Holistic mental health series: Finding community and fostering creativity through dance

What is holistic mental health?

Improving our mental health should be a holistic endeavour that continues outside of the therapy room. There are a multitude of factors that impact how we feel both mentally and physically and they are often interlinked. Our sleep patterns, what we eat and drink and how much we move all feed into our overall mental and physical health. Environmental factors, such as the safety of where we live and our proximity to nature will contribute to stress and nervous system dysregulation levels, as will the quality of our relationships and sense of community.

In this blog series I will, often through a personal lens, explore how different activities and practices can support our mental health and enrich our lives more generally, helping us to feel happier overall. I will try to cover a range of activities suited to different levels of accessibility across the series with the aim of inspiring and perhaps challenging people (and myself) to look at ways in which they can make changes, try new things and take control where they can for improving their mental health and happiness.

The power of dance 

First off, I’m going to talk about dancing. There is much evidence to show that movement, community, connection and creativity all have a positive impact on mental health. Dancing incorporates all these four elements and more. Dancing can be done solo, partnered or in a group; with your friends, in your living room, in a studio or outside.

There are styles from many different cultures from all around the world, and many of them are accessible in London. I have got a lot of joy and satisfaction from dancing - particularly in learning Cuban salsa, and it has introduced me to a great community of people from all walks of life.

Get in touch with your inner child

As we leave childhood behind, increased inhibitions and perfectionist tendencies can lead us to stop engaging in activities we fear we wouldn’t be good at. Reclaiming the childlike joy and freedom of play through exploring, moving and connecting, without obsessing about a specific outcome, is vital to improving our sense of well-being.

An essential part of learning to dance is pushing through the discomfort of getting it wrong and feeling like you look silly, and this builds resilience and reduces the power of perfectionism.

Find community

Given that loneliness is a growing phenomenon, and many people struggle to feel a strong sense of community, having a regular social activity can help combat this. Regular attendance of dance classes provides routine and a forum for meeting people to build relationships with over time. Connecting over a misstep, completing a successful routine or discovering a commonality outside of salsa helps build empathy and trust contributing to a sense of overall well-being.

Salsa is a great activity to do if you’re sober, if you don’t drink, or want to drink less but like going out in the evening, as you get endorphins from both the physical activity and social aspect - plus, you’re usually too busy dancing. While it does cost money to attend many salsa lessons and events, there are often free al fresco lessons and socials to be found. 

Tap into creativity and shake off negativity

When we can tap into our creativity we are often most happy and fulfilled. Dance jelps us access our creativity, as we develop our own style within any given genre. Learning steps and sequences and developing an understanding of musicality can help improve cognitive function and memory, but the intuitive moving of our bodies to music can help us express beyond our cognitive functioning.

Many experts, including Bessel van der Kolk (2014) have found evidence that trauma is held in the body. Movement of many kinds, including dance, can help move negative emotions out of our bodies and reset and uplift our mood when we’re having a bad day.

Think about your go-to practices and activities for feeling good - are there areas you'd like to tap into further? If you’ve thought about trying a dance class and been on the fence, I encourage you to give it a go.