How Leaders can Overcome Stress with Swing Dancing
It has been widely accepted by fitness, nutritional and general health experts that dancing is a form of stress-relieving therapy that will make you fit, happy and able to face some of the pressures of life, business and the workplace. Leaders in industry can boost the mind by dancing, and one fact that is so often overlooked is that the mind and the body are so closely interlinked that any benefits you gain in the mind, such as leadership skills, confidence, assuredness and a sense of business acumen, is there because the body was rewarded by physical exercise.
As Dr Daryl Green points out, -Some individuals lack the confidence in reaching for their dreams [and] dancing is a great confidence booster.- Dancing does provide a fresh boost of energy and a way where stress levels are noticeably reduced. Dancing is a way where we can burn calories and push physical limits to the next level and is better than say the ordinary lonely jogger because dancing is fun, sociable and gives us encouragement to move.
Anyone that has ever run a marathon will tell you that one of the easiest miles of the 26 you run is the last. The encouragement from others and the cheering and clapping directed specifically at you when you pound those few miles gives the mind a lift and helps to push the body naturally.
This encouraging factor can be affixed to dancing too, particularly when you have a nice beat that helps you move each muscle as though someone is doing it for you. Swing Dancing is a style that is perfect for cardiovascular exercise and will increase energy levels in the body, burn calories, boost the power of the mind, and raise the levels of confidence.
Being involved in dancing for many years and winning my own share of dance competitions, I see the obvious value of dancing on personal health. Dancing is a great outlet for stress relief! Moving to music is very therapeutic. In fact, dance music therapy is often used to improve behaviour in people with autism, mental patients, and people with learning disabilities. To those who are of able body and mind it can be therapeutically stimulating to relieve stress, improve stamina, lift moods and depression, or generally improve all round health and well-being.
When our bodies are given this boost our minds will be automatically stimulated by a number of chemical factors that create a reaction in the brain, all of which are great. The next time you dance for say 10 minutes, assess the level of your mood and see and feel the results for yourself.
2013 by Emily Norris