Do you crave a moment where you can move freely, leaving behind all the mundane responsibilities and stress? When I am under any type of stress or pressure, I yearn for a moment like this—where no one is watching me, I am all alone in a big empty room, having some time to get some complicated moves done in a single go. Such sweet moments help me reflect on my accomplishments in my world of beats and choreography when I am under any criticism, stress, or burden given to me by society.

Dancing prevents me from overthinking and mourning over any negative comments or conflicts in my life, and gives me a respite from everyday hurdles. People meditate, exercise, and do yoga to achieve mental wellness. Similarly, this is my mind’s way to obtain mental wellness, along with physical wellness, and is a wonderful way for me to cope with any problem. I feel a connection with each and every beat I dance to, and if I listen to it randomly, my body starts moving on its own—as if it has a mind of its own—instantly creating one dance step after another spontaneously, in perfect sync with the beat.

The connection I have with my dancing world is very prestigious to me, and a day without stepping into it becomes meaningless and provokes me to spend more time in it the next day. Additionally, it is a good way of being aware of myself and my surroundings, as I always have to think about how I am delivering a step to an imaginary audience of mine, without losing balance or crashing into something. This way, I am more self-conscious of my actions. As I usually dance without choreographing any song beforehand, my moves are more spontaneous. However, as I mentioned, I try to deliver the best and the hardest moves with perfection—my mind is always working and has to think of each upcoming step meticulously, without skipping a single beat. Technically, this is a lot of work for our brains and nerves within a short period of time, and dancing can improve this skill of the brain.

I feel several emotions running under my skin while I dance. Sometimes, I am so happy and energetic that I feel I am the best dancer and can beat an expert. Sometimes, when I realise I cracked a hard step to the best of my ability, I fall in awe after the realisation and get goosebumps from it. Afterwards, I get more motivated and pumped up from good choreography. And sometimes, I get exhausted after dancing to only three or four songs, which makes me frustrated and feel as if I did nothing.

Even though dance is one of the reasons for the smile on my face every day, I still feel frustrated when I can’t perform for long—just because my body doesn’t have the stamina demanded for this activity. It gets worse if I have ample time but not the energy. However, if I am on a tight schedule and just get fifteen minutes of a dance session, then I would be more than happy and grateful for those fifteen minutes.