Dance Your Way to Improved Flexibility

The physical benefits of dancing have been discussed in many of our blogs, touching on how dancing can improve your muscle tone, coordination, and even provide some cardio work in more rigorous dances. We have also mentioned how your flexibility can be improved when you dance, and today we will discuss this a little further. Flexibility is something that many of us fail to maintain. We all lose some of our flexibility as our bodies age, but dancing can help you stay flexible and discover how important it is to maintain the elasticity and resilience of your muscles. At Dance FX Studios, we make sure that our students stay healthy and comfortable while becoming skilled social dancers, and stretching is a very important aspect of a dancer’s regime. 

Without regular stretching and exercise, you can lose flexibility in your joints and muscles as the years pass by. Stiffness begins to build up and can prevent you from doing everyday tasks safely and comfortably. Arthritis can manifest when this happens, and this is both uncomfortable and unhealthy. Dancing requires you to move your whole body, exercising various muscles and getting them to move in all directions, improving your flexibility and muscle tone. Dance with big, sweeping movements like those in the Argentine Tango, stretch your muscles and joints. Those with faster, smaller movements like the Country Swing require quicker, shorter muscle contractions, which aid in agility and resilience. Variety is the spice of life; learning multiple dances will give your body the most benefit and will also keep you and your mind on your toes.

Spine flexibility is another aspect of muscle and joint health that we often leave by the wayside. Between school, desk jobs, watching TV, and other sedentary acts of our technological modern lives, our spines and necks are many times out of alignment and out of shape. This can cause pain and discomfort in people of all ages. Ballroom dancing can help! With proper dancing in lessons, you can work your core muscles and strengthen your spine and neck’s support system. Constant weight shifting, changing direction, and whole body movements will improve your balance while exercising your core muscles, neck, and spine. The movements required on the dance floor will move your muscles, as will the stretching exercises you do off the dance floor, improving flexibility in no time!

You will quickly see improvements in joints, muscles, and ligaments all over your body when you take regular lessons and stretch consistently at home. Different types of dances require different muscle movements and body positions, so by learning and practicing multiple dances, you can experience a larger spectrum of benefits. The sweeping Tango, quick Country Two Step, and fun Jitterbug all offer a different type of exercise and benefits. No matter what type of dance you want to learn, your body will improve after continuous lessons! Try our $40 Introductory Offer to get a taste of what dance has to offer, or if you know you want to jump right in, take a look at our specials on our Gift Cards page. Today is the day to get up off your couch or chair and get moving, so call us today!