7 Reasons Why Barre Will Enhance Your Life
1. Brain Activation
Dance as a way of therapy through ritual, or as a leisure activity, has been known of for thousands of years. Today, dance is increasingly used as therapy for cognitive and neurological disorders. Barre, like dance, is a mind to muscle activity. Practicing barre ignites the brain because you are firing on so many different levels in order to engage and initiate from the correct muscle. One of the things I love about teaching barre is that there are lots to memorize and there is no space when teaching a class to think about anything else except for that moment. It’s the same when taking it to; it requires lots of concentration on all the right levels.
2. Improves Coordination Skills
Balance, rhythm, spatial orientation and the ability to react to both auditory and visual stimulus have all been identified as elements of coordination. While in a barre class, you are absorbing choreography by following the teacher’s lead, contracting the proper muscles and usually moving to the beat. All together, your body is stimulated and activated in ways that require steady concentration and balanced action. Similar to yoga, being aware and able to root down and extend up and out is also occurring while toning the body.
3. Chisels The Body In Magnificent Ways, Wakes Up Muscles You Did Not Even Know You Had!
Due to lots of isometric work and the repetition of the moves, your body becomes “shocked” and muscles contract and get woken up. This can create a defined, dancer-like physique. I like to describe the technique as a way to zipper up, lift, condition and maintain a healthy body. From my experience, the more I take class and understand the technique, the harder it becomes, so being challenged is always a given.
4. Integrate Into A New Community Where Life Long Relationships Can Form
Boutique studios tend to draw in a like-minded crowd of health and movement lovers from all areas. When you get involved with a studio where you see new people regularly, it encourages you to branch out of your comfort zone and grow as a human being. My world has been completely enhanced and expanded from the moment I stepped on this barre adventure.
5. Build Your Confidence → Stand Up Taller
Posture is everything. It begins from the inside out. The better and more joyful you feel, the more fluid your life will flow. When you say YES to things that makes you happy, even though getting to class or doing what you are not used to can be extremely difficult , the reward on the other side is super impactful and most often, life-changing. When we take action on our desires, we become fulfilled, which in turn supports us in shining brighter and expanding that goodness out to others. When you show up to your practice on a consistent basis, you continue to peel back the layers and make space for newness to take shape.
6. Watch The Effects Trickle Into Your Daily Life
What you do at the barre flows into your everyday. When you are dedicated to a skill, the benefits ooze into your everyday. For example, as you become stronger, you can hold positions longer, this in turn can lead to increased levels of motivation and determination with your goals in your career and personal life. Like one of my teachers once said, the way you do anything is the way you do everything.
7. Become Conscious Of Your Breath`
We tend to hold our breath a lot and we are not even aware that we are doing so. One thing that is pretty awesome about barre is that usually the teacher encourages you to breathe and exhale to create the connection between the navel and the spine. This awareness supports the body in relieving stress and toxins while moving. When we connect to our breath, our life force, we can shift energy around and open up space for removal of what no longer serves us and for the new magic to absorb in. When the teacher calls “10 more” and you want to drop out of position, take a deep breath, push past the discomfort into new dimensions and lifted seat!
Brookelin Gottlieb