Although I've been a dancer all my childhood and early adulthood, there was a period of my life, during my first marriage and after my diverce, when I stopped dancing. My ex was not only not a dancer, but he hated dancing (at least, me, his wife dancing) with a passion, for reasons unknown, and surely unreasonable: I believe, not being a dancer himself, he was secretly jelaous of the passion, joy and fun that he could not have access to, and like a miser, he did not want anyone else to have those benefits either, especially not his wife.
Several years after my divorce, I was at one time recovering from a particulary devastating and profound episode of depression. I was already including regular exercise (weights and body building) into my treatment, and I started to dance again: I started to bellydance and gypsy dance , and I danced as if "no one was watching", in the safety of knowing, that indeed, no one WAS watching: I would limit my dancing pleasure to the privacy and solitude of my living room.
Curtesy to medication, meditation, praying, exercise, and my solitary dancing routine, my depression slowly lifted, but I was still suffering from social anxiety: it is hard to believe for anyone who knows me now, but I could not be in a room or a place where there were strangers, or more than a few people present. I would get an anxiety attack just by thinking about such situations, and I would get panic attacks from even walking in a park, or on the sea walk, if it was busy, and people came too close for comfort as they were approaching or walking by.
As a part of my "desentisizing" routine, my doctor ordered that I should start going to places where there are groups of people I don't necessarily have to interact with all at once, and he suggested I choose an activity I like to do, so the enjoyment factor and the "happy hormones" can overide the "anxiety" and "panic" hormones. I thought, I should start social dancing, except, I had no idea where to go.
As much as I suffered from social anxiety, as a single woman, I could also not imagine to go dancing all by msyelf. I enlisted a cuban guy friend of mine as my escort. The problem was, that he was also new to Canada, and at that time, no one really danced cuban style salsa in Vancouver. He was frustuated, because, although he certanly knew how to dance, he had problems finding dance partners with whom he could actually dance. The two of us decided to take salsa lessons L.A. style, and the rest...well, it is, like my social anxiety, a history.
I LIKED latin dance so much, that eventually, when my friend was unwilling or unable to come with me (I started to go out as much as six to seven times a week!), I ventured out on my own. Sure enough, sometimes I sat for half an hour or more in my car, self affirming, and psyching msyelf up to the challenge of entering a hall FULL of people, loud music, and LOTS of interactions, but eventually, I would go inside, and within five minutes of latin music, latin dancing, I was so happy, so alive, I could not even IMAGINE to be depresesd or to have a panic attack!
In the fifteen or so years since passed, I've learned how to salsa L.A. style, New York Style, Miami Style, and cuban style. Well, I even learned how to lead, so that I could "interact" and not waste even one song, not five minutes that could have been spent dancing, when no male partners were available.
Salsa dancing (and merengue dancing, and bachata dancing, and cumbia dancing, and all kind of latin dancing I dabbed into) did not only "cure" my depression and social anxiety: it literally saved my life. Not to mention, it improved my love and sex life. I've met Jose, my Latin Lover, Latin Dance Partner, colombian cook, D.J. and husband on the dance floor. Salsa (Colombian Style, baby!) literally brought us together.
There is as saying, that couples who dance together, stay together. I can certanly say, that dacning together enriches our married life: often, when we have an disagreement or grudge, either or both of us are in a bad mood, we might arrive e to the latin dance event hardly talking to each other, but surely, we leave a few hours later much happier, much closer, in a better mood, much more passionate for each other, and yes, hornier too!
Do I still have depression and social anxiety? Yes, as the matter of fact, I do. But, not many people who only know me through events and places that involve latin dancing know this, or can even believe that I do, because as soon as there is latin music, and latin dancing available, like Cindarealla transformed from a drab kitchen slave into a princess at the ball, I transform from a depressed, anxious, and worrysome individual into who I really am: A passionate, shameless, outgoing, wild, dancing queen.
I still do not dance as if "no one is watching": now, I dance as if God is watching, which I am sure, that He is, and She enjoys dancing with me too.
For more information on the scientific proof and explanation of the health benefits of dancing, especially Salsa dancing (did you know salsa dancing burns 434 calories an hour?!), check out the article at this link: The Health Benefits of Dancing -- Including Specific Benefits of Different Dances by www.SixWise.com
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