Dance Physiology =’s Lifestyle change!

In the past my main goal has been alignment. Improving alignment has been my center. All this time, however, I haven’t had a concrete plan as to HOW to achieve this. I feel now I do. I am now focusing on the primordial base for alignment, which constitutes core strength. Once I improve my core strength, I can go back and re-evaluate my alignment and see how it has changed.

This class has definitely made me change my point of view for dance and life. Not that I didn’t have a structured point of view before, but now I can see what I’ve been lacking in the past (at least physically). I think I can now say that I am moving towards a balance between the treatment model and the wellness model.  Maybe when I figure that full balance, I can focus on other aspects of my life that can be heinous for dance and life, like my attitude. Sometimes, I’m just not in the mood.

I think I can do it! So far this semester, I’ve quit smoking, started working out at least 3 times a week, started taking vitamins and started to take care of my dry skin with lotion and powder before bed. This class has definitely encouraged me to have a change in lifestyle, for the better. I think the end result will be a healthy lifestyle that will include an improved self-esteem. 

Ouch!

I can safely say that last week was a whole new array of pain. My neck gave out on me and although my doctor had told me that it was coming, I kind of felt like a sitting duck. I was expecting my neck to blow up, but there was nothing I could really do to prevent it. Why? Well, my neck is the reason I am getting breast reduction surgery during the summer. Even though I have herniated disks in my back and neck, I had never really felt this much pain from it. I found out I had the herniated disks on an MRI for a different cause.  So this past week was my first taste of it. I was highly medicated and my hands were numb for 3 days. I changed my entire routine. I didn’t really move my neck at all and I changed my sleep position (which kind of prevented me from getting a good night sleep). I stopped working out and my days consisted of painfully strolling to class and laying down for the rest of the day.

So what should I do now?

For the first time in a long time, I am being proactive about this. I’m getting REAL help. I’m starting physical therapy treatment hopefully next week and it will help straighten my neck muscles until I get surgery in the summer.

The fact that this had an effect in every aspect of my life made me realize that I can do something to get my body in better physical health, so that everyday tasks don’t seem so hard.

As for dancing, I am able to dance this week because apart from scheduling physical therapy, I have been getting back massages and alternating heat and cold packs. I was also taking painkillers, which I am no longer taking. They switched me to muscle relaxant pills that help loosen up tense muscles.

I’m very glad that the horrible pain is over, now I need to keep it that way!

Working WITH gravity instead of AGAISNT it

Recently we have started to focus more on the minimal movements in the floor. During the first studio class we had we lifted our arms and legs and the different bone structures with the least possible strength. Based off of that we have explored the body with yoga exercises. Now that we know how the body works, we have started building up routines in the floor including the subtle movements of the core and limbs. It’s the perfect morning workout!

Given the fact that all I can think of when I get to class is how cold it is (no matter how warm or cold it is outside (I get really cold in the morning regardless)) and how at 8:30am I should probably still in bed. All of these feelings just remind me of high school and the times I actually caught myself driving with my eyes closed. I’m in no way a morning person! So for me, the hardest aspect of this class is actually getting myself there, once I’m there, I’m in love! Even though it might not look like it whenever I don’t pay much attention with my hair or clothes my heart is definitely in paradise when I go to class.

Having said this, the studio exercises that we have been working on recently, have turned into mini routines that make me focus in the tiny movements that I can do with my body. I haven’t danced ballet since last semester, but I’m thinking that these exercises are going to reflect in my performance the next time I go take a dance class.

The best part about it is that we are actually working WITH gravity instead of AGAINST it. How come? In ballet class, we usually try to defy gravity and the time continuum. We try to get our legs as high as humanly possible (even if it’s impossible for some) and try to dance as specific as we can in a time span of maybe four sets of eight that constitute too many steps to even mention. In dance physiology, we do the exact opposite. By slowing everything down, to a level none of us has really explored before, we have discovered how to use knowledge and have gravity in our side. Not only are we working on the floor, lying down, so falling is really a minimal problem. But with the concepts that we have learned like interactive alignment we have gained knowledge that had never crossed my mind.