You Can Dance

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“I can’t dance”, I heard so many people profess, with head down, a sensitive core wrapped in a layer of low self-esteem. They say as if they would be immediately shoved on to stage to perform for the audience!

Remember the famous song line, ‘Pappu can’t dance saala’ – a contemptuous emphasis on Pappu’s inability to dance. In the middle of the song, Pappu comes over on the dance floor and leaves everyone shocked by showing impressive moves. Everyone applauds, shifting the title to another fellow. In reality, Pappu resides inside everyone of us – Introvert, reluctant and fearful about being judged by others. He is not happy until he performs well and proves them wrong. It is a basic human instinct.

Wait, I am not going to suggest you any dance academy with a tagline – ‘learn dance in two weeks’, or some easy dance techniques as it goes in the song, ‘dance pe chance karle’. Performing in front of people is usually a nightmare for us and everyone is allowed a choice whether to dance or not for an audience. Afterall not being a good dancer doesn’t make your life worthless!

But dance is something bigger than being a ‘good’ dancer. It’s an expression of feelings, rather than the presentation of skills. It is something whose meaning and benefits stay untapped under the cocoon of a mundane routine. The hard reality is that we don’t care about what we are missing in our life until we face the consequences of its absence. It all happens just because we have wrong notion about something? Not fair, right! The idea is

You need not learn to dance, you just need to dance.

To put it across more clearly, let me tell you something from my own personal experience… Dancing alone in my room like mad used to be at its best during my college days. Irrespective of how the day was, I would yearn to come back home in the evening, and dance without restraint in front of the mirror. I would keep my word of not changing the randomly playing songs. We don’t want to be a source of embarrassment, let alone to ourselves. But whenever my movements went offbeat making me appear silly in the mirror, I would laugh at myself and get sillier. Afterwards, I would emerge rejuvenated, happy and motivated.

Dancing silly is something which I have seen many people doing on the DJ floor on ceremonies, so as to enjoy, or atleast pretend to. But, I wonder if every one of us can make life awesome on regular basis by turning this proclivity into a routine practice.

When most of us are upset during problems, failures, frustration, fear, or disease, we search for the solutions, which are available on the internet in the form of meditation, yoga, workout, travel, psychiatric treatment, or worse, medication. Of course, many of these are genuinely functional and serve multiple benefits. But, very soon, we give up on them for two reasons; first, we won’t find much of a fun element in these activities. Second, all of these methods require conscious efforts which take away the sense of joy. This I feel is what makes dance the easiest and possibly the most enjoyable and therapeutic solution to the vagaries of life. But it should not be limited only to joyful moments.

You might be aware about Shiva’s tandava. When Lord Shiva is angry, he is believed to appear in a ten-armed form with his consort, Devi and perform a vigorous dance. Dance as nritya is an expression of happiness, while dance as tandava is an expression of anger. Even these tandavas are broadly classified into various categories based on the mood and are practiced in free form as an expression of inner feelings. When we are angry, we need to disperse the negative energy lest we suffer from the harmful effects of repressed emotions. The spontaneous actions to disperse anger are mainly destructive, and should be controlled. But if we are able to follow a positive channel, not only anger can subside, we shall be always full of vitality even in the worst scenarios.

An interesting speculation is from Big Boss season 7 where contestant – VJ Andy performs a dance having got hurt by his housemates. He secretly steps out in the lawn at night and dances in natural slow movements, shedding away his anguish and insecurity.

Summing up, dancing has many benefits which keep it at the top of things-you-should-try list.

The best exercise for your body – It improves the condition of your heart and lungs, increases muscular strength and flexibility, tones up your body and eliminates toxins from your body leaving your skin clean and fresh.
You don’t need to step out of your home – You can dance in your personal space, whenever it’s available to you. It can be your home, a friend’s place, a tentative accommodation or the washroom of your office!
You don’t need to pay for it – the rhythmic healing of your body and mind is absolutely free of cost.
You don’t need anyone’s company – this simple health cum fun regime doesn’t require you to depend on others which could restrict you in many ways.
Flexibility – You can dance in small interludes whenever you wish to. There’s no need to especially make a plan for it, or reserve a big chunk of time.
No rules – We don’t like to abide by rules in everything. Do we? The best thing about dancing is it lets you exhibit your natural form and express yourself without any restraint.

So, the tip of the day is, steal out the smallest of moments during your day to dance. Shake your neck, shimmer your shoulders, twirl your buttocks, no matter how you look in the mirror. You must wind up panting and laughing. Remember NOT TO expect perfection in your private joyful moments of dance. The weirder, the better! Start now and share your experience in the comments section below.