How to dance yourself body confident

Have you ever been dancing and felt totally in the moment?

Maybe you felt so good that you didn’t care who was watching or what you looked like?

Well, in this post, I’m sharing some exciting research about dancing from Flinders University, Australia.

This research discovered that dance’s ability to ground you in the present moment may also have a positive impact on body image.

AND, based on this research, I’m looking at ONE simple way you can dance yourself body confident in the comfort of your own home!

Watch or read below:

The power of dance

I’ve always enjoyed dance in whatever form it takes. It’s the ultimate ‘feel good’ movement taking me out of my head and into the present moment.

I know that dancing isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. BUT, exciting research by Flinders University in Adelaide Australia has revealed that dance may be a great way to foster a positive body image.

So if you could dance yourself body confident, wouldn’t you want to give it a try? I know I would!

Belly dancing & body image

In the study, female belly dancers were compared with non-belly dancers. The results found that the women who belly danced had a more positive body image than those who didn’t.

The researchers concluded belly dancing fostered a greater connection between mind, body and spirit leading to a positive body image.

Specifically, the researchers found that belly dancing improved body image for the following reasons:

• Belly dancers fully connect with their bodies (for example, by controlling their breath and tummy muscles) to produce the dance movements. This connection then fosters a positive body image.
• The mental and physical elements of the dance encourage dancers to ‘be in the moment’, instead of engaging in negative body thoughts.
• Belly dancing focuses you on the internal experience of the dance and what the body can do rather than its appearance.
• Belly dancing is open to women of all shapes and sizes. The dancers in the study did the dance because they enjoyed it, not for how they looked doing it.

How to dance yourself body confident

While this study only looked at belly dancing, I think it demonstrates the potential that dance has to foster a better body image.

I’m not saying that you need to rush out and take a belly dancing class to dance yourself body confident. BUT, I do think it’s worth looking at where you can bring dance into your life, in a very simple way.

For example, I’m a big lover of doing crazy dancing around the house to my favourite music. In those moments, I don’t care what I look like, I just enjoy the freedom of the movement.

It doesn’t have to be for very long, even a short burst can have positive benefits.

I’d love to know how you dance yourself body confident. Please leave a comment below.