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Square Dancing is Healthy 

allemande left ... swing and promenade home." In squares of eight across the

country, Americans from senior-citizen age on down are linking arms,

sashaying, and "do-si-doing" themselves to longer, healthier, and happier

lives. They're having a blast and also lowering their risk of heart

disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, age-related memory loss,

osteoporosis, and depression. Good for Body and Mind With all its moving,

twisting, and turning, square dancing provides more than the daily dose of

heart- and bone-healthy physical activity. Remembering all the calls --

from "do-si-do" to 'alemand' -- keeps the mind sharp, potentially staving

off age-related memory loss, experts say. And the companionship that

regular square dancing offers is an antidote to depression and loneliness,

a statement confirmed by square-dancing advocates everywhere. Take Larry

McKinley, a 62-year-old who has been square dancing for 30-plus years with

his wife, Sue -- who, incidentally, he met at a square dance. "We do it as

often as we can, maybe five or six times a week," he tells us. "The

listening -- and executing the commands -- takes deep concentration. The

twisting and turning are not too hard on you, but give your body the

exercise that it needs," he says. McKinley's club, the London Bridge

Square Dance Club of Lake Havasu, Ariz., has 80 members, and the average

age of a member is 75. "We recently graduated an 84-year-old," he says.

"Graduated," in square-dancing terms, means the student has earned a

Mainstream dance level.

There are four levels of square dancing, McKinley tells us. There's

Mainstream, then there's Plus, followed by the more professional,

exhibition-levels, A-1 and A-2. McKinley is a Plus-level square dancer.

"It's very easy once you learn," he says. "Years ago, I was getting a

divorce and didn't want to be a bump on a barstool." That's when he went

to his first dance and got hooked. "It's just so much fun. Square dancing

is setting friendship to music," he says. "It's having a place to get up

and go in the evening where you can work up a good tired and a good

sweat." 'If You Can Walk, You Can Square Dance' McKinley knows what he's

talking about. Square dancing contributes to a more healthy and

independent lifestyle, says Lewis Maharam, MD, a sports medicine

specialist in New York City and president of the Greater New York Regional

Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Anything that keeps

you active will keep you healthier and feeling younger. In most cases if

you can walk, you can square dance, but it's good advice to talk to your

doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen," says Maharam, also

medical director of the Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon® in San Diego, the

Country Music Marathon (tm), and the New York City Marathon. "Any

weight-bearing exercise, including square dancing, is a major benefit as

one ages," he says. Weight-bearing exercise improves bone health and thus

may help stave off the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis. "Square dancing

also helps you with the feeling of where you are in space and with

coordination, and this may reduce falls and chances for fractures," says

Maharam. "Regular square dancing may boost endurance, and being able to

tolerate longer bouts of moving faster may result in improved cardiac

function as the heart, a muscle, can become more efficient if trained.

Square dancing can be considered a type of cross training, which helps to

offset the muscle loss and strength loss typically associated with normal

aging." A Social Form of Exercise The physical benefits of square dancing

are impressive, to be sure, but don't discount the social payoff, says

Jerry Reed of Coca, Fla. "The primary benefit [of square dancing] is the

social interaction between people," says Reed, executive director of

CALLERLAB, the international association of square-dance callers, with

2,000 members worldwide. "Most of the activities that people do these days

are individual, such as golfing, tennis, and bowling," he says. "Square

dancing is kind of unique in that it involves touching hands -- we turn,

we swing, and that seems to bring us closer together." And the touching in

itself can be beneficial to health, according to studies conducted at the

Touch Research Institute in Miami, which showed that regular touching can

reduce stress and depression and enhance immune system function. What to

Expect "A typical evening is about two hours long and in that time we

dance six 'tips,' " Reed says. A tip includes a "hash calling" -- where

the caller calls out some moves, which the dancers execute in smooth,

choreographed routines -- and a "singing call," which can include all

types of square-dance moves timed to fit popular songs. On any given

evening, dancers will twirl across the floor to the music of John Denver's

"Take Me Home, Country Road," the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive," Donna

Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money," as well as songs by the Beatles

and Elvis Presley. Reed calls about four dances a week. Today's square

dancing is hipper than what most people see in movies, he says, and more

therapeutic than you might think. "It takes your mind off of the

day-to-day problems," he says. "All those other worries and thoughts

disappear when you are dancing." Ready to Sashay Your Way to Fitness? You

say you're tempted, but not sure if you've got what it takes? Don't

underestimate yourself, says Reed. "Square dancing is not as complex as it

looks, he says. "We just learn one move at a time and go from there." So

what's stopping you from joining in all the fun? Square dance clubs are

popping up all across the world, and they want you. Ask at your local

community center or check your local Yellow Pages for information on

square dancing clubs and events in your neighborhood.

Submitted by  Chuck Jordan

 E-mail   c_jordan@shaw.ca

445-B Bromley Street

Coquitlam, B.C.

V3K 6N7

Phone: 604.937.3095