Dancing - a powerful health booster and tool on my way to 75 pounds of weight loss, selflove and spiritual growth

My wheightloss from summer 2016 to summer 2017...took me a lot of courage to share it with you (sorry for the low quality, I made the photos with my old smartphone which had a slightly damaged camera)

For many years of my life I was overweight and depressed. I did not feel my inner balance, had no affectionate connection to myself. At the weekend, when everyone was out and dancing in the city's trendy clubs, I sat at home and spent my time alone. I just did not match with all those slim, beautiful, self-confident people. So why should I go dancing and embarrass myself? The very thought of it made me uncomfortable and I unhooked it right away.

I belonged to the few specimen of the dying breed of the dance deniers in my town. Nearly everyone in the the highschools attended a dance class. Some wanted to persuade me to come with them, but they could as well have asked if I wanted to make a tax declaration with them out of fun. And so they gave up pretty quickly. "She'll just bang her head and listen to Metal anyway, let's forget it!"

Two years ago, however, there was a change that probably irritated me even more, than the people around me. Through my meditations I had again and again the input to dance. This initially strange call of my soul became more and more interesting and soon it would not let go of me. I used to like electronic music before and in that time Goa and Psytrance came along for which I quickly developed a true passion. And so it didn't take long time before I decided to attend my first Goa party and dance in front of hundreds of people. My excitement on the way to the club grew, the later the evening got. But when I had gone through the front door of the club and received my entry bracelet, the excitement gave way to great enthusiasm and joy. I had done it! I had finally overcome my own fears!

I had already lost some pounds by that day, but I knew I needed to get more exercise into my life to reach my goal, a healthy weight. And so I was happy to become lighter and to shake off my past with the help of my favorite music. When I stood on the floor and began to dance slowly, I closed my eyes. I felt the music and faded out that many people were around me. In my head there was only me and the music. And so I danced wildly and freely and got an overwhelming and positive feedback from the people around me who were celebrating my newly discovered joy of life! The feeling was incredibly touching - and I was now irrevocably and passionate member of the Goa community!

Every now and then I went to a Goa party and in the summer of 2017 I went to my first festival. But the music, especially Goa and Psytrance, had become an integral part of my life. I danced whenever I could and felt like it. When cooking, learning, walking in the woods, with friends ... listening to music, dancing, feeling freedom.

As time passed, I lost more and more weight through the continuous movement that my passion for music brought, until I finally lost 75 pounds until now. I felt more comfortable in my body from month to month and was thrilled with how much my favorite music and dancing helped me reach my desired weight. Also my cracked self-esteem got a big boost and I gained more and more self-love by dancing alone and in the community of all these wonderful people. My depression got better, until I finally could say, "I'm not depressed anymore! I only have a bad day sometimes, just like any other human being! "For the first time in many years, I felt superior to that shadow on my soul.

Also my health improved a lot by dancing! I built up more back muscles, counteracting my scoliosis and making sure I have much less pain. I had a much better condition due to my weight loss and my resting heart rate dropped from an average of 83 to 46. My cardiovascular system is much more stable and I'm more agile than ever. My migraine also improved enormously!

I could not believe how much positive change dancing had brought into my life and so I started to research a bit about why dancing is such a great thing. What I read surprised me a lot!

1. Physical health

Dancing exercises many muscles. This increases their ability to coordinate and their performance improves. The tendons and ligaments in the corresponding regions are better supplied with blood and strengthened. This protects the joints and increases and maintains the mobility.

The back also benefits a lot from dancing. The upright posture and flowing movements playfully improve the mobility of the spine, which can prevent blockages and herniated discs.

The cardiovascular system is strengthened and the organs are better supplied with oxygen.

Even the immune system gets a kick out of dancing, as the body uses the rhythmic movement to create more killer cells that fight off pathogens.

The fat burning is boosted and you can lose weight with a lot of fun. (Better than the treadmill in the gym, right?)

2. Mental and neurological health

Dance is a rush! Because your brain releases more hormones like serotonin and also endorphins. These ensure that you are happy, relaxed, and easy-going. The hormone ACTH increases creativity. So you are physically relaxed while being mentally focused and strongly performing.

Through the good blood circulation of the brain while dancing, the memory and other cognitive performance increases enormously. Links in the brain are improved and damaged or weak areas can even be rebuilt and supported. Studies have shown that dancing is even one of the most effective ways to fight dementia, well ahead of Sudoku and memory training exercises!

3 . Spirituality and self-discovery

Dance is as old as humanity itself and has always been an important part of social rites and customs. Indigenous peoples and shamans use trance music and dance until this day to connect with the gods and their higher selves.

By rhythmically moving to trance-evoking melodies and sounds (as in my case in Goa and Psytrance), the body emits many messengers as Serotonine that euphorize us and open the door to ourselves. It is even cosidered that the brain releases small doses of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), during trance dance. DMT is a very strong psychedelic substance that is released by the brain at birth and death. Thus, dancing can lead to psychedelic and mind-expanding experiences that contribute much to self-knowledge and spiritual growth.
Just think of the Sufis dancing in a trance to experience God.

Free dancing gradually erodes the fear of physical self-expression, the fear of showing off and gains a lot of self-confidence. So you can arrive your inner balance more easy, find authentic life and recognize your own way better and faster.

Dancing transformed me!

Since I started dancing, I've changed from an overweight, sad, insecure girl to a well-being, cheerful and self-confident woman. Because of my depression and my bad self-confidence, I never knew who I really was. I was lost in myself. But the more I danced and devoted myself to music and life, the more I found myself and my way. I finally knew who I was. Could finally wear the clothes I wanted to wear, not the ones that just fitted me. I had enough self-confidence and self-love to become self-employed. And I had countless very emotional, spiritual and meditative experiences in the trance dancing, which have strongly influenced me to the better. I have been able to build a strong connection to my higher self and live much more consciously. So I really owe a whole transformation to dancing. And for that I am infinitely grateful!

Do you like dancing? Which dance style do you like most?

Celebrate life and dance to the beat of your soul!

Peace and Love,

yours Linda

You want to find out more about me? Here you can find my introduceyourself post

Sources:
Source of some information found in my post
Source of pictures I used, except my wheightloss photos