Dancing for Longevity

I am in my late forties, yet feel as strong, flexible, and youthful as ever. I tend to walk the talk regarding living healthfully, for the most part. Early in my life, I discovered various "fountains of youth," the things I believe keep me young.

My favorite of these is dancing.

Dancing on Orlando's Funk scene to Big Shirley in 1996 at Sapphire Supper Club

Now, dancing is my favorite thing in the world, so it boosts my well-being simply because of the joy of doing what I love most, of course.

But there are real benefits available to anyone. When dancing, we move our bodies, swing our joints, flex our limbs, a lot, and perhaps in many directions. So we get the heart rate up, the breathing deepens, the blood circulation is moving more, the lymphatic system gets flushed by muscle movement, so immunity is boosted, our mood lifts from exercise as well as enjoyment, and we get to express ourselves creatively, which I believe is an important part of both mental and physical health.

There's probably many more benefits, but let's stop talking about it and just dance!