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Ruby · 24th-October-2007, 12:34 PM

I completely second Amir's post and would say that most of his observations are pretty accurate. As a bodywork and yoga practitioner here are the few rules I have for myself:

1) Warm up by moving... not by stretching.
2) If my back is hurting me during or after, I observe my posture... am I using my core (abdominals, intercostals etc) to support my movement? I pay more attention to that area while dancing. It also helps me move from my center and to follow and lead better.
3) Tight back muscles are also linked to tight hamstrings and calves, so I put more energy into stretching the backs of the legs than just focusing on the back. The three things I do at the end of the night are:
a) stretch out the soles of my feet by tucking my toes under my heels and sitting on my heels... sort of a sitting stretch.
b) sitting with knees bent, heels next to my glutes to stretch the quads (you can do one leg at a time ... a sort of runner's stretch if that's too extreme) helps to open up the attachment muscles around the patella.
c) lie on the floor with legs up against a wall, back on the floor. stretch your heels towards the celing. if you cannot lie in a 90° position with legs on the wall and back on the floor, work your way up to it, as you really need to have more flexibility in this area. after that, i'll modify by doing some more hamstring stretches and then finish with a little back stretch.

I have a 5-minute a day yoga rule. That's all I have to do. If I tried to make myself do an hour a day, I'd probably never get around to it, because it seems like too much. But usually if I stick to my five minutes, I often find that I end up spending 10 or 20 minutes. It's a good psychological trick to get yourself to actually do it every day... and five minutes is better than nothing if that's all you end up doing.

Best thing I ever did was have some private lessons with an Iyengar Yoga Instructor. Personal attention to your body and your needs is better than a group class. You can always take what you learn from your private lessons to a group class or your own private practice.

24th-October-2007, 12:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Ruby Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago... formerly San Francisco Posts: 23 Status: No Status Rep Power: 1 Rep.: 109	Re: Stretching For dance? I completely second Amir's post and would say that most of his observations are pretty accurate. As a bodywork and yoga practitioner here are the few rules I have for myself: 1) Warm up by moving... not by stretching. 2) If my back is hurting me during or after, I observe my posture... am I using my core (abdominals, intercostals etc) to support my movement? I pay more attention to that area while dancing. It also helps me move from my center and to follow and lead better. 3) Tight back muscles are also linked to tight hamstrings and calves, so I put more energy into stretching the backs of the legs than just focusing on the back. The three things I do at the end of the night are: a) stretch out the soles of my feet by tucking my toes under my heels and sitting on my heels... sort of a sitting stretch. b) sitting with knees bent, heels next to my glutes to stretch the quads (you can do one leg at a time ... a sort of runner's stretch if that's too extreme) helps to open up the attachment muscles around the patella. c) lie on the floor with legs up against a wall, back on the floor. stretch your heels towards the celing. if you cannot lie in a 90° position with legs on the wall and back on the floor, work your way up to it, as you really need to have more flexibility in this area. after that, i'll modify by doing some more hamstring stretches and then finish with a little back stretch. I have a 5-minute a day yoga rule. That's all I have to do. If I tried to make myself do an hour a day, I'd probably never get around to it, because it seems like too much. But usually if I stick to my five minutes, I often find that I end up spending 10 or 20 minutes. It's a good psychological trick to get yourself to actually do it every day... and five minutes is better than nothing if that's all you end up doing. Best thing I ever did was have some private lessons with an Iyengar Yoga Instructor. Personal attention to your body and your needs is better than a group class. You can always take what you learn from your private lessons to a group class or your own private practice.