Shall we dance

You still want your regular dose of exercise but you’re not a gym bunny, and swimming laps in the pool is just too monotonous.  Joining a dance class is the best option.  So put on your dancing shoes and grooves to the music. If you are tired of pushing yourself to wake up and visit the gym to do those same old boring exercises every day, are overwhelmed by rippling muscles in spandex all around or simply cant’s afford a gym, then just put on some music and dance away. Right from helping you loose weight, tone muscles to inculcating grace and poise, dancing is an inexpensive and fun way to keep fit. Says dance guru Shaimak  Davar, “Dance, unlike any other exercise form, involves movements that are isolatory and coordinate almost every part of the body. Therefore, muscle groups all over the body are used and exercised. So, the result is an improvement in strength, flexibility, stamina, coordination of different parts of the body, balance, better reflexes and also a superb sense of timing as you are moving to music, which in itself relaxes and energizes the body.”

In the body conscious world of today many youngsters too prefer dancing to pumping iron. “I have complete faith in dance as a form of exercise. Dancing not only keeps me fit, but it is also a form of mental happiness for me. Music soothes my mind and dancing keeps me physically active. Another thing about dancing you can do it in the comfort of your own home and go wild doing it,” says Diksha Sharma, a homemaker.

Amy Pinto, a dance instructor in the city who runs her own ball room dancing school says, “Ballroom dance is great for your bones. The fluid circular motion of the dance keeps your bones in great shape. Besides the disciple movement of the dance inculcates grace and poise.” Ballroom dance consists of ten dances divided into two categories- standard dance and Latin American dances. Standard dances include foxtrot, waltz, Viennese waltz (a faster form of waltz) and the tango. The Latin American dances include rumba, samba, cha-cha, jive and paso doble. Renowned ball room dance instructor Sandip Soparkaar says, “There is dance for every mood. The mood of rumba is love, samba is festive, cha-cha is naughty, jive is fun, paso doble is aggressive, tango is anger, waltz and Viennese waltz are romance and foxtrot and quick step (a faster form of foxtrot) are dances for social occasions. Hence, each dance has a different mood, feel, pace, and music unique to it.”

Sujitha Menon, a school teacher says, “It is amazing how much you can perspire from just trying to stand up straight and controlling the movements of the leg in a dance session.” She adds, “To me, dance is just a fun way of getting some activity in my life, especially since I hate the monotony of running on a trade mill. It makes me forget that I am actually exercising, because I am moving to music and enjoying my self.” Dances such as rumba or jazz are as aerobically challenging as jogging and the tango can work your heart harder than a game of squash. After all according to Sujitha, “Dance is not just fun, but a healthy life long hobby. Besides all that movement and muscle releases tons of good endorphins!” she says.

For beginners Jazz form of dancing is great as it improves motor coordination, flexibility, muscular endurance (tonality of muscles), postures, gait and also increases energy. “Jazz is easy to comprehend and pick up, and can be performed by the young and not-so-young,” says Sudeshna Chatterjee, a college student who is passionate about dancing.

Dancerize or Bollywood dancing as it is more popularly called is the latest craze amongst youngsters. Leena Mogre, a renowned fitness instructor suggests some good old Bollywood style jhatkas and matkas. She says, “An hour of Bollywood dancing is a great vigorous cardio-vascular exercise. It exercises almost 80 percent of your body and burns as many as 400 hundred calories. If done in a group, one gets so engrossed learning expressions and new steps from others that we don’t realize that we have exercised for an hour.”

Dancing is a great cardio-vascular exercise, which helps to build both your heart’s strength and endurance. “Dancing is a best way to keep fit. Because of its high impact and varied body movements, the body is in constant motion so it is a best form of cardio-vascular exercise,” says Maheshwar Peri, a fitness freak.

Exercise becomes a chore after sometime. But dancing is relaxing and de-stressing. Dancing releases endorphins, which energizes the body and puts you in a positive frame of mind. According to instructor, Amy Pinto, “Dancing gives endless pleasure and helps you maintain your composure. However rotten mood I am, dancing completely de-stresses me and leaves me in a good mood and makes you feel lively.”

Dancing tones muscles, but does not turn you into a female Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Dancing is a weight bearing exercise and helps to strengthen your weight bearing bones (tibia, fibula and femur). This can prevent or at least slow down the loss of bone mass (osteoporosis),” says Dr. C.V. Raman, an orthopedic surgeon. According to the American Journal of Medicine, the best way to avoid arthritis or ease joint discomfort is to exercise the joints in a controlled manner through regular exercise. The rotating motion involved in dancing help spread synovial fluid to the connective tissues and joints, which keeps them in good shape.

Some dance forms such as ballroom dancing and salsa naturally encourages one to adopt the right posture, and the combination of movement and dance steps helps to build better balance and co-ordination, while increasing flexibility and stamina. “You’ll notice that your gestures gain grace, you begin to stand taller, with your shoulders geld back and head held high. A heightened sense of your own body gives you a presence that is hard to ignore,” says Bollywood diva Amrita Arora.

You don’t need to be a Madhuri Dixit or Madonna to get your body grooving. Even those of us who profess to having two left feet can feel the rhythm of music and move our bodies to it. An hour of dancing every day is sure to lower those inhibitions and reveal the dancer in you. Absolutely any one can switch on the music and break into a jig and see how your life may turn around as it did for Richard Gere’s character in Shall We Dance.