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Photo Credit: Salsa Republic
Serious about learning Latin dance? If you’ve been taking dance lessons then congratulations! You’re well on your way to becoming a dancing supernova!
But let’s be real, not all sessions are the same. There are days when you’re raring to go, and some days, you just can’t focus at all. Dance rehearsals can be quite exhausting especially if the dance lessons are held several times a week. And with distractions are all around, it’s only a matter of time before you start feeling physically and mentally drained. How do you focus on your dance lessons and avoid attention fatigue? Maximize your learning and make every dance sesh count with these tips:
Breathing Exercises
If the dance lesson left you feeling dizzy and exhausted, here’s an effective method of restoring a focused mind: perform deep breathing exercises. Also called square breathing and box breathing, deep breathing exercise slows down the breathing to calm the nervous system, minimize stress, strengthen the lungs, and promote mental clarity.
It’s simple to do too. Take a deep breath for 4 seconds, hold your breath for another 4 seconds, then exhale for 4 seconds. Easy to remember, right? Count to 4 seconds again before taking another breath. Do your breathing exercises during breaks to help you stay focused and relaxed.
Light Snacking
Dancing is an intense physical activity, so don’t be surprised if you’re constantly feeling peckish during rehearsals. That’s totally normal! Dancing burns about 400 calories per hour. Salsa, in particular, is very physically demanding, so you’ll feel hangry by the time practice is over!
Before the dance lesson, eat a snack and then grab a light snack in between breaks. Snacking is totally fine, especially if you’re burning a lot of calories. That said, don’t wolf down a heavy meal and then hit the dance floor right after. You’ll feel sluggish and faint after intense physical activity on a full stomach. The key here is to take nibbles of an energy bar, roasted nuts, fruit slices, and other healthy and filling snacks during the class, so you don’t feel too famished to pay attention.
Engage with the Instructor
Being a passive learner will definitely affect how you take information during the rehearsal. You’ll quickly lose focus and end up not picking up anything. And this will show once it’s your turn to show what you got. To stay focused, take an active role during dance lessons. Engage with the instructor, be mindful of the current step or lesson as you do it, and if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Being socially engaged to the instructor and fellow students will help boost your ability to learn new dance techniques.
Make the Most of Your Breaks
Dance lessons have breaks in between, mostly lasting for 5 minutes to 15 minutes. Make the most out of every break by meditating, doing light stretching or yoga as well as practicing mindfulness. Any of these activities promote mental clarity and boost attentiveness. On days when you’re feeling anxious, tired, or frazzled, practicing mindfulness, like sipping water slowly, taking a deep breath, and performing light stretches, helps center yourself and clear out the mental space.
Everyone goes through moments of inattentiveness, even when you’re doing something that you are passionate about. With these tips, you can maximize every second of your dance lessons. Getting new dance shoes like Yami Latin dance shoes is also a terrific way of motivating yourself to stay focused! We’ve got lots of new styles to go crazy over; check them out here.
