Living Well: Wellness and dance can be perfect partners

AS a student in her final year of the naturopathic physician program at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Lorina Shinsato has developed some grounded opinions about how we can rediscover our best health.

"Lots of people have lost the connection to their surroundings, their communities and their bodies," said Shinsato, who is a licensed massage practitioner. "And in many cases, we consider eating a hassle ... so people have meals in their cars and at their desks in front of the computer."

For the eating part, Shinsato has a simple but effective idea.

"Say grace," she said, remaining neutral on religious preference. "When we say grace, we are expressing gratitude for our food and where it came from. That's something our elders did and we have lost."

What's more, "grace puts the body in a parasympathetic state," she said. The body and mind become relaxed and clear. If you don't say grace or take a moment to meditate, then your body stays in a sympathetic state "worrying about work or other problems of the day."

Reconnecting to our surroundings, our communities and our bodies? That part is more complex and elusive. But Shinsato and her boyfriend/business partner Sergey Podlazov have fashioned a refreshing approach that is more fun than, say, taking regular turns on the elliptical machine.

"We decided to combine our love of ballroom dance with wellness," said Podlazov, who regularly competes in salsa events and gained all the acceptance he needed when two acupuncture sessions helped him heal from a serious ski injury when conventional medicine wasn't helping.

Earlier this year, the couple established Dance to Wellness, a Kirkland-based company that stages weekend retreats blending dance lessons with wellness lectures, massage therapy and organic, whole-food meals. Seven people participated in a recent Dance to Wellness retreat on Whidbey Island. Visit dancetowellness.comfor upcoming retreats, which cost from $199 to $499 depending on lodging and extras.

The weekend schedule features a Saturday filled with good food and three 90-minute dance lessons. Sunday is reserved for a complimentary massage and private lessons if you choose it as part of the package. The first Saturday lesson at 1 p.m. covered the waltz and fox trot. After a midafternoon talk about herbal supplements that focused on stress and fatigue, the participants met for cha-cha and swing lessons in the property's heated barn nestled in the woods along Saratoga Passage.

Dinner featured chicken or fish, plus lots of fresh vegetables and a glass of local wine if desired. There were a few light jokes about the wine perhaps making the evening salsa and mambo lessons a bit more fluid. Following the night lesson, there's a chance for open dancing.

"The whole day is like taking an immersion class in language," Podlazov said. "People like it because they can reinforce what they just learned earlier in the day."

It's also a chance for beginners like Wendy Allan to feel welcome.

"I took dance classes at a studio near my home about five years ago," said Allan, 42, who works for a bank in Bothell. "They basically told me, 'Don't come back.' "

The Dance to Wellness retreat encouraged Allan, who clearly enjoyed her interactions with instructors Andre and Liu Yeremin, owners of Dance Voyage studio in Kirkland and professional competitors with plenty of trophies to show for it.

"I really liked swing," Allan said. "I'm going to keep dancing."

Gene Polonsky and Diana Milirud are newlyweds who began lessons with Dance Voyage during April in anticipation of their September wedding. He's a software developer and she's a tester who worked in the same building at Microsoft but never met until they matched on an online dating service. Their first dance was well-received at the wedding and again on Whidbey as a demonstration for retreat mates.

Polonsky said learning to dance was more difficult for him than his wife, but he said so with a smile. He addressed whether dance qualifies as exercise.

"Oh, definitely," said Polonsky, 30. "It depends on the dance. The rhumba is less intense, but the salsa is a workout."

"You feel energized after an hour of the salsa," said Milirud, 27. "It is hard work."

"It's exhausting," said Polonsky, still smiling.

What's evident from the weekend is dancing can be a way for any of us to connect back to our bodies, surroundings and communities.

For their part, the Yeremins display not only a love and knowledge of dance but a playful attractiveness to each other. It results in a willingness among students to keep trying.

Shinsato and Podlazov are equally upbeat about the body-mind benefits of ballroom dancing.

Shinsato says she takes occasional ballroom lessons and goes out dancing one to two times a week even as her school terms intensify. Podlazov has even more passion for stepping across the dance floor. He is in class, clubs or events at least five times a week.

"It started for me about three years ago when I saw the movie, 'Scent of a Woman,' " he said. "There is a beautiful tango scene in which Al Pacino invites a woman to dance. I signed up for lessons the same day."