Healthy Monday - Week 16:

Welcome back to your Healthy Monday wellness program! This week, we’re looking at how the act of dance can help boost your mood and inspire gratitude.

Try this week’s practice below and then share your feedback about how you did.

We dance to celebrate, to express ourselves, and to have fun, but dance can also be used as a way to relax, let loose, and get in shape.

Through dance and movement, we shift focus away from our limitations and remind ourselves to be grateful for all of our physical capabilities. When we dance, we are using a full range of motion and senses—hearing, feeling, moving, breathing. Dancing to a favorite song and feeling the rhythm of the music can reinvigorate your mind and spirit.

But dance can also be an energizing form of exercise, helping individuals improve their coordination, agility, and flexibility, while also increasing their muscular tone, endurance, and overall fitness. And for older adults, dancing can be a terrific way to strengthen bones and reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. Even the US Department of Health and Human Services is on board, citing dancing as a useful way to help meet the physical activity guidelines for aerobic activity.

So do you need any prior experience or skills to start dancing? NOPE! People of all ability levels can move to the music. This Monday, dance along with this groovy GIF to remind yourself of all that positive, beautiful energy you have within. Let’s get moving!

What else is your hospital doing for Healthy Monday?

For staff at Columbia University Irving Medical Center: Get more resources to support this week’s practice from Columbia Work/Life.

For staff at NewYork-Presbyterian: Get more resources to support this week’s practice from NYPBeHealthy.

Need a quick dose of stress relief? Try our SOS practices: