Health and Well-being | Brisbane House Of Tango

Tango is More Than a Dance

David Health and Well-being January 21, 2019January 31, 2019Brisbane Tango, Tango Connection, Tango Lessons Brisbane

Tango is much more than a lovely social activity that you can dance to a variety of beautiful music.

It is a great means to gain a better understanding of your body and how it works. It can help you develop better posture, balance, mobility, flexibility and general control of your body. It will sometimes show weaknesses in your body that need to be rectified or it may show up a postural problem with your dance which presents itself via pain or injury.

Perhaps even more importantly, it allows the expression of our emotional state that may not always be so freely shared. To be able to connect with another during a dance is a privilege with many health benefits. It shows how we connect and relate to others, particularly those of the opposite gender.

When totally immersed in the music with your partner, the dance can become quite meditative as we become totally present in that moment. This can be very similar to other forms of meditation that one can experience, for example, during a Yoga class, running longer distances, walking through a forest or simply sitting on a mat. The benefits of these meditative moments are many. To allow the mind to be free of the general thoughts of daily life for even just a moment are priceless, especially with so much stimuli generally around us.

Consideration and care for others is sometimes lost in today’s busy, always ‘on the go’ lives that we often experience. Within the dance, however, your time is fully given to your partner with total awareness and consideration to them. From where they are in space (their axis) and working with and around that axis, to the continual communication of invitation and acceptance. As we allow ourselves to be fully present in those moments, the deeper they become. We also learn to become aware and give consideration to those around us by allowing them space so that we all move harmoniously around the floor.

There is now increasing amounts of research that dancing (and often specifically Tango) has many other health benefits including helping with Parkinson’s disease and delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s.

All this from such a simple act of connecting with another dancing to beautiful music!

Why Yoga is Good for Tango Dancers

David Health and Well-being October 15, 2018benefits of yoga for tango, Tango classes Brisbane, Tango lessons near me

What does Yoga have to offer Tango dancers?

Yoga is widely known to be highly beneficial to everyone in general. But in this article, let us focus on the positive effects it has on Tango dancers.

Dancers rely heavily on three things: coordination, balance and mobility. These are essential ingredients that enable dancers to dance freely and in control, and yoga can enhance these significantly.

Stamina for Tango

Yoga postures boost static strength in general. On the other hand, a dynamic class such as Ashtanga improves stamina. During arduous physical activities, we learn the deep breathing technique through the nose. You will find it extremely useful when executing difficult dance routines as well.

Mobility for Tango

The ability to move or to be moved freely is called mobility. When muscles lack flexibility, they hinder the movement of the joints. In order to become more agile, regular stretching is the easiest way to improve agility. It prevents muscle strains, as well as joint and muscle damage. With yoga, dynamic movements, strengthening posture and static stretches are combined to enhance overall mobility.

Maintenance of Joints

No matter how active your lifestyle is, regular stretching and recovery play a large role in performing at your optimal level. When you make yoga a part of your routine, your joints will start to move more freely and can function well with less likelihood of feeling any kind of pain. For Tango dancers (or any dancer in general), it’s important to be able to move freely without limitation or pain.

Coordination for Tango

Consciousness is a crucial part of training our coordination skills. We gently shift into postures and spend time in each posture to enable our minds to find our centre and to maximise our senses and feel every stretch of our muscles and joints in that position. Compared to everyone else, including those who practice other sports, dancers tend to find it easier to learn and execute asanas. This does not come as a surprise however, as dancers are more aware of their bodies because of the constant practice of coordination through dancing. Hence, yoga and dancing are mutually beneficial to each other.

If you haven’t tried yoga, it’s about time you give it a shot too!

Whilst dancing expresses the soul’s creativity and emotions, yoga identifies the inner self through breathing, mind focus and movements. Tangueros should definitely try it! Yogis should try dancing too. There are benefits in both directions.

Tango: A Form of Meditation

David Health and Well-being December 8, 2017April 2, 2018Meditation, Tango Connection, Tango lessons

Over the years, many cultures worldwide have been using meditation to quiet the mind and get to states that are favourable to both psychological and physical wellbeing.

Tango dancing, as discovered by scientists after years of studying its functions, can enable a person to achieve mental states similar to that of people who meditate regularly. Also, it is likely that highly skilled Tango dancers are able to enter deeper levels of the mind. This coincides with the greater connection that a dancer has with his/ her partner.

The US National Library of Medicine conducted an experiment that aimed to prove that Argentine tango has similar effects as that of mindfulness meditation in terms of decreasing the symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. For the experiment, they assigned 97 people suffering from depression to either a tango class, a meditation class, or neither.

Contrary to other types of meditation where you enter into some sort of sleep-like state, mindfulness meditation is a kind of meditation where a person is aware that he/she is meditating.

They have arrived to the conclusion that tango, just like meditation, can treat depression and manage stress effectively.

An even more comprehensive research was done by St. Mary’s College of California. Using an Electroencephalograph (EEG), they measured brain activity of dancers. They attached electrodes to the scalps of Tango dancers, as well as a group of volunteers who stand as a control group.

It was discovered in the study that just like in mindfulness meditation, tango dancers trust on internal focus and attention while dancing. Also, another thing that a person can benefit from meditation is not only can they decrease stress levels but they may also enhance their cognitive abilities.

Here’s how it works. As a person meditates, the mind relaxes and enters a state of heightened alpha-wave activity, the same waves that appear prior to sleep. These waves fill a considerable portion of the brain which ultimately settle in the frontal areas. If this is prolonged, the brain may exhibit theta and delta wave patterns as it enters into lower frequencies.

In conclusion, the study has proven that the more experienced a tango dancer is, the more powerful is their alpha state in comparison to other subject groups. Whilst all other subject groups did display an alpha state, the neural efficiency hypothesis has been perfectly demonstrated by the experienced tango dancers, suggesting that the use of mental resources is less for those who have more experience with the same activity.

Furthermore, just like with meditation, the more one practices tango, the more capable they are of entering these relaxed states. With more practice comes more chances of entering deeper relaxation states which ultimately leads to experiencing more positive qualities.

So…keep practicing!