The Benefits of Yoga for Dancers

by Expert Contributor Kaitlin Battiste, Dance and Yoga Instructor at From the Top Dance

Yoga is a useful tool that can be used for a variety of reasons, and there are many benefits to practicing it regularly. An old discipline that originated in India, yoga connects the body with the mind, and is known to improve both mental and physical health. It’s also a phenomenal supplement to dance, along with any other physical activity.

If you do a quick online search, you’re sure to find a yoga practice to meet your personal needs and goals. There are numerous levels, styles, and of course, different ways yoga can be used, from stress relief and also to relieve upper body tension and back pain, and to gain strength and improve flexibility.

If you’re new to yoga, you may wonder how it can impact more than just your physical health. Multiple studies have shown that it goes way beyond solely providing physical benefits to those who practice it. Not only can it build strength and flexibility by incorporating movement with stretching, practicing yoga also helps you tap into your mind and relieve stress by implementing breathing and meditation techniques.

Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath and focus on the present. Regular practice has also been shown to improve depression and increase your body’s serotonin, a hormone that helps regulate and optimize your mood, digestion, sleep, and more.

As far as physical benefits go, the stretching involved in yoga can increase your flexibility and range of motion, improve your posture and relieve physical tension in the body. It increases blood flow to your muscles, which can improve circulation as well as prepare your muscles for other physical activity.

For dancers, yoga’s slow pace means greater precision and body awareness resulting in strengthened technique. Practicing yoga is great for muscle tension as well. When you are experiencing stress, anxiety, or nervousness, your muscles tend to tense up. This is because stress stores itself in the body, and your muscles tighten in response to physical and emotional stress.

It’s best to find yoga practices and stretching exercises that focus on the areas of the body where you feel the most tense, such as your neck, shoulders, upper and lower back. Once you work on stretching and tending to these areas, not only will you notice physical relief, you will notice mental relief as well.

It has been said that yoga helps you work toward becoming your best self. Give yoga a try. Its many benefits are waiting for you.

by Expert Contributor Kaitlin Battiste, Dance and Yoga Instructor at From the Top Dance

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