Dance to Heal
I admit that I am a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars, a program on TV that pairs professional dancers with people who are considered famous or honored for their accomplishments. This dance show has featured a few people who are disabled, one male who had a missing arm and leg and a woman had prosthetic legs. To see these people dance was beyond belief and exceeded anything I would have imagined on a dance show. From the most body beautiful, transgender males and real curvy women this show has demonstrated to the world that there are many forms and colors of beautiful people. I am almost embarrassed to admit that I sometimes cry after a couple dances yet what I will admit readily is how therapeutic it has been to watch others express their inner spirit through dance.
My sister has been taking tango lessons for a number of years now. It seems like she dances almost every day of the week. She seems to live for dancing and has expressed that skipping her dance time is usually not an option. She has used dance to lift her energy to it's highest level. When she is dancing you can see the joy shining out of her. She has remained loyal to learning to tango and does so to her fullest potential. Dance has become a healing agent for her when as a child she seemed completely disinterested in dancing. She has showed me the power of dance.
We can heal ourselves with dance and for many; years I had the pleasure of teaching salsa, a dance I know well and love. One of my students looked me in the face and said "this has made me feel beautiful and more confident". Another person I taught to dance said: "This experience has changed my life for the better". Yet another shared: "I feel so much joy when I dance". The bonus for me was that one person I taught salsa to came to one of my lessons to assist me with another student and they fell in love. They have been together for 15 years now. These testaments about dancing are in fact telling of how healing dance really is.
Why is dancing so healing? I believe that the reason is because our bodies and mind respond well to movement and music. It seems to fill our souls and our hearts and brings our joy meter up. It is likely the lyrics and the meaning of the music coupled with movement is what heals us and what our soul yearns for. Possibly I am partial to this kind of healing because as a child I felt like I got through some hard times by dancing. To this day when I dance I forget everything. I leave everything behind me and it seems as though all my problems de solve.
I say dance. If you have never danced before I want to encourage you to take some dance lessons. It is by far one of the most healing things you can do for yourself.
Elliott Maximo Collazo
My sister has been taking tango lessons for a number of years now. It seems like she dances almost every day of the week. She seems to live for dancing and has expressed that skipping her dance time is usually not an option. She has used dance to lift her energy to it's highest level. When she is dancing you can see the joy shining out of her. She has remained loyal to learning to tango and does so to her fullest potential. Dance has become a healing agent for her when as a child she seemed completely disinterested in dancing. She has showed me the power of dance.
We can heal ourselves with dance and for many; years I had the pleasure of teaching salsa, a dance I know well and love. One of my students looked me in the face and said "this has made me feel beautiful and more confident". Another person I taught to dance said: "This experience has changed my life for the better". Yet another shared: "I feel so much joy when I dance". The bonus for me was that one person I taught salsa to came to one of my lessons to assist me with another student and they fell in love. They have been together for 15 years now. These testaments about dancing are in fact telling of how healing dance really is.
Why is dancing so healing? I believe that the reason is because our bodies and mind respond well to movement and music. It seems to fill our souls and our hearts and brings our joy meter up. It is likely the lyrics and the meaning of the music coupled with movement is what heals us and what our soul yearns for. Possibly I am partial to this kind of healing because as a child I felt like I got through some hard times by dancing. To this day when I dance I forget everything. I leave everything behind me and it seems as though all my problems de solve.
I say dance. If you have never danced before I want to encourage you to take some dance lessons. It is by far one of the most healing things you can do for yourself.
Elliott Maximo Collazo
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