When was the last time you danced? I don’t mean at a wedding or in Zumba class — I mean alone, barefoot, in your kitchen, totally unchoreographed, not caring how you looked… Just dancing. Like your cells were listening to the music. Like you were wringing emotion out of your body the way you squeeze water from a sponge.

Because here’s the truth that’s been dancing around in my mind lately: Our body knows how to heal — and one of the fastest ways it does that… is through movement.

That’s why today on I Love Me The Podcast, we’re diving into something that is way more powerful than it gets credit for: Dancing. Not for performance. Not for anyone else. But for you.

Because dancing isn’t just fun. It’s medicine. It’s frequency work. It’s emotional alchemy. And it might just be the most underrated spiritual, physiological, and energetic practice out there.

So whether you’ve danced this morning or haven’t moved your hips in years, this episode is your invitation to come back to your body — one beat at a time.

 

Simple, inspiring lessons in self-love. Hello dancing queen, it’s Tamra here.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that:

We all carry emotion in our bodies.

Science shows that unprocessed emotions, especially stress, grief, and trauma, get stored in the fascia — which is the connective tissue of the body.

Like little knots of memory that never quite got released.

That tight chest when you’re anxious?

That lump in your throat you can’t swallow away?

That tension in your hips that shows up every time someone crosses your boundaries?

That is the emotional residue that’s hanging out in your tissues.

Your body holds onto any emotions you’ve suppressed.

But here’s the good news:

The body also knows how to release those stuck emotions.

And one of the most natural, ancient, and joyful ways it does that, is through dance.

When you dance — not for perfection, but for presence — you begin to dislodge those emotional blocks.

Imagine you’re a hose pipe.

Over time, grime, tension, and emotion build up inside.

When you dance, it’s like turning on the tap full blast to flush the system.

Suddenly your shaking grief out of your shoulders.

Twisting shame our of your hips.

Stomping anxiety through your feet and back into the Earth to be neutralised.

And the best bit…

You don’t even need to know what you’re releasing — you just need to let it move.

Because emotion is energy in motion.

And this energy only becomes a problem for us, if we don’t allow it to move on out.

Ok, let’s look at how dance changes our internal weather…

Dancing, even for just 5–10 minutes, creates a significant shift in our physiology.

Especially, when it’s freeform, intuitive dance.

Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins — the feel-good chemicals — they go up.

I talk about these happy chemicals in-depth in Episode 55: The Self-Love Cocktail: The Science Behind Feeling Good.

So those life-affirming chemicals increase when we dance, and cortisol — our stress hormone — decreases.

As a result, our brain switches from fight-or-flight mode to a more regulated, open, and creative state, where we feel more in the flow of life.

Physically, our posture changes, we increase our range-of-motion, loosening the stiff joints so our fascia can come back into a healthy state, and therefore facilitate better circulation.

Our breath deepens, we get a boost in energy.

And when all of this happens it stretches us beyond our old thinking patterns into a new way of thinking, being and moving through life.

There’s a study from the Journal of Positive Psychology that found just five minutes of ‘vigorous, expressive movement’ can significantly improve mood, reduce rumination, and increase emotional regulation.

Just five minutes.

So next time you’re feeling stuck in your head, low on energy, or riding some emotion, that could be your cue to have a little dance.

Next time you’re spiralling in your head or weighed down by the world, skip the scroll and put on a song.

One full track.

Move your body — wildly, freely, without an ounce of care for what you look like — and just watch the shift happen.

I do this regularly, to help me stay upbeat and energised, or help me get out of a rut, if I’m feeling low on energy or a bit cranky.

Trust me…

Your nervous system will thank you.

Now let’s talk about the deeper layer.

Dance isn’t just about boosting mood or working out.

It’s about emotional processing.

You know that feeling after a good cry?

That lightness?

That release?

Dancing can do the same thing — without needing to label the emotion or talk it out.

Because not all emotions want words.

Some want movement.

This is what the Taoists understood — that emotion is simply energy in motion.

And when we suppress it, we stagnate.

But when we allow it to move through us, we transmute it.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, different emotions are stored in different organs:

• Anger in the liver
• Grief in the lungs
• Fear in the kidneys
• Joy in the heart

I talk about these emotions in depth in my other episodes (just click on the above links to go to them), because if you’re like me, this stuff is really interesting.

When you move your body — twisting, shaking, opening, contracting — you stimulate and unblock these organ systems.

You move stagnant Qi; that life force energy.

