Although you and your significant other have been together for years, things just aren’t the same and you feel like you may have lost some of the passion that helped to ignite that initial spark. So what can you do to re-ignite the feeling and fire in your relationship? According to many experts, including Clinical, Medical & Family Psychologist Michael G. Conner, dance can do the trick.
The following are primary ways that dancing can improve relationships:
1. Connection – For beginning dancers, leading and following can be difficult, but gets easier as their connection grows. As couples solidify their mental and physical connection on the dance floor, this shared energy can help to strengthen bonds in other areas of life such as friendship, romance and beyond. Dancing brings people together both literally and figuratively!
2. Confidence – Regardless of how ridiculous you might think you look while dancing, the fact is that you will ultimately look and feel your best as your overall appearance transforms. Dance is such great exercise that many people lose weight, become healthier and therefore feel better about themselves as well as their relationships.
3. Teamwork – Trying to work through movements with another person who learns differently than you can be twice as hard as doing it alone. Partner dancing requires a certain level of teamwork to be able to execute certain steps and avoiding stepping on each others toes. Thus problem solving as a pair on the dance floor can help facilitate working together as a team in life.
4. Intimacy – What was once so easy in the early stages of a relationship can become less frequent and more difficult as time goes on. Since most partner dances require eye contact, some degree of closeness, and of course constant touch, this generates warmth and affection which can greatly improve intimacy amongst couples who may need a little boost in that department.
5. Communication – While there may be some verbal communication at the beginning stages of learning a dance, eventually non-verbal communication takes precedence. Being able to utilize other senses and communicate with non-verbal cues becomes paramount, which in turn improves communication skills both personally and professionally.
6. Excitement – Going out to social dance is a fun date night for couples that don’t get out much, and for those who do, trying different dances and different places adds a sense of newness and excitement to what could otherwise be a routine, lack-luster evening.
7. Quality Time – So many working couples find that as their responsibilities increase, the amount of time they have together tends to decrease, which can in turn put a strain on the relationship. Although couples need not do everything together, sharing at least one hobby in common (particularly a stress reliever like dance), can be very gratifying.
Whether you have never danced a day in your life, or just haven’t been out dancing in a while, this is a great time to start. No partner is necessary, however if you have one, bring him or her with you; you never know what it might do for your relationship. With Valentines Day on our heels, there’s no better time or way to strengthen your relationship than through the romantic language of love called dance!
