Benefits of Belly Dance

Feel-good Benefits of Belly Dance

Taken from "Scientists take a look at the feel-good benefits of belly dance"

"Body image is the way in which someone perceives, feels and thinks about his or her body, especially factors regarding shape and weight. Previous studies in the US and the UK have shown that street and modern dancers hold a more positive body image of themselves than exotic dancers do. Tiggemann's team wanted to add to the scant literature available on belly dancing. The researchers therefore tested how participants of this potentially sexually alluring yet embodying dance form see themselves, and also sought to find out what they gain from it.

The authors recruited 112 belly dancers from two dancing schools in Adelaide, Australia, along with 101 college women who had never participated in this activity before. The participants completed questionnaires in which they rated their own bodies, how they think other view their bodies and about the attention they attract from men.

The researchers found that belly dancers see their own bodies in a better light than the college students do, and are less likely to be dissatisfied with how they look. They also have fewer self-objectifying thoughts, and therefore take what others might think about their bodies less to heart."

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Top Four Benefits of Belly Dancing

From http://dance.about.com/od/bellydancing/tp/Benefits-Of-Belly-Dancing.htm

1. Belly dancing improves fitness and builds muscle.

2. Belly dancing reduces stress.

3. Belly dance aids weight control and improves self image.

4. Belly dancing is an internal massage.

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