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Dance For The Health Of It!!We all know that Square Dancing is Fun, but is the activity a healthy form of exercise? You bet it is. It.s one of the best activities for both physical and mental health. A report a few years ago by the Mayo Clinic named square dancing the number 1 aerobic exercise, and the number 3 mental exercise. Other reports have had similar things to say. Whether you.re swirling across the dance floor to a Strauss Waltz or doing do-si-dos to the commands of a square dance caller, you.re getting exercise - and probably having fun too. Dancing pairs you up with more than a partner. From burning calories to socializing with friends, dancing offers these health benefits:
Tomorrow night when you consider settling down for a little television, turn on the music instead. After a few spins around the living room, you.ll have so much fun you may forget you.re exercising. Square Dancing will add ten years to your life. It combines all positive aspects of intense physical exercise with none of the negative elements. It is a low impact activity requiring constant movement and quick directional changes that help keep the body in shape. Square dance movements raise heart rates like many good aerobic exercises should. All the quick changes of direction loosen and tone up the muscles--but not so severally as to cause injury. In square dancing, when you.re not moving, you.re clapping hands and tapping your feet, which all contribute to long term fitness. With all its moving, twisting, and turning, square dancing provides more than the daily dose of heart- and bone-healthy physical activity. Remembering all the calls -- from "do-si-do" to 'allemande' -- keeps the mind sharp, potentially staving off age-related memory loss, experts say. And the companionship that regular square dancing offers is an antidote to depression and loneliness, a statement confirmed by square-dancing advocates everywhere. Healthy Dancing BrochureScott and Erin Byers, national caller and members of the Associated Square Dancers of Superior California (ASDCSC), has produced a tri-fold brochure outlining the health aspects of square dancing. Clubs are free to download, print and distribute this. Because it is a tri-fold, it looks a little odd on your computer. Remember that the front is the upper left pane. If you do print this, do it "double sided" and be sure to "flip on the short side", which is not the usual way you do double-sided printing. Click here to download the brochure. |
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Tim Roberts