The Right Dance Posture!
From the feet up, your feet should be shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, pelvis over your legs. Torso, which includes the shoulders, should be over your pelvis. Head level and over your torso, with eyes forward.
Symptoms of bad Posture!
Bone spurs, back and neck pain, potbelly, headaches, and reduced lung capacity are all symptoms of bad posture. But the less obvious consequences of slouching include changes in mood, confidence, motivation, and stress levels.
Pretty bleak. The good news? There are ways to develop better posture at any age in any condition.
Dance: Posture Therapy!
First Dance Classes
Dancers are notorious for having good posture, but you don’t have to be a ballerina to look graceful and confident. Many forms of dance give you the tools to improve posture and balance. More importantly, learning to dance is just plain fun. Dance is social, a mood booster, and a low impact., in particular, know that posture is key to have a good connection with a partner.
Dance Exercises for Good Posture!
Dance helps strengthen muscles and increase flexibility that helps prevent poor posture. Don’t consider yourself a dancer? You don’t have to be. Many people learn social dancing just for fun and develop good posture along the way. Here are some exercises that dancers use to develop a better posture:
- Spine extensions. Imagine there’s a string running from the top of your head down to your toes and somebody is pulling on that string. Body awareness is the first step to helping improve your stance and helps in any dance.
- Arm ups. Starting with arms at your sides, lift up as high and as far back as you can. Make sure shoulders are as far away from your ears as possible. This helps stretch and open the rib cage and bring shoulders into the proper position in your dance frame.
- Chin tuck and Jut. While keeping your head level, jut your chin out then tuck it back as far you can. This strengthens the cervical retraction muscles and keeps your head and neck in the right place when in dance position.
- Shoulder circles. Roll your shoulders forward then backward. This “resets” your spine and shoulders throughout the day and improves flexibility for arm styling.
- Shoulder blade squeezes. Squeeze your shoulder blades together then put them in your back pockets. This engages your latissimus muscles and helps you feel your partner’s lead or follow.
Why You Should Work On Your Posture!
Posture is not only important for physical health and grace, but research also shows that improving posture through dance may improve your mood and outlook on life too.
Posture Affects Mood
The way we carry ourselves has a huge impact on how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves — on or off the dance floor. Not only does it look “bad” or “weak” to slouch, but posture also affects how we feel about ourselves.
A series of experiments published in Health Psychology found that sitting in a slouched, defensive position makes it easier for negative thoughts and memories to appear while sitting in an upright position makes us more resilient to stress and promotes more positive thoughts. Your posture tells your brain that you’re confident, and that will affect your attitude when walking into a meeting or asking somebody to dance.
