Don’t underestimate the effect and importance of Irish Dancing for your health condition. Irish dancers are not only great performers that show the beauty and grace of Irish culture but also skilled athletes that can carry out difficult and complex physical moves. All the movements and tricks performed by the Irish dancers improve the physical and mental condition, ensuring a high degree of satisfaction and a healthy body.
Improving your fitness and general health situation
Irish dance is a dance with repetitive movements, fast but also very precise, which serves as a perfect cardiovascular exercise. From the first movements the heart rate increases, the blood starts circulating faster. Dancers are taught various breathing techniques, which will increase the volume of oxygen entering the body. During a dance session, most of the lower body muscles are strained, which causes a dancer to lose about 500-60 calories during a one-hour dance practice. The effects will be felt from the first workouts, and as time progresses, the dancer will enjoy effects such as stronger and more resilient muscles, increased endurance, healthy and strong bones, and a harmonious and fit body.
Posture and Balance
In any type of dance posture is a very important element. First of all, because it can prevent some injuries or traumas. Also, for Irish dance, it has several functions, including the aesthetic one. An Irish dancer always has tense spleen muscles, as they help him move his legs vigorously and very quickly. If he does not maintain a correct posture, he can easily traumatize his spine or back muscles. But if the dancer possesses this art then he can be sure that he will have a harmonious posture and coordination. Thus, spinal diseases specific to those who lead a sedentary lifestyle such as lordosis or scoliosis will not be a danger to an Irish dancer.
Resilience and Endurance
Physical endurance is a goal achieved through various methods. Some people choose to go jogging, others to swim, others to play hockey, skating. However, Irish dancing is a much more viable method, because once you start dancing and attending a dance club, you won’t be able to find excuses to quit. In the long run, physical endurance is achieved due to the increased degree of aerobic elements and energetic movements required during a dance. You will notice that over time, the body will become much stronger and ready for any challenge.
Positivity and Mental Health
All the emotions we feel at any time and of any nature, whether positive or negative are controlled by the brain. The most important element is the hippocampus which is responsible for emotions, learning, and motivation. All these 3 qualities are interconnected. It has been shown that sport, the dance that is performed in a group, increases the state of satisfaction, stimulates the cortical neurons, creating a state of joy. That’s why Irish dance is a solution for those who want to improve their emotional state, self-confidence, teamwork, and more.
How to Irish Dance
Irish dance is represented by several types of dances: sean nós, ceili dancing, set dancing, step dancing, stage dancing (Feis). These are performed in different formations, with more complex or simpler movements and that require different equipment. Also, each dance school or academy has its own style, different from any other, which makes it unique and special.
If you are excited about starting to Irish dance, there are some elements that you must fulfill. First, you need to choose the right pair of Irish dance shoes. Depending on the type of dance you perform, you can choose between hard shoes or soft shoes. It is important to choose Irish dance shoes taking into account their quality, the material from which it is made, the flexibility it offers and if you choose hard shoes the sound produced. Second, create your dance costume, it can include various traditional accessories such as brooches, wigs, headbands, buckles, but compulsory some dance socks. Do not forget about spare parts, such as laces, but also foot protection elements. And all, you’re to Irish Dance.
Irish dancing offers you not only the opportunity to learn the art of dance, which is complicated although beautiful, but at the same time the opportunity to change your attitude towards your body, to train it and to make it stronger and harmonious.
