A Week of Daily Dancing

Dancing

My wife and I love to dance. When we first met, we had such a great connection whenever we would dance together. We would smile, laugh, and feel incredibly attracted to each other while we danced together. Once we were married and had our 3 wonderful kids, our dancing days became much less frequent. These days are dancing opportunities are mostly limited to our home.

For the past few weeks my family has scheduled family dance time every Monday evening. For about 30 minutes, we turn the lights down low, turn on a special effect light bulb that gives our living room a fun dance atmosphere, and we play family friendly dance music. We tried this a year ago and our boys wouldn't really dance, but now they love to dance and show off their moves to us. This family dance time has been so much fun and we plan to continue this Monday tradition for the foreseeable feature.

Dancing is so much fun and it just makes you feel great. I read a research study years ago that suggested that people who dance regularly are happier than people who don't. Dancing is also an excellent low impact exercise. Dancing improves cardiovascular health, increases stamina, strengthens bones, and helps prevent illness. If one day of dancing a week felt great, I wondered what would happened if a danced every day at home for a week.

Daily Dancing for a Week

I decided to try to integrate dancing into my life every day during this past week. In addition to our Monday night family dance party, I played some of my favorite dance music after dinner and danced while doing the dishes and helping clean up the kitchen. On other occasions, I would dance while holding and soothing our 6 month old baby. It felt especially great to dance on the days when I wasn't able to get another workout done. One day I came home from work exhausted, and the music and dancing turned out to be a great energy and mood booster. After this dancing experiment this week, I was reminded of the powerful impact that dancing can have on my life. There is something liberating and energizing about dancing. I want to be someone who moves my body freely and dances without hesitation. 

When was the last time you danced? Try to dance with someone in your household, or if nobody is available (or willing), dance by yourself. It may seem awkward for some people at first, but try it for a week. Just dance your heart out to your favorite music for 10-15 minutes a day.