How dance helped my self esteem

Our own self-esteem is such a delicate thing that it seems to require daily upkeep! And there's no time when our self-esteem is challenged as much as it is when we're growing up. There's so much "social garbage" that we learn as we get older - things like comparing ourselves to others and caring what other people think. When you're young, you just live in your own world without inhibition. But when we lose the ability to do that, we lose so much more.

Dancing from the age of five helped me escape the fears that social conditioning gives us and thus I was able to grow without barriers. I can think of a few specific things from dance that helped me:

• Having great teachers who made it a mission to find something special in each child was a blessing. My teachers encouraged me and my parents, and pushed me to be my own personal best. 
• After each show that I performed in, I became less nervous in a crowd. I learned strategies to drown away the audience and find my own solitude even in front of 1000 people.
• Dancing every week with my peers and instructors taught me how to accept myself and love myself despite what others around me were doing. There were always temptations to compare myself to others, but my passion for dance helped me overcome that and instead of walking away with my head down, I practiced more at home every day to help me become who I wanted to be as a dancer.
• Dance helped me realize that a lot of what we do are habits, and therefore under our control. For example, if I can't do the split today, it doesn't mean I can never do it. When I was nine, I held my splits every day for 60 seconds and within the year I was able to do my right splits. That was my lesson learned: if you want something, work on it every day and you will achieve it.

Fab Fridays: Self Esteem and Hobbies - Love yourself!

Self Esteem is defined as feeling pride in yourself. And how does one feel proud? Usually it is by feeling pleasure for an achievement or skill. I personally can relate to this feeling of pride when dancing on stage, and now more than ever, I feel proud when watching my students grow in the dance studio or perform on stage.  Self esteem is a delicate attribute to grow in every child, adult and living being. As it can translate over into relationships, jobs, school, everything! Why not help build your self esteem by nurturing a new or perhaps old hobby today - such as dance!

Below are the ways I have implemented nurturing self-esteem for each student in my classes:

• Positive encouragement!!! I have learned that positive encouragement can do much more than negative reinforcement. For instance constantly telling a student what they are doing incorrectly, I have learned that encouraging their strengths helps them better focus on improving their weaknesses. How does an instructor do this? For one, if the student is a new student, they are usually going to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the class and other students- especially if this is their first dance class ever. It is extremely important for the instructor to be more supportive of the child and their ability - especially in the first few sessions. This will help the instructor earn the student's trust and even more - it will help the student feel accepted. Once this trust and support has been established, now we must congratulate each little win by the student and help them constantly improve. Helpful phrases like this one can make all the difference: 'Wow, you are extending your legs extremely well. Now imagine how great your leg extension would be if you practiced at home'.
• Look Up!!!! I can't tell you enough how many times students tend to look at the floor instead of eye level. It is my personal goal in each class to help each student look straight at themselves in the mirror or straight at me at all times. Looking up is a simple way to help each student feel more confident and they usually do it when they support themselves as a person and feel supported by everyone else in the room...which leads me to the next point.
• Positive Environment!! There are a lot of evils in the world that can easily find it's way in the classroom, such as judgement, comparison, gossip, conceit, etc. I am extremely sensitive to such behavior and never let such things slide. I believe it is each instructor's responsibility to teach not only through their expertise but also through their character. How can a dancer grow individually, and explore all their inner talents without any inhibitions - if they are being judged or criticized. We must create a positive environment. How? Well for one, all my line leaders in the kids' classes give each other high five when doing technique across the floor. This helps them learn that great leaders must always support their team. Another idea, perform for each other, have each person watching give the performers at least one compliment. :)

How do you help people around you build their self esteem? Let's try to compliment at least one person today because higher self esteem in people around us will help us build a better world - one by one! Make a difference. 

Love yourself and help spread more Love in the world that we live in.

Fab Fridays: Self Esteem and Hobbies - Dancing with Passion

To commemorate the International Self Esteem and National Hobby Month, I decided to write about my favorite hobby of dance and how it has helped my self esteem... every Fabulous Friday in February!

Dancing since the age of 5 has helped me grow in an artistic way that my school or education could never have. It showed me how to explore my emotions, my confidence, my strength, my discipline... it helped me explore who I am on a different level. One of my favorite things about dancing is that whenever I dance, either as a student or teacher, I am meditating. My thoughts are clear; I am neither dwelling on what I could or should have done in my past, nor am I thinking about what I have to do tomorrow or day after. I am COMPLETELY and utterly in the moment. I am at peace - in my zen - when I am around dance!

This is why we all need a hobby! We all deserve a break, we all deserve to be in peace - even if for 1 hour a day, a week or 2 weeks. We need it and deserve it!

Can we truly enjoy a hobby without finding a passion within us for it? Passion is defined as a strong and barely controllable emotion. That is something you will see in every amazing performance... that strong emotion fighting its way out of the dancer's body. These were my favorite moments in dance classes growing up. How can I make this move feel sad, how can kneeling to the ground show strength, how can me standing on relevé (tiptoes) show a sign of defeat? What emotion does this song or choreography invoke in me?

Such questions and dilemmas pushed me not only to become a better performer and dancer but also to get in touch with my emotions and expressions. It helped me stand up in public and deliver speeches... it helped me act on stage in drama classes, reach nationals in my High School Speech team, walk the runway for pageants, found a sorority in USC, become the president of the sorority, and so forth. When we learn how to deal with our emotions and express them with confidence - we can't help but learn to love ourselves... and thus comes in the topic of Self-esteem. (to be continued next week.) :)

So let's feed ourselves the nutrients that only a great hobby can help us achieve!

What is your hobby and what steps will you take to make it a part of your lifestyle starting today?