1. You feel alive and powerful
Movement and creation makes you feel alive, dynamic and full of energy. When you move and create you build up self-esteem and trust, because you nourish your body and soul with what they need. You become powerful and confident – you decide what’s going on in your life and that’s what makes you successful!
2. You find your voice
To express one creatively is a basic human need. As we create, we uncover our beliefs and thoughts. We access the depths of our being, realize our inner nature and develop our own ideas.
Giving ourselves time and energy to pursue creative outlets lets us (re-) discover authenticity and self awareness. This helps us to better express ourselves in everyday life and feel well balanced.
3. Fix your posture – it influences how you feel
Our parents were actually right when they reminded us to stop slouching and sit up straight: A study revealed that our brain associates bad postures like slumping forward and closing our chest with negative feelings thus darkening our mood!
But fortunately, it works also the other way round. If you sit up straight, broaden your chest, throw your arms up, do rhythmic movements, dance or just do any movement that feels good to you, then your body sends “happy” signals to your brain! Not only does this brighten up your mood but it also gives you more energy and power throughout the day – and who doesn`t need that?!
4. Reduce stress levels
Art is fun and meditative at the same time which reduces your stress levels. The secret lies in the way you use your hands and mind, arranging and configuring or purely enjoying the act of creating.
Exercise even reorganizes the brain. Working out decreases cortisol levels (the stress hormone), protects us from feeling anxious or depressed and even reverses the detrimental effects of stress.
5. Become more productive
A study shows that happy people are generally more active. And they are even happier in the moments they work out. When you exercise you see results pretty quickly, which leads to more self confidence and a positive attitude. Exercise teaches you not to give up, because it rewards you when you stay persistent.
This discipline and positive energy transfers to all other parts of your life, keeping you from over-analyzing and helping you make the right decisions quicker. Once you start exercising and feel good about it, it becomes easier to get even more active. This means, activity fuels activity, but unfortunately laziness also fuels more laziness. Be aware of this and add a little movement to your life every day!
6. Improve your thinking
Creating or discussing art consists in finding your own unique solution and using your senses in new ways. Creative and out-of-the-box thinking stimulates the growth of brain cells and the establishment of new connections between brain cells – just like exercise. Children that exercise on a regular basis have better grades in all disciplines than the less active ones. Complicated activities like dancing, where you have to think about coordination, improves our learning the most.
7. Challenge yourself and grow
In dance, especially ballet, we want to create elongated movements, extending through our arms, hands and fingertips or our legs, feet and toes. We are always in research of length, always reaching further. This striving makes us feel and look vibrant, energetic and dynamic. Why not apply this attitude in life as well?
8. Develop healthy habits
You will never regret moving! Whether it’s a challenging workout, a stretching routine, a walk or just you dancing a little bit in your room: You have nothing to lose but everything to win! And you win with every little step that you take.
It`s scientifically proven that adding just a little more movement in your daily routine (it doesn’t even have to be exercise, so… no excuses!) increases general health, makes you feel better and contributes to avoiding the negative outcomes of today’s sedentary lifestyle. That’s how awesome movement is!
9. Gain time
When we create art or focus on our body during an exercise, we forget time. The experience of timelessness makes us live in the moment. When we give ourselves time to creative pursuits or working out we actually gain time. As a result, doing or discussing art and working out helps us live mindfully.
10. Feel good about yourself
Exercise boosts your self-esteem and gives you the feeling of accomplishment. It makes you look good, feel healthy and improves your self-control. This makes it easier for you to overcome bad habits and stick with good ones. You have more energy and quickly feel better about your body.
11. Freedom and independence
In art, there is no right or wrong. You are free to experiment and engage with the world without judging yourself. You may be in the focus of the creation, but not necessarily. Art stands for itself. Creating is an act of independence, because you bring something into being that has not existed before. That’s why art teaches you also the skill of ownership.
12. Make a change and get unstuck
Art and movement both help you make a change, do things differently and feel better about yourself, in whatever situation you may be. They cheer you up and encourage you to look at things from a different perspective, allowing you to unwind. They empower you physically and mentally thus helping you to become and express who you truly are.
Your Point(e):
Which benefits of art, movement or ballet have you experienced? How did they help you?
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