Dance Your Way To Good Health!

What do you do for exercise? Running on the treadmill, outside or even lifting weights are all great ways to exercise, but they aren’t the only way to exercise. Who actually enjoys running anyway? I know I don’t like waking up in the morning to run in the freezing cold. I guess that is just the price to pay of living in New York. The gym is just a stuffy, hot place where most of the time the equipment is broken, or you spend more time waiting for a machine than you actually spend working out. Since I was a young, I had a burning fire in my soul to move my feet. I knew the second I started dancing that this was my ultimate love. As I have grown, I realize that dancing wasn’t only for fun, competition, or for feelings of expression. Dance is one of the best exercises. I no longer had to wake up to run outside, or wait in the gym for equipment because the only equipment I needed to dance were my own body and some music.

Before dancing you have to take multiple steps of preparation as you do before and after any other exercise youpreform. Proper stretching, making sure you are hydrated, ensuring you have the correct form and a cool down after you finish a routine or class. There are many health benefits to dancing. Improved condition of your heart and lungs, increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness, weight management and increased physical confidence as well as social skills. "Dance - HealthBenefits - Better Health Channel." Better Health Channel. Web. 7 Dec.2014. http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Dance_health_benefits?

Dancing doesn’t only help develop your muscles, but it is said to improve the brain too. As stated by Richard Powers, a student at Stanford University, “A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one's mind by dancing can ward off Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit.  Dancing also increases cognitive acuity at all ages.”  Dancing is a way of releasing emotion. I know that I do not only speak for myself when I say that I have experienced this first hand. Sometimes,when a person exercises and they are mad, or happy or frustrated, the level of intensity for their work out changes. If you are feeling a certain emotion andyou step out on the dance floor, you can dance through whatever you are feeling.

Exercise increases the chemicals in the brain that encourage the nerve cells to grow. Dancing improves this and memory growth because you have to remember dance steps and routines as well as counting. Dancing can also be monitored. For instance, when you run on the treadmill or lift weights you typically go the same speed. Dancing can be slow or vigorous, depending on the routine, which makes a better work out. Heart rate is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when doing any form of exercise. The heart is a muscle which pumps blood to different areas of the body for oxygen. When dancing your heart works harder to keep up with the physical demands and in a sense gets used to working quickly and then work better overall.  "How Heart Rate Changes When Dancing."LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/365352-how-heart-rate-changes-when-dancing/>

Anyone can go to the gym, or lift weights. It takes a special kind of person to dance.It is not just about memorizing some steps. Remember how great of a work out you are getting in as well. Dancing is known to be one of the best forms of exercise and drastically helps prevent health issues. As said by Friedrich Nietzsche “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”  In conclusion I put before you a challenge, Dance. Improve your mind, spirit and body.

Roselle Carlino, UDA(Universal Dance Association) dance instructor who has been traveling all over the United States teaching and judging. She also performed for the NY Knicks for three years. She was on the nationally ranked dance team at St. John's University and was the captain for two years. Upon graduating college with a Bachelor's Degree in Childhood Education, she coached the Don Bosco Preparatory Dance Team out of Ramsey, NJ which ranked first in the nation.

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