebrating the joy of being alive, the joy of music, the joy of moving the body and simply the joy of being together.

How about long-married couples, suffering the marital blahs? Learning how to do some fancy footwork together is one sure way to find some common ground for communication. Dancing is a together activity – it takes two to tango, or to cha cha, or to rumba, jitterbug, swing, polka or waltz.

Going to a studio and taking dancing lessons is a unique couple’s night out – and the two of you don’t even have to be on speaking terms. It’s a lot cheaper and very likely a lot more effective than another contentious session with a marriage counselor. And, maybe between the dance lessons, you two can step-out to a friendly bar and dance to the jukebox to work on those new steps.

Everyone loves to watch couples that have obviously been dancing together for a long time. There’s an aura of confidence and harmony about them. They seem to be enjoying themselves so much – for the moment at least, and that counts for something.

Dancing and music are basic to humanity. Indeed, “… in all societies, a primary function of music is collective and communal, to bring and bind people together,” to quote Anthony Storr, from his book on the subject, “Music and the Mind.”

Dancing shakes up the status quo upstairs and gets us out of a rut. Don’t forget, learning something new builds new neural pathways, and we’re all for those new neural pathways, eh?