By Arielle Giordano
Dance Shifts Your Mood!
One snowy day when I was living in Canada, I was scheduled to teach a dance class at the University of Alberta. It was freezing cold—a cold so deep that it caused pain in my body as I walked through the beautiful grounds. I listened to the birds, the magpies, along the pathway to the entrance of the building. This morning, I was not in the mood to dance, and I did not feel like teaching. When I entered the room, I saw 10 students standing against the wall waiting for me. They all stared as I put my things down and did my usual routine. I put the music on but remained in my melancholy mood, without energy or inspiration to dance. As soon as I began to teach the warm up, listen to the music, perform simple dance movements and shimmy without my conscious awareness, I felt better. By the end of the class, I was energized and in a great mood! I was invigorated and transformed with incredible energy—ready to teach my next dance class.
Dance and movement inspire me to feel better and they can do the same for everyone. In dance, I move to new levels and awareness within my body, mind, emotions and being. Dancing always has given me insights and taken me to a new space within. If I am tired, I feel more energized after dancing. If am down, in a bad mood, unhappy, depressed or just do not feel like moving—but I do it anyway—I feel better! When I dance, everything moves—my body, muscles, emotions, mental state, bones, organs and cells.
Dance heals what needs healing. Dance moves what needs to move. Dance gives what needs to be given. Dance transforms what needs to be transformed. Dance shifts us into a new way of being.
Dance YOUR Difference in Five Steps
1) Dance and Movement: Let healing happen. Get moving. Put your favorite music on. Let your feet the freedom of movement and dance your dreams. Body cells move when we move, and everything shifts and changes. Every cell begins to dance as we dance! Healing happens as endorphins release; they are nature’s own “happy drug.” Dance with an open and soft heart.
2) Music: Music is healing to the body, mind, soul and spirit. Listen to the music. Let it touch you deeply in different ways. Listening to music is soothing for the soul and relaxes the body. Connect to the power of the music as you move to it. Let the dance and music rejuvenate the body, mind, heart and soul. Music has the ability to enhance mood and healing. The “Mozart Affect,” for example, is a principle that comes from research proving that listening to classical music alters and heals the psyche, helps plants grow better, helps babies become smarter and more intelligent, and even help cows give more milk. Other research has shown that Baroque music being played in a chiropractor’s office aligned a patient’s spine without treatment.
3) Harmony: Dance gives us the beauty of expression in harmony within ourselves. Let dance harmonize the rhythms of body, mind, heart and soul!
4) Balance: Movement gets the right and left hemispheres of the brain synchronized for improved mental clarity. Do you ever notice how you can think more clearly after you dance? Are you more focused, energized and balanced within yourself?
Balance means good posture. Stand on two feet hip distance apart, lift up your rib cage, tuck in your stomach and tuck your bottom underneath your hips. Put your shoulders back and down. This exercise focuses on elongating the spine. While in this position, lift one leg. (Place a chair nearby in case you start to lose your balance.) If you can balance yourself on one leg, then you have good posture. If you start to wobble, try it again. As we sink into our bodies and allow ourselves to be touched in new ways, we shift ourselves into alignment.
5) Stress Relief: Moving and having fun can help to release stress. Dance provides the freedom from concentrating and being in our heads. It offers something new and different to help burn off stress. Dance invites clarity to pervade.
Take a deep belly breath and rest in your heart. Let go of your everyday affairs. As you listen to the music, step away from patterns, habits, thoughts and feelings. Dance and be in your body and relax. This is an opportunity to see in a new way.
Step out of the familiar and dance outside the lines!
Arielle Giordano, Masters of Arts, Masters of Education, is an author, professional dancer, inspirational speaker, certified Essentrics/Aging Backwards instructor, and workshop facilitator. She enjoys sharing her gifts and talents with an authentic style rich in the grace of dance, psychology, philosophy and the expressive arts. Her career includes: provisional psychologist, guidance counselor and substance-abuse therapist. As a Lead Faculty Area Chairperson and Faculty Member for College of Humanities at the University of Phoenix, she inspired students with her creative gifts. She is the published author of Dancing with Your Story from the Inside Out! She also writes for Tampa Bay Wellness, We Woman and Transformation Magazine.
Arielle offers classes and workshops on empowering women, creativity, and dance. She also offers consultations and private sessions, and she is a certified instructor in the Essentrics/Aging Backwards program. Arielle has been a guest speaker on radio and television, featured in newspapers and magazines across the United States and Canada. Visit www.dancingfromtheinsideout.com or email agbeautifuldance@gmail.com or call 813-545-7173.