Engage the legs – back then I remember the cue “look in the mirror and see a smiley face on your knee caps”, in Foundation Training we call that “anchoring” and it creates strong flexible hips and engages the posterior chain of muscles. Back then it helped us land our jumps softly and stay up on our point shoes, now it helps us exercise softly and helps our balance as we age.
Think tall – when you are a ballerina, you know to keep our abdominals engaged and breath into our ribs, anyone who has come to a Foundation Training class knows that this is called “decompression breathing”. Using the muscles of respiration to lift your torso allowed for lighter jumps and easier movements by the extra space it created. Now a days it helps to take the load off of our low back whether we are standing or sitting or rocking an IronMan race. It creates more lung volume which gives our brain and muscles more oxygen to use and it also creates more space for our digestive organs to work more efficiently.
Every “body” should express themselves – I remember going to a “master class” all the way in the city (our little dance school was in Squamish) and being so deflated when I overheard the guest instructor tell my teacher that I just did not have the body type to take my dancing anywhere. At the next recital I had a solo, Mrs Kelly was having none of that. Creating optimal posture for yourself is the same, it doesn’t matter your size or shape, you can make changes and see improvements and gain confidence to help you shine in life.
Showing up consistently leads to great things – I think I was at the ballet studio twice a week from grade 2 to grade 12, and I could dance pretty well by the end. Strengthening your posture is also something that needs consistency to get all the benefits you deserve. The “isometric” or non moving contraction of muscle (think plank or Founder) is required daily to bring blood flow to the stabilizing muscles around our spine and pelvis – without this request from the muscle, the blood flow is limited and our bodies revert to the gripping muscles that compress and wear out joints.
People don’t notice your feet so much if you have joy in your eyes – this was a good trick when I was a dancer ; ) It is for joy that we should dance anyway, and it is for joy that we should live.
