It is common to hear flow artists speak of how their practice has benefited their mental health. This may be because flow arts and dance are activities that generate ‘flow states’, sometimes referred to as being ‘in the zone’. According to positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow states have the potential to enhance the quality of life, making it more rich, intense and meaningful. 

The concept of flow, coined by Csikszentmihalyi, occurs when you become so immersed in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. You feel ‘a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished’. There is no attention left to worry about problems, and self-consciousness disappears. Afterwards, one is ‘enriched by new skills and fresh achievements’.