Did you know Dance is one of the top ways to boost your brainpower?   Daniel Amen MD author of Magnificent Mind at Any Age cites “few activities stimultate as wide a variety of brain systems as dancing does”.  In fact, Dance is in his top 10 boosting-your-brainpower tips.  How fabulous is that??

So dancing or moving is not just for connecting to our body or for personal expression, but it also assists us in our brain function and reverses the anti-aging effect of time on our mind and body.

Not that this is a great shock to those of us who love to move and dance… we already know we feel alive, restored and more connected when we dance!  But something about this “scientific” validation of the effect that dancing has on stimulating the systems and connections in our brain… I found this fascinating and important.

When I talk about “dancing”, I mean dance/movement, free-form dance, moving with deep body awareness, the movement of the soul through the body.  In my  classes and workshops we use dance/movement combined with somatic (or, body) awareness to come into very deep states of healing and spiritual connection. It is clear that the dance, the movement, has a profound effect on the brain, and all our systems for that matter.

Often I find in class/ workshops/working privately with people when they start to move their body it feels very foreign and unfamiliar at first. They might feel stupid, awkward, silly, like they are not doing it “well enough”. We often hold a lot of judgement about how we are moving and what it looks like.  The beauty of the movement form we use is that it is not about “how” you look but how you “feel” as you move that is important. It is about finding your own self expression through the movement.

One of my students in class said the other day that as she kept turning up and doing the work she started getting flashes of what it is like to really be inside the body.  It takes time to connect in and to listen to what is present inside. Through the practice of movement, of conscious dancing, we get glimpses of our TRUE self.  And slowly but surely we get to stay there longer and longer. Eventually (and sometimes right away!) there are longer moments of feeling the bliss of “coming home”, the ecstasy of being with ourselves, the peace, the joy, the surrender, the trusting, the knowing of our divine connection.

For me, it is so delicious to find my own flow and expression of my true self and I feel this deeply whenever I move, teach or do a healing session. As someone said in a session the other day,  ”I am amazed, you just keep asking the body and the truth keeps rolling out.”

And apparently, in addition to all these priceless benefits, we are also boosting our brainpower, maybe getting smarter or at least, slowing down the aging process. I call that a win-win.

So why not move, to save your body, your brain, and heal your life! Whether you come try one of our classes http://www.bodyfreedom.com/classes.html) or turn on your favorite song at home, close your eyes, and DANCE like no one’s watching for 5 minutes (check out the April BodyTip) … let’s heal ourselves and heal the world through dance!

Happy dancing this April!  Would love to hear your thoughts…  Let me know how your 5 minutes of dancing goes.  Please leave a comment below.