Mental Health Month; The benefits of keeping your mind and body active in the Virtual Studio.

We are often touched here at Sydney Dance Company by the beautiful feedback we receive from our Virtual Studio members expressing their gratitude for being able to dance at home amidst social restrictions and geographical limitations, and how it is positively affecting their mental and physical health.

“What surprised me the most is the difference it’s made to my health on a holistic level. People don’t really talk about the difference dance can make to your life but it has made a huge difference to my fitness, wellbeing, memory, cognitive function, coordination, spatial and body awareness, happiness and most importantly – my confidence.” – Kiah Nicholas, Sydney, NSW.

The fact is that we can totally relate, we can all attest to that feeling of being on a high after exercise, that beautiful endorphin rush that sweeps in at the end or middle of your favourite dance class, and as good as that feels, the even better news is that there are bucket loads of research findings to suggest that those benefits to your mental and physical health are absolutely real!

“Dance is the perfect way to maintain your physical and mental health while having fun!” – Rafael Bonachela, Syndey Dance Company Artistic Director 

Physical activity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)specific recommendations for home-based physical training (A. HAMMAMI ET AL. 2020) is a commentary on the research that has reported some of the positive mental and physical health benefits.

We had a read and here’s what the research reported:

Due to restrictions, people have been staying inside, spending more time sitting down watching screens and being sedentary and this will negatively impact sleep and quality of life.

Staying at home can lead to a lot of stress, anxiety and mental distress.

The best way to overcome these problems is to replace outdoors activities with home-based activities, such as bodyweight training and dance-based aerobic exercise.

Dance-based aerobic exercise and bodyweight training (Yoga, Pilates, Body Conditioning) are highly recommended for combating negative mental and physical
health impacts.

Dance-based exercise involves the use of body movements and expressions and many physical and mental health benefits can be achieved through dancing.

These positive benefits can directly or indirectly influence your quality of life!

“The class was amazing, feeling so happy and healthy” – Emi

Mental Health is something we take very seriously at Sydney Dance Company and if, as the research suggests, dancing at home in your kitchen or lounge room can contribute in a positive way to your physical and mental health, wherever you are and whatever is going on in your world, then we encourage you to join us in the Virtual Studio and have a dance.

Let’s continue to get through this together.