Dance

Here is the second from Mark Sission. Check him out at www.marksdailyapple.com. I really enjoy reading what he writes.




A while back, I wrote a post on dancing. It received a fair amount of attention and comments from the readers, so I figured a follow-up PB Insider was in order. And no, this message won't be accompanied by a video of yours truly dancing like "no one is watching." It's not that I'm opposed to cutting loose on the dance floor; it's that posting a video of it to thousands of people on the Internet would kinda preclude the "no one is watching" part that makes dancing so enjoyable. Sorry, guys!

Anyway - along with the supportive, enthusiastic comments, there were more than a few ambivalent, skeptical ones from folks who simply couldn't ever imagine themselves dancing. I can't have that, but I get it, and today's Insider is designed to convince you, cajole you, and otherwise counter any anti-dance arguments out there.

Dance and Courtship

Dance has been used for tens of thousands of years for men and women to select each other, to gauge each other's worthiness as prospective mates. Dancing conveys rhythm, which translates well to the bedroom (also the cave, the hut, or the buffalo hide). If you can dance well, or even if you're just willing to dance and enjoy yourself, you are more likely to attract positive, sexual attention. And, like it or not, sex is the backbone of human evolution.

Dance and Heart Health


When compared to aerobic cycling and treadmill trudging, performing the waltz - both faster and slower versions, for a total of 21 minutes, three times a week - had greater health benefits for heart disease patients. Waltzers improved arterial elasticity and saw better cardiovascular fitness, but most importantly, they enjoyed doing it. Dancing was wholly sustainable, whereas Chronic Cardio was dull and uninspiring. Makes sense to me.

Dance and Stress

I'll admit - the prospect of cutting loose on the dance floor strikes fear in the hearts of many. Thus, dancing may be a highly stressful endeavor, at first. Palm sweat, nervous heart palpitations, weak knees, the whole nine. I get it. But if you conquer your fear - and, c'mon, fears are made to be conquered - dancing becomes a relaxant, a true pleasure for everyone involved. Assuming you actually enjoy dancing, do it as often as you can, and the stress will just melt away. How does it work, exactly? Well, modern stress generally revolves around modern stressors like finances, employment, or relationship strife. It's mostly mental, rather than physical (not a ton of tribal warfare or famine plaguing us Primals these days). So don't dwell and brood. Dancing, done correctly, with reckless abandon, is the ultimate mental stimulus. It is wholly of the present. There is no past and no future. No bills to be paid, or upcoming interviews. There is only the music, your feet, your partner, and the moment.

Dance and Fitness

Dancing is physical fitness. You're moving, aren't you? You're sweating, aren't you? You get sore from it, don't you? The cool thing about using dance to workout is that it's totally random, rather than regimented. It epitomizes our fractal natures. When you dance there is a rhythm to it (hopefully!), but it's not the plodding progression of the metronome - that's Chronic Cardio. It's wilder than that. There is the foundational background drum beat, sure, but there are multiple sonic layers, each winding their own way through the soundscape only to come together and coordinate. Dancing corresponds to music, which is an aural representation of life itself. It's how we're supposed to move, with purposeful randomness, set to the universal language of music. Can you say the same for jogging on the treadmill?

C'mon.

Grab the nearest loved one, draw the blinds (if you're still a little nervous), and turn up the music. Dance your heart out. Grok had a shaman; you've got the iPod. It's all the same. It's all Primal.

written by Mark Sisson


So now I challenge all of you to get your grove on. I know you all can do it and have a blast while you are. Enjoy your dancing.