You clear the meridians so life can flow again.

And in doing so, can come back into a healthy state of being.

In this way…

Dance isn’t just expression.

It’s a kind of exorcism.

Where you release all that deep, dark stuff you’ve been carrying around, but been unconscious of, or unwilling to look at.

This is where…

You don’t always need a healer.

Sometimes, you just need a playlist.

Now let’s take it into the realm of manifestation.

We don’t attract what we think.

We attract what we feel.

And most importantly, we attract what we embody.

Dancing lifts our mood, shifts our physiology, gets us more heart-connected, and this raises our frequency or vibration — not metaphorically, but energetically.

What I’m saying, is that when we feel lighter, more alive, more in the flow, this shifts what we draw into our life.

Conversations that feel meaningful, opportunities that feel right, synchronicities that surprise us.

For dancing opens our emotional bandwidth and softens distraction, so we are clearer on who we are and what we want in life.

From this space of inner clarity, we radiate calm, presence, vitality—and that’s what magnetises life in new ways.

It’s the difference between begging the Universe with a vision board…
and becoming the kind of person the thing you desire would naturally be drawn to.

And this isn’t saying that Vision Boards are ineffective, I have a whole episode on how to use Visions Boards in a way that works – it’s Episode 66 – and the key here, is using those images on your board to help you feel a certain way.

So use Vision Boards by all means, but don’t forget to dance in celebration of the board you’ve created.

Or dance just because you know it will make you more magnetic to the life you consciously wish to create for yourself.

Because when you dance, you become a living signal of joy, freedom, openness and confidence.

And people feel that.

Opportunities feel that.

The Universe feels that.

You become a magnet — not because you’re chasing…but because you’re vibrating.

Now if this idea of being magnetic has you stumped, I talk more about this in Episode 24: Tapping into the Power of the Heart Brain.

As I share in that episode, when we are listening to our heart, feeling joyful, and allowing our heart to guide us through life, we indeed become magnetic.

Scientists at the HeartMath Institute have found that when we align with our heart’s energy, we become 5000 times more magnetic.

I share all the cool ways this impacts our life in Episode 24.

But dancing is just one of the ways that we can get out of mind and into our body – connecting with our heartspace – so we can tap into that magnetism.

Which is super cool, as it doesn’t cost anything, you don’t need to learn anything new, you simply need to pop on your favourite song, and let your body move.

So if you’re wondering how to actually bring dance into your life, here’s my invitation:

Start small.

One song.

Each day.

No pressure.

No mirrors.

Just you and the music.

Let your body lead.

Don’t choreograph.

Don’t overthink.

Just feel into what wants to move you.

Let the hips roll, the shoulders shake, the breath deepen.

And use dance intentionally.

Then once you finish dancing take a moment to be still and feel what’s shifted.

Feel the lightness.

The space.

Then, as you go about life…

If you find yourself feeling stuck…

Dance.

Feel angry?

Dance.

Need to get out of your head?

Dance.

About to go on a date, a call, or set a big intention?

Dance.

Make it a sacred ritual if you like that kinda thing.

Light a candle.

Set a mood.

You’re not working out — you’re tuning in.

You’re getting out of your head, which will only recreate the past, and instead, reconnecting with your heart, which knows how to guide you to your highest potential.

And please know this…

The more you move your body, the more you’ll move your life.

So my love, if you’ve been feeling stuck, heavy, disconnected from your body or your joy — this is your reminder:

Dance is the shortcut.

It’s not silly.

It’s not selfish.

It’s not just for kids or TikTok.

It’s grounding into who you are at your core.

That’s why it’s so powerful.

So…

Dance your grief.
Dance your rage.
Dance your pleasure.
Dance your prayers.

And most of all — dance your way back to yourself.

Because you’re not here to just ‘survive’ life.

You’re here to move through it, in the more delicious, heart-warming way possible.

To swirl.

To shake.

To sweat.

To shine.

So go put on a song.

Right now.

Yes, now.

Dance like the future you depends on it.

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend who needs a little permission slip to get back in their body.

Or leave a rating — it means the world to me and helps others find this space.

And if you are looking for more foundational practices to support you in coming into a healthy, loving relationship with yourself, where you love and accept yourself unconditionally, make sure you sign up for my Self-Love Starter’s Kit.

And oh, did I mention.

It’s FREE.

So if you’re ready to shift into a more whole version of yourself, the Self-Love Starter’s Kit will get you on your way.