Home » Visual & Performing Arts » Middle Eastern Dance » Healing Through Oriental Dance: Part 1, Physical Healing - Page 3

Healing Through Oriental Dance: Part 1, Physical Healing - Page 3

© Shira

Since 1975, I've known I had scoliosis. My upper back has a 26-degree curve, and my lower back has a 40-degree curve. My day job involves spending hours sitting in front of a desk looking at a computer screen. I usually dance 2-3 times per week, either in rehearsals, teaching my dance class, or performing. I've noticed that if I go for several weeks without dancing, I develop back pain, but as long as I dance regularly, I manage to stay reasonably pain-free. When I discussed this with a chiropractor, he emphasized that dancing regularly is healthy for my poor curved back, and I should do so for the rest of my life.

High Blood Pressure

One of my students reported that her doctor had ordered her to take up some form of exercise, so she signed up for my belly dancing class. In just 4 weeks, her blood pressure had dropped significantly and her doctor had praised her progress. She hadn't made any other changes (medication or otherwise) during that time--just dance.

Hip Prosthesis

Doctors often urge patients recovering from broken hips to engage in weight-bearing exercises to speed recovery. For most people, this means walking. But Eva from Brazil decided to try something else! In 1998 she fell and broke the bone that joins the hip to the femur. After several surgeries, her doctors determined she needed a hip prosthesis. With permission from her doctors, she decided to enroll in a belly dancing class. After only a month of belly dancing, she was walking normally!

Rickets and Failed Surgery

Daniela in Australia was born with rickets, a condition in which the bones don't have enough calcium. Doctors told her she couldn't pursue her dream of becoming a dancer because it could harm her ankles and hip joints. Between the medical condition and the results of a failed surgery, her mobility was limited and she endured stiffness in her joints. When a cousin suggested belly dancing, she decided to give it a try. Her doctors feared it would lead to pain in her legs, and advised her against it. However, the dancing has never led to any pain, and it in fact has actually improved the flexibility in her hip.

Movements To Avoid

There are a few movements to avoid if you are using Oriental dance for physical healing:

• Backbends and Turkish Drops. Don't do these if you have a history of weakness or injury in either the knees or lower back.

The copyright of the article Healing Through Oriental Dance: Part 1, Physical Healing - Page 3 in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Shira. Permission to republish Healing Through Oriental Dance: Part 1, Physical Healing - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.