Dance for joy to feel whole and connected to life.

But dancing may bring happiness for even deeper reasons. It turns out that dancing together in groups may be one of the things that make human beings different than animals. According to cultural historian, Barbara Ehrenreich in her book, Dancing in the Streets, there is strong evidence that the earliest humans gathered together to dance. Evidence suggests that communal dancing may be older than communal hunting.

It seems that dancing is so effective in bringing joy and a sense of community and oneness, that civilization has systematically discouraged it. As the number of festivals that included public dance declined, the incidence of depression and melancholy has gone up.

Perhaps early people danced because they were more frightening to wild animals when they moved and roared as one large mass rather than 4 or 5 individuals. Perhaps the bonding from the communal joy of dancing helped them work together to survive and thrive in the jungle. Perhaps the rhythms of the dance have healing powers that science does not yet understand.

Whatever the evolutionary roots of dance are, we know today that dancing, particularly with others, makes us happy, reduces our stress, and brings us together in a positive way with other people. It is an excellent way to keep balance in our lives. You can:

Dance for joy to feel whole and connected to life.

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