The Power of Slow Movement: What Happens To Your Nervous System When You Dance Slowly?

Fast movement builds stamina. Slow movement builds power and control.

We usually don’t slow down because it feels uncomfortable, and that discomfort is exactly why slow movement changes you.

I love teaching my classes with slower music (I tend to use Boleros) for that very reason, BECAUSE it’s uncomfortable. It forces you to pay attention to what your body is doing and how it moves through the space you are in. At the same time, it gives you time to assess what you’re doing to be able to determine if you’re doing the movement correctly and with proper technique.

🧠 Slow Movement Forces Nervous System Regulation

When you move slowly, your brain is required to:

• stabilize your balance

• control your breath

• refine muscle activation

These demand parasympathetic activation, the part of your nervous system responsible for calm, clarity, and emotional stability.

💃 Slow Dance Creates Embodied Presence

When you move slowly, you can’t escape yourself.
You feel:

• your weight

• your hips

• your breath

• your emotional patterns

• how you step

This is why slow movement often brings up emotions; it reveals what you’ve been rushing past.

⚡ You Build More Strength Through Eccentric Control

Science shows slow, controlled movement builds:

• deeper muscle engagement

• increased joint stability

• improved mobility

• better body awareness

This makes your dancing more elegant, powerful, and feminine.

✨ Slow movement is a mirror.

When you learn to breathe through your movement, the body relaxes more into the movement, allowing you to flow through dance…and life.

My homework to you: Instead of rushing when you’re walking at work or while out, take slower, intentional steps. The chin is parallel to the ground. Gaze straight ahead. Sync your breath with your strides (IN for 3, OUT for 3). And then report back on how you felt doing that.