Wellness Wednesday

Cheers to a well Wednesday! What's planned for this Wednesday? Is this Wednesday a better Wednesday for you than the previous was? If so, what was the difference you made? What could you have done differently, if not? Your overall mental health, relationships, and capacity to perform daily tasks can all be impacted by your emotional state. Over time, your response to your events and emotions may evolve. The capacity to effectively manage life's stressors and adjust to change and challenging circumstances is known as emotional wellbeing.

So, are you emotionally well? Shouldn't we all think about this question? We're all guilty of not checking in with ourselves as often as we ought to, but I know it's easier said than done. Like checking our phones or brushing our teeth, it should come naturally to us. What are emotions, exactly? and how can we go into their specifics? According to Oxford, an emotion is an unplanned, instinctive mental state brought on by one's surroundings, mood, or social interactions. A tangle of feelings followed by physical and psychological changes that impact our thoughts and actions is a common definition.

According to Calvo et al. (2015), there are numerous physical manifestations of emotions that have a significant role in our social interactions, social outcomes, and the way we express our emotions to others. Since emotions are the psycho-physiological methods in which we respond to an action, our impulses might inform us of what is happening as a means of addressing the issue by involving brain activity (Van Dyck et al., 2014). According to D'Ascenzo (2009), "since persons bodily resonate with emotions" (Collins, 2004, pg.6), positive energies can restore reactions to other situations by reflecting our self-consciousness.

I go into more detail on emotions and wellness in my thesis, "Dancing, Mindfulness, and Our Emotions: Embracing the Mind, Body, and Sole," as well as how to use mindfulness and the creative arts to recognize, understand, and let go of our suppressed emotions. Since I work mostly with children, I often emphasize the value of teaching them to identify and regulate their emotions as well as developing a strong and healthy subconscious mind. Which techniques can we use to help our kids learn to identify and control their emotions? Your child's mental growth will benefit from learning how to express their emotions. Children who are aware of and in control of their emotions will feel capable of handling whatever challenge life presents. A child who can express "I'm mad at you," or "that hurts my feelings," is better equipped to handle disagreements politely rather than physically. Regretfully, emotional expression is often portrayed by society as a sign of weakness when, in reality, it is a sign of extraordinary power. As an adult or person in a position of authority, think about explaining a circumstance that made you feel a particular way. This is an excellent method of teaching children about emotions and how they are normal.

For example, a parent's shortened working hours have caused them to feel furious or unhappy. Your child notices that you're not your typical happy self at the dinner table, and they may inquire or wonder if they've done anything wrong. Speaking honestly and openly with your child or children can enable you to express your anger at the fact that your job hours have been cut, which has made it more difficult to pay bills and give them as many presents as you formerly did. Encourage your child or children to share what triggers a certain emotion as well.

Despite the fact that many television programs, animated films, and children's books highlight it or even beg kids to associate the word with the face of the emotion (for example, an angry face would be represented by a red, frowning face). I'm not sure whether kids are grasping the actual meaning of emotion or what caused them to experience it, let alone recognize it. More frequent promotion of this method in homes and classrooms is necessary. For example, Timothy was angry with Brian and sat by himself for lunch. As they lined up for restroom time, Brian retreated and stepped on Timothy's foot. When Timothy yelled "oww," Brian turned around and looked at him before laughing. His rage caused Timothy to withdraw from others. In this case, both students ought to be separated. One can question what initially infuriated Timothy—the hurt he experienced when Brian stepped on his foot, his laughter, or the fact that he didn't offer an apology. This starts the conversation with Timothy. From Brian's perspective, this is an example of teaching kids to accept responsibility for their actions, acknowledge their mistakes, provide an apology, and be aware of such circumstances in the future. Lastly, instead of telling Brian, "Hey, that's not funny, you stepped on my foot, it hurts," In this situation, Timothy distanced himself, which meant he didn't express the feelings he was really feeling.

As we are all aware, mental health is crucial throughout childhood, youth, and adulthood. Being emotionally healthy enables you to function effectively at work and manage daily stressors. The following are just a few of the six techniques for enhancing your emotional well-being:

• Build resilience

• Reduce stress

• Get quality sleep

• Strengthen social connections

• Cope with loss

• Be mindful

Stay healthy and remember to take care of yourself and others.

