You may have already heard the many positive benefits dancing can offer, such as increased flexibility, maintaining mental awareness, improving posture and balance, and increasing social ease. However, these benefits can be even more worthwhile during your pregnancy. Often, it can be difficult to get up and exercise while pregnant, but believe me, get up and dance! It will do wonders for your mind, body, & health during & after your pregnancy. It did for me.
As an Arthur Murray teacher, I taught and danced all the way up to my due date; through lessons, group classes, showcases, guest parties, & even Halloween and other themed studio parties. Dancing kept my morale up whenever I felt down, gave me the opportunity to maintain physical activity, provided confidence in my body, and kept me on track with my weight.
As a student or potential student, you can never go wrong with dancing, pregnant or not, because each lesson can always be tailored to every person’s needs and abilities. Talk to your teachers about what you may feel like you need more of that week. Do you need to stretch more, activate core & back muscles more, or simply practice walking with more grace & balance? For an expectant mother, you better believe you can safely have a cardio exercise without the fear of overexertion via dancing! Mommy can still move and groove to her favorite song with baby safely swimming on the inside.
Ballroom dancing while pregnant will also shed a new light on your balance and weight distribution. As your baby bump begins to grow, you may begin to struggle with simple tasks such as putting on your shoes, walking through the house, getting out of your car, or even putting on a pair of leggings. Trust me, your balance will be all over the place, and dancing can truly help improve that issue! By focusing on your body placement, dance position, poise and posture, & hip and spine alignment you will not only improve your overall dancing but will also have less lower back pain, better circulation, less swelling, and be more spatially aware of your baby bump… which brings me to my next point.
You don’t always realize it, but even without a baby bump you’ve probably stepped into your partner’s dance frame once or twice. But as that baby bump begins to bloom, you become more aware of you & your partner’s space. I’ve created several hilarious student/teacher moments where my baby bump collided with another student’s belly. This obviously opened my eyes to the fact that I probably need to get back into my territory, especially while dancing Rhythm! Once the baby bump is gone and you hop into a Rumba frame, you realize more of where you need to be relative to your partner. Again, you improve your dancing and learn where you shouldn’t be swinging that baby bump.
Ballroom gave me a lot of the tools I needed to get through my pregnancy. It kept me mobile when I felt I wasn’t. It proved I was stronger than I thought. It improved my balance, posture, & core and leg strength. I even had a social network of people who kept my spirits up when hormones were pulling me down. Dance, as well as Pilates, played a big part in getting me through it all. I kept Pilates in my workout regime in order to keep my muscles toned & strong, especially my back & pelvic floor, which was a huge benefit during delivery and assisted in a quicker healing process.
So, never stop dancing and keeping your body fit. It will bring such joy to your lives. You will also have a new dance partner for life that has enjoyed the movement and music of dancing since they were in the womb. Swaying to a lovely lullaby Waltz may be just the trick to getting that little one to fall asleep faster, too.
Written By Rachel Bingham
Disclaimer: Seeing as how we are dance professionals and not medical professionals, please keep your doctor(s) informed of all physical activity and exercises you are doing during your pregnancy to ensure it is safe & permitted for you and your baby.