Human bodies are made to move, and “magical” energy can happen in the brain, says Melissa Turnage, an artist-in-residence in medical arts at UAB. Here are her tips for adding dance to your day. </p><div>
<p><span class="wf_caption" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px; float: right; display: inline-block; max-width: 450px;" role="figure"><img src="https://www.uab.edu/news/images/2018/aim_turnage_ot_students_magic_camp_4.jpg" alt="The goal of the magic camp for students 4" width="450" height="300" style="margin: initial; float: none; width: 100%;"/><span style="display: block;">During the annual Magical Camp for Disabled Children, Arts in Medicine resident artist Melissa Turnage works with occupational therapy students and campers.</span></span>When dancer and dance teacher Melissa Turnage walks into a room, she can spot people who don't want to dance — their body language gives them away.
But Turnage, an “ambassador” of movement and attractive posture who has been dancing all her life, does not give up easily. Give it a few minutes, and everyone in the room will move.
“Dancing is our birthright,” Turner said. “Human bodies are made to move. There’s something magical about it, but it’s also scientific: endorphins go up, which makes you feel better. Certain areas of the brain near the happy zone light up when you dance, and there’s just this wonderful physiological energy that happens when you allow yourself to dance.” Just.
Turnage, who has taught dance for 50 years, is an artist-in-residence in the Arts in Medicine program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Turnage’s mother was a dance teacher, and her father was a physician who did his residency at UAB.
She leads classes for adolescent and geriatric patients at UAB Psychiatric Medical Center and for those in addiction recovery, works with occupational therapy students in the College of Health Professions, and meets weekly with residents at a nearby residential home for seniors. Turnage also works with staff, leading everything from dance days to flash mobs, including social workers, those who care for patients with psychiatric issues and head and neck cancer at UAB, and those who care for patients at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. She has worked with veterans and those living with dementia, as well as mentoring toddlers and toddlers in dance and movement and adults in ballet through UAB’s ArtPlay community education.
Through AIM, she wrote a paper published in the journal Aging Medicine and Healthcare documenting the mental and physical benefits of teaching ballet to seniors in low-income housing. In 2019, she was honored with the UAB Excellence in Medicine Award.
Turnage says she’s thrilled to see what happens when people start taking action, and the excitement, laughter and creativity people can come up with. She could walk into a room of depressed children, lethargic in their bodies, give them a scarf and everything would change. Scarves are one of the tools she uses in her dance repertoire.
Turnage leads weekly Arts in Medicine dance and movement classes at UAB for residents of Episcopal Place, which provides housing and independent living for seniors and adults with disabilities.“I really see the value, and my patients will tell me, ‘Wow, I feel so much better,’” she said, “even those who are resistant to trying. Especially with teens at CPM, I hear “I don’t dance” and “I don’t have rhythm.” So, my return to that is if you have a heartbeat, you have a rhythm. This is your personal rhythm. Contact him.”
She said dancing “strikes like a thunderbolt for these teens, once they allow themselves to be a little vulnerable.” “Maybe, if everyone is doing it, maybe I can do it.”
Turnage says she can work with almost anyone who breathes.
“You can adapt, adjust and tweak,” she said. “This works well with a lot of patients, including those with very severe risk, and almost every disability that a person can have. We can do visualization with people who are very limited and have this beautiful sense of movement.”
While dancing alone is encouraged daily, dancing in a community is great for one’s psyche, body and mind. It provides a sense of belonging.
“We feel better when we move. I see it happening every day. It makes a difference, which is why I have dedicated myself to teaching dance at the hospital for the past 10 years,” she said.
Turnage Tips for Adding Dance to Your Day:
- Dance before you leave your house in the morning, and “maybe your day will be better.”
- Take a dance break. “You don’t have to be able to stand to dance. Do it in your proper place.”
- Play tricks on your brain. “Just by sitting up straight, you will feel better.”
- Get into the superhuman pose. “Superheroes stand like that for a reason; it’s an expansive pose. You’re taking up space on the planet while you’re doing that pose, the chest is lifted, the head is up. It’s a power stance, and hopefully it’s a positive power, confidence-building one.”
- Do a body scan. “Just a very gentle awareness of the body and muscle movement. If you’re sitting and laying in your bed or in a chair all day, you need to move and stretch your body. This will help you mentally and emotionally.”
- Use props such as scarves, rhythm sticks, or inflatable balls. “Rhythm sticks can be chopsticks. Anyone can create their own dance kit using whatever they have.
- “If you can’t dance with your whole body, dance with your eyes, with your fingers. Imagine your arms reaching the ceiling. Climbing the stairs, floating in the ocean, going into outer space. If you can’t do it physically right now, close your eyes and imagine it. Dance is for everyone.”
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(tags for translation) Education