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"Dancing is a form of active exercise
involving a social man-woman relationship
performed in an atmosphere of happiness, music and laughter - a dancer."

Mayo Clinic researchers reported that social dancing helps to:
  • Reduce stress
  • Increase energy
  • Improve strength
  • Increase muscle tone and coordination

    Cardiovascular: Italian researchers have found that just 21 minutes of dancing, three times a week, can match the cardiovascular benefits from working out on a treadmill or bicycle.

    Muscle Tone: Dance is a weight-bearing activity, which builds bones. It's also "wonderful" for your upper body and strength." Plus, dancing requires using muscles that you may not even know you had. "If you're dancing the foxtrot, you're taking long, sweeping steps backwards. That's very different than walking forward on a treadmill or taking a jog around the neighborhood ... Ballroom dancing works the backs of the thighs and buttock muscles differently from many other types of exercise,"

    Joints: Dance provides the joint motion in a controlled manner which according to the American Journal of Medicine is the best way to avoid arthritis and relieve joint discomfort.

    Spinal Column: Most dancers also improve their posture, a move that gives them a younger, more vibrant, appearance. Better posture results in a more attractive and youthful appearance.

    Respiratory: The type of exercise associated with dancing allows the body to receive plenty of oxygen which makes the work of the heart easier. WebMD reported a study where people with heart failure who took up waltzing breathed better, exercised longer, and generally felt better.

    Weight Control: A study by California State University shows that ballroom dancers can easily burn 250 calories to 300 calories an hour.

    Keeping the Brain Active:: Dancing is a unique form of exercise because it provides the heart-healthy benefits of an aerobic exercise while also allowing you to engage in a social activity. This is especially stimulating to the mind.
    A study in the New England Journal of Medicine even found "dancing can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in the elderly".
    Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City studied 469 people over age 75 and found that ballroom dancing was associated with a lowered risk of dementia.

    Physiological Benefits Too:
  • Uplifiting Social Activity
  • Build Confidence
  • Builds Self esteem and self worth (you like to dress up?)
  • Done to music which can be therapeutic by itself
  • Physiological Escape

    Relationships: As couples move on in years, the children are grown; perhaps the grandchildren are also grown. The activities that used keep the couple occupied may become remote. As these couples turn to new adventures and look to pursue activities for their enjoyment and to help keep the spark of their relationship alive, what form of activity could be better than ballroom dancing?

    More: Other studies such as those conducted at the Mayo Clinic and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute show that dancing can reduce stress, increase energy, Lower your risk of coronary heart disease, decrease blood pressure and help you manage your weight.
  • Your body gets conditioned
  • Exercises your heart
  • Your stamina is strengthened and increased
  • Develops the circulatory system
  • Relieves stress
  • Helps you lose weight
  • You can tone your body and legs
  • Develops flexibility and balance

    Finally: You feel good about yourself as you do something to improve and maintain your health and well being.

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