When you look at dancers you will notice a spring in their step. They stand upright and feel body confident. This is down to their posture. Dance helps to mould your body into the right shape and this is important regardless of age, gender or occupation.
What is posture?
Posture is when your body is arranged properly. Your body weight is forward, your shoulders back, chin level and eyes looking straight ahead. People who slouch and generally have a hunchback type posture have an increased likelihood of having back problems and it has been claimed they are more likely to have a negative attitude.
How does dance improve body posture?
Styles like ballet particularly focus on strengthening the core of the body and correcting their body alignment. The reason ballet dancers wear tight dance pants is so the teacher can see how they are bending their body. It is important for dancers to have great posture because their aim is to create elegant and graceful poses with their body. If the body is not as poised as it should be then the moves would look ugly and the dancer could cause themselves injury.
For you non-dancers, dancing is still really useful for working on this aspect of your body and with great posture comes many health advantages. Better circulation and increased flexibility as well as reduced likelihood of injury are all benefits of good posture, so why wouldn’t you give dance a go!
Top 3 moves to improve your posture:
- Stretching plays a big part in correcting posture. First thing in a morning, after you’ve gotten out of bed, stand upright and slowly rotate at the waist to the side raising your arms as you go.
- When you’re sat at your desk at work, why not try taking a deep breath and sitting upright. Raise your arms above your head, keep them there for 10 seconds and then lower them, reaching out in front of you and lengthening your fingertips.
- This is a more traditional way that some of you may have heard of or even seen in films. Dust one of the books off the shelf and place in on top of your head. Try balance it while walking in a straight line. If the book starts falling off your head, there could be two reasons. Firstly, it isn’t a hardback or has a wonky cover, or the more likely option that you need to straighten your shoulders and carry on working on your posture.
Good posture comes hand in hand with all kinds of health advantages and dance can help achieve that. Try the top 3 moves and see how much healthier and happier you could be.
‘Guest Post’ by Chelsea who works as an SEO assistant for Sports Direct, the UK’s leading sportswear retailer. With over 470 stores in the UK alone and hosting leading brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Umbro and Fila, as well as, Everlast, Lonsdale, Dunlop, Slazenger and Karrimor, our wide product range covers all sports and activities. At the moment Sports Direct is expanding globally and my role involves ensuring that our website, www.sportsdirect.com is as good as our stores and making sure our global reach is maximised. My other duties include dealing with our social media accounts and rewarding our loyal customers with generous offers and competitions. For more info on this, check our out Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SportsDirectUK