A few weeks ago, a corporate leader who’s been following my work messaged me: “Vyshnavie, I’m exhausted. My mind won’t slow down. Do you think dance can help?”

Honestly, I hear this more often now than ever before. And the answer is: yes, absolutely but maybe not in the way you think.

We don’t need to be dancers to use dance as therapy. We just need to reconnect with the body. And that’s where the magic happens.

Dance is more than movement; it’s regulation

When I teach Bharatanatyam or Kalari to adults, especially working professionals, I notice something:
They’re not coming to learn choreography.
They’re coming to feel present.
To breathe. To listen to rhythm. To feel like they belong in their own body again.

This is especially relevant in 2025, when even the most successful professionals I meet are burning out, quietly juggling multiple roles, sitting for 10+ hours a day, and constantly plugged in.

Dance gives us a way out of the head and back into the body.

And not through hyperactivity but through intention.
Breath. Flow. Stillness. Repetition.

These aren’t just artistic tools. They’re therapeutic tools especially when rooted in classical systems that have been practiced for centuries.

Why it works (even if you’ve never danced before):

Through Vyshnavie Natya Centre, I now work with people across industries from tech teams to educators to solopreneurs. The majority of them don’t have a background in dance; but they show up, week after week, because something shifts.

They feel: less stiffness in the body, more clarity in their decision-making, a quiet confidence in their posture and voice along with the joy of expression, without needing to be “perfect”.

And that’s the thing dance as therapy isn’t about looking good.
It’s about feeling safe, open, and grounded.

Wellness today needs more than quick fixes. We need embodied, culturally rooted solutions especially in India, where we have such rich movement lineages.

My dream is for more organisations to think of dance not as an extracurricular, but as a core part of mental wellness and creative leadership.

If you’re a people leader, therapist, or founder exploring new wellbeing formats for your team, I’m always happy to share more about how we’ve been using dance in this space.

Let’s build workplaces where rhythm, rest, and regulation are part of the everyday!

#MentalHealthAtWork #DanceTherapy #Kalari #Bharatanatyam #LeadershipWellbeing #VyshnavieSainath #WellnessInTheWorkplace #MovementIsMedicine #VyshnavieNatyaCentre