By Vanesa Akbarpour
It’s likely you’ve already heard not only about the physical but also mental and emotional health benefits of moving our bodies. During this time of self-quarantine, though, getting in our daily exercise has become more challenging for many people.
That’s concerning because the added stress that this global pandemic has caused makes it more important than ever to exercise so our bodies can release stress-relieving hormones (i.e. dopamine), and go into deeper states of rest and recovery — not to mention, exercise can help boost our overall immunity, and who doesn’t want a stronger immune system right about now!
While there are plenty of great exercise options out there, something really fun that we can do in the safety of our homes without any equipment is dance! It not only is healthy on a physical level but it also allows us to express our emotions creatively: dance can bring us to a state of presence that awakens our sense of aliveness or as Martha Graham put it, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”
You can put on your favorite music and start moving to what inspires you or, if you prefer something more structured, you can try an online dance class.
While many of us have heard about skill-building online platforms like Skillshare, Coursera, and Masterclass (learning a new skill is also a great way to soothe boredom while self-quarantining, by the way), what seems to be less talked about are the online dance classes that abound so I wanted to make this post to make them easier to find.
Luckily, Dance Magazine curated this amazing list of online dance classes. Whether you’re looking for more of an exercise dance class, something easy that just gets you moving, or something more serious that progresses you through the art and technique of almost any dance you can imagine, there are plenty of dance courses available online and most of them also offer a free trial period so you can try them out and see if they work for you before you commit to them. Another idea is to simply search ‘dance classes’ on YouTube and a plethora of free classes will pop up.
So go on, find something that moves you, and let your soul speak!
In Loving,
Vanesa
