Four Reasons To Welcome Belly Dance Into Your Life

Belly Dance is still relatively unknown and misunderstood, although it is gaining in popularity. But people still look at it as a dance from another exotic, distant culture of which they can only be an intrigued observer, but never a participant. The truth is that the belly dance that we know today has had great Western and Hollywood inspired influences, although its origins are grounded in the East. So truly this is not as distant a dance form as we may think.

It is really time that this dance becomes demystified and made more accessible to more people. But it is first up to women to feel the desire to explore this wonderful world by opening themselves to it and releasing any debilitating hang-ups they may have; so that they can make belly dance a reality in their lives.

There are many reasons why you should welcome belly dance into your life, and here are a few:

1. Belly Dance results in much less physically exertion than most other types of exercise. It is really very low-impact, but effective; and is not at all like running or other types of aerobic exercise which require sustained, vigorously exerted movements of multiple body parts at the same time. Modern belly dancing, has many eloquent elements that support gliding, natural movements.

2. Belly Dance provides a readily available means of uplifting your mood and may enable you to achieve greater wellness and emotional wellbeing. Many attest to its euphoric effect and the greater respect and love for your body that this feeling brings. Belly Dance loves the feminine body and allows it to shine in all its glory. No other present dance form appears to pay such elegant respect to all that is feminine and beautiful-hips, curves, busts-as does Belly Dance.

3. Belly Dance is very accepting of all shapes and sizes of the feminine form. Although in the media, we mostly bear witness to the model-type belly dancer, in reality this is a dance that is enjoyed by real woman with real bodies. Therefore, it is important to bear in mind that belly dancing does not require that you reveal your body to a greater extent than you feel comfortable in doing, in order to fully participate in the dance.
It is considered one of the oldest dance forms, born from a time when smaller sized women didn't necessarily hold the torch of beauty in the society. Today belly dance clothing can be found in all sizes, and the hip scarf, a fundamental part of belly dance costuming, can adhere to most hip sizes. You could even wear a t-shirt and tights if that is what you feel comfortable in.

4. Many believe belly dance to be born from rituals meant to enhance a woman's reproductive and child bearing abilities. Belly dance's emphasis on the stomach, pelvic region, and hips seem to support this. Belly Dance has thus been attributed to reducing menstrual cramps and there is a recent report featured in the Wall Street journal, of belly dance movements even being used in the delivery room by some women to ease child birth.

Belly Dance is for you, your mother, your sister, your aunt, your sister-in law, your daughter, your friend.... Really the reasons to belly dance are highly personal, but once you light up the belly dancer in your soul, it seems to become contagious. You want everyone to know about it, and the more people who knows the better!