Doctor On Call: Exercising Through Dance For Seniors

The doctor is in and this time it's geriatrician Doctor Chandini Sharma. We're talking about dancing as a form of exercise.

Dr. Sharma: "Most people just dance around weddings or big occasions, but if you think of it, dancing is such a lovely exercise. It's got music, it's got engagement, meaning not your ribbon ring engagement, but involved with people keeping a schedule, oh, I got to get there. And then it's got movement, like flexibility and movement, and then visualization and spatial awareness, because when you are dancing, you don't want to hit into other people make sure that your feet are under you, etc. So it's like an all-encompassing exercise, good for body and mind, everything and spirit. So when it comes to like those people who want to pump muscles, rowing is the best overall body exercise, the same way dancing is for any human.

Because if you think of it from a spectrum, if you're really fit, you go and do the real acrobatic like what Kevin was showing us, like acrobatic exercise, or like the gentleman, the chef gentleman, was showing us all kinds of acrobatic exercises. Well, great, if you can do that perfectly continue, the music always goes through the heart to the mind, right? So when there is music, you always remember which song you heard, which you really like, and where you were. So that way, when you are dancing and that music is making you move, your body just moves. And you remember that, and it enriches you from within. And then the visual spatialization, because, like today you're dancing here in what environment tomorrow you could be dancing in another environment. The brain remembers that, and it enriches the brain. If you're with a partner, or you're with some friends. That is social, non-isolation, that's engagement, involvement, keeping a calendar like, oh, every Wednesday I got to go. Those are for the people who can do it. Now, let's talk even in a nursing home. If you're in a nursing home, and many nursing homes have happy hour if you just get up and move to the music, not only do you enjoy the happy hour for this, but you also enjoy the happy hour for your body.

Here's the, I mean, the people who are in a wheelchair. Hey, you could be even dancing in a wheelchair. That's core strength, upper body, arm, and upper body movement. And of course, music goes through the heart, right? So if it's going to move your heart, of course, it's going to help you move your body as well, for your benefit."