{"id":994,"date":"2025-10-23T05:16:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/?p=994"},"modified":"2025-10-23T14:56:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:56:28","slug":"what-is-a-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/?p=994","title":{"rendered":"Helpful Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A habit<\/strong> is something you do regularly and automatically \u2014 often without thinking \u2014 because you\u2019ve repeated it many times before.
In short: a habit is a repeated action that becomes part of your routine.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s brushing your teeth, checking your phone, or tapping your foot to music \u2014 habits shape how we live and learn.
The same is true in dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Dancing Habits \u2014 Helpful or Unhelpful?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we come to Lindy Jazz, most of us are here for fun \u2014 to relax, enjoy the music, and meet lovely people.
But sometimes, without realising it, we try a bit too<\/em> hard.
We overthink, analyse, and tense up in the process.
And before we know it, those thoughts and actions become\u2026 habits<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s pause for a moment.
Are your current habits helping you dance with more freedom \u2014 or holding you back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming aware of your habits is the first step to dancing with more ease and joy.
Once you spot an unhelpful habit, you can swap it for a more helpful one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Helpful Habits for Lessons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  1. Showing up (even on days you feel tired!)<\/li>
  2. Imagining you know nothing \u2014 stay open and curious<\/li>
  3. Smiling <\/li>
  4. Laughing \u2014 it helps you to relax & learn faster <\/li>
  5. Listening carefully<\/li>
  6. Giving it a go without needing to get it right<\/li>
  7. Counting along during lessons<\/li>
  8. Smiling at your partner \u2014 and saying nothing!<\/li>
  9. Asking your teachers for advice before or after class<\/li>
  10. Bouncing gently to keep your energy alive<\/li>
  11. Swinging your arms freely<\/li>
  12. Relaxing your shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles<\/li>
  13. Letting go of the need to be right right now<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Helpful Habits Between Lessons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    1. Practising Rock Step Triple Steps (RSTS)<\/li>
    2. Making short videos of your RSTS practice to check your progress<\/li>
    3. Sharing your practice clips in our WhatsApp group<\/li>
    4. Watching Lindy Jazz videos for reminders and inspiration<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n

      Unhelpful Habits for Lessons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      1. Passive movement without bounce<\/li>
      2. Overthinking<\/li>
      3. Analysing every step<\/li>
      4. Imagining people are watching you (they\u2019re not \u2014 they\u2019re busy thinking the same!)<\/li>
      5. Looking at your feet<\/li>
      6. Giving your partner advice<\/li>
      7. Focusing too much on \u201cgetting it right\u201d<\/li>
      8. Trying to remember everything<\/li>
      9. Referring back to other dance styles or your previous dance experience<\/li>
      10. Saying negative things about your own dancing<\/li>
      11. Gripping your joints \u2014 shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, ankles<\/li>
      12. Leaders being hesitant<\/li>
      13. Followers anticipating or dancing ahead<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        Your Turn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Take a moment to check this list.
        Which habits do you already have?
        Which ones would you like to build \u2014 or let go of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Remember, every time you repeat something, you\u2019re training your body and your brain.
        So let\u2019s make sure we\u2019re training the habits that help us feel free<\/em>, confident<\/em>, and joyful<\/em> on the dance floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        See you at the next class \u2014 ready to smile, swing, and enjoy every step. \ud83d\udc83\ud83d\udd7a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        A habit is something you do regularly and automatically \u2014 often without thinking \u2014 because you\u2019ve repeated it many times before.In short: a habit is a repeated action that becomes part of your routine. Whether it\u2019s brushing your teeth, checking your phone, or tapping your foot to music \u2014 habits shape how we live and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beginners","category-courses-classes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LJ_Banner_V2-copy.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":996,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions\/996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}