May
30
For a quick mood fix, nothing beats a good old Dance Party.
It’s nothing fancy. It’s easy, it’s cheap, and it’s all up to you. I’m talking about your good old OMG-I-LOVE-THIS-SONG, turn-it-up-and-shake-your-groove-thing all-around-the-room dance party.
Look! I’ll even give you instructions:
1. Put on a favourite tune, in the comfort of your own house.
2. Turn it up.
3. Dance like you just don’t care.
See?
The problem is… People are all uptight about dancing. When does that happen to us? Look at any little kid you know, and they LOVE to dance. They move and groove all the time. They don’t care if it looks good. It FEELS good.
It’s a proven fact that dancing is good for you in so many ways. It’s good exercise. It lowers your blood pressure. It helps keep muscles, joints, bones, your heart, your circulatory system, and your brain healthy. It releases endorphins and makes you feel good.
But when we become adults, we get all self-conscious and intimidated. We don’t dance, not as much as we used to. If at all.
Maybe that’s why I love having dance parties here at home. I am a singularly ridiculous dancer. My singing’s even worse. Oh well. But in my own kitchen… I could care less how it looks, and doG knows I don’t care if anyone hears me.
We have dance parties all the damn time here. I used to have dance parties with my cat. Bubby was a big fan of San Francisco Bay Blues, and would come running whenever I put it on. I’d sing and shuffle and shimmy and clap, and Bubby would run around in circles and then collapse in a purring, rolling pile of happy cat on the floor. I think it was the kazoos that did it for her.
And Stinkerbelle — well, you can’t stop her. She’s a dance party waiting to happen. She dances to the beat of the washing machine agitating. And she sings CONSTANTLY. So we LOVE the chance to dance.
When That Girl was little, I would put her in her high chair with a meal, put on some music, and dance around the kitchen cleaning or cooking while she ate. I would pull out some crazy jazz-hands Bob-Fosse Broadway reject dance moves, do The Swim and The Charleston, tickle her as I danced by — and we both had fun.
Now that she is older, she’s less pliable in her musical tastes, but put on Mika and she’s off, singing and dancing along, hand in the air and a growl a la Freddie. We both will. (There’s a whole lot of butt wiggling to Lollipop.) Or a little Florence and the Machine will set us off, arms flapping like big weird birds, or whirling around the kitchen like mad dervishes. (Ssshhhh, don’t tell Dad — That Girl is not supposed to spin in the kitchen.)
It always ends in laughter.
So what’s stopping you?
Got a kid who needs to expend some energy? Put on some tunes and dance around.
Got housework that needs doing? Put on something with a good beat and get moving through those jobs.
Feeling down? Put on your all-time favourite song — LOUD — and let go.
It takes all of the length of a three-minute pop song to make things better, for your mind, your body and your soul.
Go on. Nobody’s watching. It’s good for you.
