10 Percent Happier?

Why Not Be 20% Happier w/ FREE Dance?!

Who doesn’t want to be 10 percent happier? Well, we believe we can be even happier. One of our favorite teachings is, “no mud, no lotus.” It means that without suffering, there cannot be happiness, just like without mud, there cannot be any lotus flowers.

Both suffering & happiness are transitory – they are always changing. The lotus flower wilts and becomes the mud. The mud then helps grow a flower again.

Unfortunately, most of us aren’t taught to embrace suffering. We think that if we push it away or ignore it, we’ll be happier. We’re convinced that happiness is good and suffering is bad.

So we set our sights on happiness. It’s always that far off destination we’ll arrive at when we get X or achieve Y. We don’t realize that 10 percent happier (or even 20% happier!) is actually a practice we can choose now.

But How? What does this have to do with dance?

We believe that in order to be 10 percent happier (or more!) we have to do what we love. And we believe the world needs strong & inspired girls like us who are doing more of what we love. If we love dance, we have to “move to love” & choose to do it.

It may feel like a struggle to make ourselves do anything right now, even something we love like dance. The reward isn’t future status, wealth, or other “success” symbols valued by social media, society or our ego… so what’s the point?

The true reward when we dance is feeling not just 10 percent happier, but 20% happier.

Four Ways Dance Makes Us More Than 10 Percent Happier

According to Dan Harris in his book, 10 Percent Happier, meditation is a skill we can practice that makes us – you guessed it – 10 percent happier. It quiets the voices in our head, makes us appreciate the present more, decreases our anxiety over the past and future, and makes us a better person.

Well, we believe dance does all of the above AND makes us even happier (hence the 20%) with these added benefits, especially for those who love it:

1. Dance can help us access a state of “flow.”

In this state, our ego falls away, time flies by, and we’re fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment.

2. Dance can help us express emotions.

When we dance, we communicate physically, and allow feelings of happiness, sadness, and everything in between to move through and out of our body.

3. Dance can help us improve social relationships.

When we dance, we cultivate collaboration, respect and compassion as we move together in synchrony and empathy.

4. Dance is a form of exercise.

Like meditation, we have to keep choosing to dance to realize the benefits. We must re-commit and show up over & over.

Be 20% Happier w/ Us Every Month!

Make a commitment to your happiness! Put down your phone, get off the couch, and join your new friends at our FREE Virtual Dance Classes & Camps!

And for 4 more reasons dance makes us MORE than 10 percent happier, check out our blog post, “Happiness Lessons from Dance Camp”

P.S. Early Bird Dance Camp Rates Through April 15th!

Studies show that a key to happiness is having something to look forward to…now you can brighten your daughter’s school year as she gets excited for camp. This is your best summer rate. Hurry – ADTC Early Bird registration ends April 15th!