Put on some tunes and dance the night away in the comfort of your own home!
Today is National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day. Â Dancing, moving, and any sort of physical activity can greatly uplift your mental state.
Marian Chace
The idea of dance as therapy is credited to former dance educator and performer Marian Chace, who shifted her focus from dance techniques and education to her students’ individual movement communications and expressions.
After World War II, she was invited to work at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, where she was tasked with working with withdrawn, shutdown, and mute patients. She also worked with many war veterans. Her reputation for using dance as a means of communication and expression became widely known as she successfully reached nonverbal patients. She managed to break down their barriers through the power of movement, physical interaction, and dance by playing music, interacting with patients by mirroring their movements, establishing eye contact, engaging in physical contact, and waltzing to the rhythmic steps.
5 Facts About Dancing
1. Its benefits have been empirically proven.
Dancing has been proven to help with stress, anxiety, communication issues, aggression, P.T.S.D., family conflicts, and disordered eating.
2. It makes you confident.
Dancers are often more self-confident and have a more positive mindset.
3. It’s a gift from the gods.
4. It has physical benefits.
5. It releases happy hormones.