International Yoga Day 2025: Dance for Health & Happiness

What could be better than yoga for a stress-free lifestyle, healthy sleep, and a balance between physical strength and flexibility? Yoga is the foundation for both physical and mental well-being, and dancing is a simple way to practice it. In honor of International Yoga Day in 2025, let’s examine the relationship between yoga and dancing.

If you don’t enjoy your work, you can’t do it for very long. With yoga, you might experience something similar. However, if you begin yoga (Yoga Day 2025) without adequate knowledge or preparation, it may seem uninteresting to you. Some people begin performing asanas without making any subtle movements. Because of this, when they experience pain, some people abruptly stop practicing yoga.

Simultaneously, the feet begin to move naturally when dancing to music. All forms of dance can make you feel happy and satisfied, regardless of whether you have any kind of dance training or not, and whether you dance in public or in a private setting. Nonetheless, yoga and Indian classical dance are strongly intertwined. Actually, dancing is a beneficial physical activity that can help you keep in shape (dance for health advantages), much like going to the gym, running, taking a brisk walk, or exercising. Tell us how dance may be just as healthy as yoga on International Yoga Day in 2025.

If exercise is too demanding or dull for you, try dancing instead. A study from this English institution found that physical inactivity is a major contributing factor to rising mortality rates worldwide.

The hidden form of Ashtanga yoga in traditional dance

Dance incorporates the eight limbs of yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. There are specific postures employed in classical dancing. In addition to its bodily advantages, it offers the spiritual experience of self-unification. Since yoga involves a variety of asanas, dancing can have the same health benefits as performing asanas. The most lovely aspect is that dance and music go hand in hand. Because of this, dancing can be particularly good for mental health because it doesn’t cause exhaustion and keeps internal energy levels high even after extended periods of dancing.

It circulates energy throughout the body.

The dynamic energy of life manifests itself in dance. It spreads energy all across the body. The primary component of it is acting, which is the process of embodying fictional characters through facial emotions, hand gestures, and body language. Based on the structure of duality—lover and beloved, masculine and femininity—dance is devotional yoga that promotes union. The movements of the primary organs—the head, chest, arms, hips, hands, and feet—as well as the peripheral organs, such as the intricate movements of the brows, eyeballs, eyelids, chin, and even the nose, are all described in depth in the Natya Shastra.

Dancing and yoga are complementary.

Padma Shri Geeta Chandran, a dancer in Bharatnatyam Dancing requires yoga. Everyone, not only dancers, needs a relaxed mind and a supple body. Regular yoga practice is necessary for this. You don’t do anything just because you feel like it. Rules and discipline are essential for both yoga and dancing. In actuality, yoga and dancing are complementary rather than distinct. One should begin with the fundamentals in dance as well. For example, if you prefer dance to yoga, start out slowly. Before dancing, warm up to allow your body to relax. Maintaining balance between the mind and body might improve general health. Dancing has become more useful in enhancing mental wellness.

What makes yoga different from dance?

According to renowned Kathak dancer Nalini Kamalini, dancing and yoga are similar, but they are not the same. For instance, although yoga requires you to maintain a specific posture, such as Dhanushasan, which requires you to stay still, dancing is a condition of motion. This means that yoga can also be performed to benefit a specific body component. In dancing, however, there are various ways to execute it. If you perform Mayur Asan in yoga, you will balance your body on your palms and resemble a peacock. However, if you dance, you will walk and wink alike.

Various Mudras for Counseling

Dance makes extensive use of the eyes. It maintains the health of the eyes. In dance, there are various methods for turning the neck, such as Griva Bhed. This keeps the neck in shape and doesn’t hurt it. In dancing, the head is turned in various ways to convey feelings. This works well to avoid spondylitis. Similar to how yoga’s Kati Asana is performed, dance’s Ardhachakra Poornachakra works the entire body. Dancing improves blood circulation. Blood pressure is not an issue, and the risk of heart disease is decreased. In this, many mudras function similarly to therapy.

These are the advantages of dancing.

• Control of blood sugar and cholesterol
• An improvement in posture
• Increasing flexibility and balance in the body
• Strengthening of the muscles
• Beneficial for weight control and calorie reduction
• The endorphin hormone contributes to your happiness.

Hormone balance

It is not customary to dance in Indian classical dance while wearing slippers or shoes. The feet are in direct contact with the earth in folk dancing as well. The benefit of acupressure is provided during this time by applying pressure to the points of the foot and their fingers. Dancing barefoot has other advantages, such as slowing down the aging process and improving hormone regulation. It aids in the prevention of disorders brought on by hormonal imbalance, including diabetes, mood disorders, thyroid issues, and irregular menstruation in women.

Efficient in treating dementia

Dancing helps the mind become accustomed to focus. It improves memory and prevents the onset of age-related illnesses like dementia.

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