Six reasons why dancing in my office may be the best medicine

1. The scared child waiting for vaccinations.A mother comes in needing to talk, but her five-year-old is restless, craving her attention. I have two screens in my room—one for work and another I use strategically. I pull up a trending kids’ video, something instantly engaging, and play it. When it’s time for a needle or a procedure, I know the child’s emotions are key. So afterward, I cue up a fun song and do a quick sound dance. The child leaves with happy chemistry in their body, breaking the association between doctor visits and misery. Next time, they’ll come in with a smile.2. The overprotected adult child and a family stuck in old loopsA family enters—mom, dad, and their adult son who still lives at home. The mother can’t stop blaming him for everything wrong in the household. The father stays quiet, seemingly in agreement but lost in how to help. The son, quiet and passive, is clearly used to being cornered. The room is thick with an old, repetitive dynamic. I let them go for a while, observing how they trigger each other into a standoff—then I stop them. I put on music and start dancing. At first, they stare. Then they smile. Then they laugh. I tell them: “Go home. When this happens again, start dancing. No more talking. Do this for a week and come back.” When they return, they tell me it worked. It interrupted their cycles, brought joy into their home, and made space for real problem-solving.3. A video that sparked a 70-year-old woman’s joyI once recorded myself dancing and sent it to a WhatsApp group of patients from my meditation class. Later, a 70-year-old woman told me, “That video helped me. Sometimes I get stressed, but now I put on the same song—Grateful by Callmestevieray—and start dancing. If you could do it, I thought, why can’t I?” She found a tool to lift herself up, and all it took was seeing someone else embrace movement without hesitation.4. Introducing dance into meditation—and watching the resistance meltIn my meditation group, I occasionally introduce spontaneous dance. At first, people hesitate. Self-consciousness kicks in. But I lead with a big smile, normalizing it. Slowly, they see—there’s nothing to fear. The awkwardness fades. They move, they feel, they get into their bodies. What starts as discomfort transforms into presence, connection, and a new way of being in the here and now.5. The power of movement for a stagnant patientSome patients come in carrying the weight of inactivity—not just physically but emotionally. They’re stuck, whether in chronic pain, fatigue, or a sense of helplessness. Instead of just prescribing movement, I show them. A few seconds of dancing, even while seated, reminds them: their body is still alive, still capable of joy. That small spark can be the start of real change.6. Celebrating a win—because medicine isn’t just about fixing problemsA patient lowers their A1C, finally gets off a medication, or sleeps through the night for the first time in years or quit smoking, we don’t just note it in their file—we dance. It might be a quick move, a simple sway, but it marks the moment. Healing isn’t just about avoiding disease; it’s about living fully. And sometimes, that starts with a dance in the doctor’s office.Dr. Carlos Yu is an assistant professor in the Queen’s University, Department of Family and Community Medicine and an assistant professor in the McMaster University, Department of Family and Community Medicine, as well as a lecturer at the University of Toronto's Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Six reasons why dancing in my office may be the best medicine

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