Benefits of Bellydancing
Published on August 17, 2021As Shakira once said, “Hips don’t lie.” Belly dancing is an ancient art form that originated from Egypt. Since its inception, belly dancing has spread to all parts of the world, where many women (and even men) shake their hips to their heart’s content. While it is fun, many tend to overlook the benefits that belly dancing has.
Improving Posture
Belly dancing incorporates a variety of movements like circles, shimmies, lift & drops, and figure 8’s. These moves are meant to be done in a slow, graceful, and repetitive manner. When we look from a scientific perspective, these movements stimulate alleviation in the back by producing synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is found within the body and helps in losing up your joints/ ligaments within your spine (atlantabellydance). If you continually practice belly dancing, you may feel less stress in your back alongside more flexibility in your back- which are key parts to having a good posture.
Increasing Self- Confidence
Belly-dancing is quite an elegant art form. When you do belly dancing, it gives you a sense of achievement in knowing that you are taking part in such a grateful dance. That can be one of the ways that you can build confidence through belly dancing.
Another way can be through attending belly dancing classes. Think about it, you are in a room with other women who are looking to learn belly dancing. Because of how expressive belly dancing is, it will encourage you to reach out to other people in this case and socialize. After all, everyone came to this class for the same goal and gives you a sense that everyone is on the same playing field. This realization can make you more confident in your own skin and allow you to break out of your comfort zone.
Core Strength & Toned Muscles
Besides promoting flexibility in your spine, belly dancing engages your lower back and core muscles. In order to move effortlessly, you would need to pay attention to your smaller core muscles, which are usually overlooked in other forms of exercise. Crunches and sit-ups tend to work out a big muscle portion, which indicates that smaller muscles are not activated. Another unique trait to belly dancing is that it is able to utilize a wider range of motion within your upper body. Certain movements like lifts and circles gauge your arms and shoulders (Fitday). Belly dancing can be a fun way to tone your body to your heart’s desire.
In addition to gauging your core muscles, this style of dance utilizes isolation. This is the ability to move only a single body part while keeping everything else stable. Keeping a center of balance requires you to tighten your core muscles by tucking in your stomach and keeping your posture stationary (as best you can).
Meditation
What makes belly dancing such an elegant, intimate dance is that it is quite sensual. You cannot halfheartedly do these moves, and so, this dance requires your full attention. You need to focus on the way your body is moving, and in doing so, your daily hassles and stressors begin to be less apparent. Belly dancing can actually be a form of meditation. Meditation can be achieved in doing the activities that love/ enjoy, given that it allows you to focus on the present. The next time that you belly dance, try to make a note of a few things. Are your body movements in sync? Is your breathing pattern sow and controlled? Is your line of thought cleared of any distractions?
Now that you know about the benefits of belly dancing, you should take the opportunity to sign up for our Mixed Level Belly dancing class. With the class’s instructor (Kelly) possessing years of belly dancing experience, you wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity. Learn more about this class through the link below: https://www.kellykinetix.com/bellyDance
Links:
https://woman.thenest.com/strengthening-stomach-muscles-belly-dancing-5942.html
https://www.atlantabellydance.com/ProspectiveStudents/ClassHealth.html