Dance for Your Health

By dancing, we can increase positive effects to our physical and mental health, which can promote a healthier state of well-being. Aktos and Ogce coined dance as "the most fundamental human behavior and art forms, involving direct expression through the body" (2005, pg.408) because it enhances self-expressiveness. Some therapists believed that emotional and mental problems are often held in our bodies, as forms of muscle tension and self-conscious movements (Aktos & Ogce, 2005). As a way of testing this, some therapists incorporated dance therapy in their stress management practices. They noticed significant outcomes such as stress management, a reduction in stress levels, and a better quality of life (QOL), deeming dance, a treatment modality (Brauninger, 2014).

Dancing was considered a useful way to get in touch with the "conscious and unconscious components of their psyche by using movement" (Aktos & Ogce, 2005, pg. 409). A person can’t develop self-awareness without first, being mindful. Jon Kabat-Zinn stated that “Mindfulness is the key to self-awareness,” in his mission statement, during the launch of his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program (Kabat-Zinn, 2017, pg.1).

Dance movement is often praised for the benefits that it provides through body conditioning. Many people use dance to increase their flexibility, muscle strength, balance, and coordination, and stabilize their breathing. The physical movements that are used during a dance routine can often enhance the functioning of bodily systems, which generate a healthier circulation for the body. Considering dance as an exercise, individuals develop a positive body image, self-esteem, reduces chronic pain, stress, body tension, and depression (Aktos & Ogce, 2005).

Dancing can improve the brain functioning of individual's that suffer from dizziness and memory loss, by guiding the brain to prevent these issues from surfacing. When the brain is healthy functioning, the following occurs, positive behavioral changes, steady breathing, and proper circulations in blood vessels and veins (Philadelphia Integrated Medicine, 2018). To establish balance and coordination during a dance routine, Dart-Harris (2015) provides the beneficial functions of the mentioned bodily systems: which I recorded in the table below:

Dancing Mindfulness

When a person is mindful, they are being nonjudgmental and attentive to their self and what's happening around them. Developing mindfulness can promote a healthy state of well-being, sustain growth, and reconnects a person's mind, body, and soul. It allows us to identify and accept our thoughts and emotions for what they are without further proof or explanations. Understanding that thoughts and emotions just are, we can alter the relationships we have with them, by not chasing after them, taking a step back, and relaxing "in a space of awareness" (Powietrzynska, 2014, pg.98).

Some of our thoughts and emotions come from previously lived experiences, which have exasperated or soothed our emotional reactions to different situations. Being mindful can impact the way a person labels his or her emotions, experiences of emotions, level of positive and negative emotions experienced (Heppner, Spears, Vidrine, &Wetter, 2015). The connection between emotions and conduct makes up a big part of mindfulness, as it can support a person with recognizing emotions as they are, naming them, and letting them go (Powietrzynska, 2014). Since emotions are changeable, it is important that we identify, accept, and separate them from the body. Mindfulness can improve the way we manage, discouraging affective states and improves “the way we respond (emotionally) to external stimuli” (Heppner, Spears, Vidrine, & Wetter, 2015, pg.109).

Dance is considered a mindful practice, which has the potential to offer affect regulation (Tobin, 2015), by increasing positive emotions and improving the way we control the negative ones. As a dancer, I've become aware of my body and the moves that I make with it. Before dancing, I normally chose the songs at random. I started using this method to break myself out of a bad habit that I once had. If I was in a bad mood, going through a breakup or frustrated with my workday, I would choose songs that related to those topics. Eventually, I realized that it wasn't helping me, in fact, it exacerbated the situation. I was unconsciously increasing my negative emotional reactions by listening to music that brought me back to those painful times, rather than letting them go.

From there are on, I choose the songs randomly, to dance and express myself naturally. Ordinarily, I don' think about the moves I make as I dance unless I am creating a routine for class. Instead, I move instantaneously as it reflects the way my body is feeling at that moment. When I am in a negative or stressful emotional state, my dance moves are tight, dark, and closer to the floor. After dancing and releasing all the tension, my body is left refreshed and ready to dance to another song. Following that, I would choose songs that are upbeat and has more cheerful lyrics. In turn, I would dance freely, bigger, and involve more upper body movements.

Dancing It is a creative approach to mindfulness meditation that uses dance as the vehicle for interacting. Mindfulness is a holistic wellness practice. Breath, music, body, story, mind, spirit, and fusion are the seven main elements of mindfulness that are in motion when dancing.