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By
Patricia Older
"Everyone is born with a natural talent for dance, but
this natural talent gets suppressed with the daily
stresses of life," says Pamara Perry, former soloist
with Joffrey Ballet, teacher, and choreographer.
As women, we sometimes neglect ourselves in our busy
lives. We get caught up in the daily routine of taking
care of everyone else. Our children, our husbands, our
parents, and our jobs require much of our attention and
energy so we often have difficulty committing the time
and energy to taking care of ourselves. As a consequence our female spirit and our health begins to
suffer.
Not to worry though, there is good news for women in
menopause and the associated transition period. Exercise, through dance, can raise endorphin levels,
strengthen bones, and help reduce the risk of heart
disease. Music and dance stimulate our lives in a natural and soothing way. Our bodies and our minds
benefit from this attention and refinement. By using
some of these classical ballet techniques suggested by
Pamara Perry, we can begin to comfortably weave exercise into our busy daily lives.
In her 25 years as a dance instructor, Pamara has found
adults more likely than children to find "excuses". She
suggests we first make a commitment to ourselves. We
deserve and need healthy life-styles. If we take the
time and energy to ensure we eat properly, get enough
sleep, exercise, and laugh a little, we will not only
improve our health and quality of life, but those around us will benefit as well for we will feel better
and have more energy.
First, find a spot in your home, (or office), with
enough room to stretch. Turn on the radio, better yet,
put on a tape of music you love. The more lively the
better. "And", Pamara suggests, "it is important to
remember that it is not how many of each exercise you
do, just do it! Feel the stretch in your arms, legs,
and body."
Once you have the spot, sit on the floor with both legs
outstretched in front of you. Keeping your back straight, while at the same time relaxing the upper
body, bend forward with your fingertips toward your
pointed toes. Straighten up and alternate flexing and
pointing the toes several times.
Next, pull your legs into a butterfly position where
the soles of your feet touch. Bend forward again, relax, then slowly sit back up. Keeping one leg in the
butterfly position, extend the other leg to the side.
Flex and point the toe of the extended leg. Raise your
arms above your head, stretch skyward, lean forward and
rotate your upper body slowly to the side. Exhaling and
relaxing enables a better stretch. Sit up straight
again and stretch for the ceiling once more. Switch
legs and repeat the routine. Remember that you should
not over-stretch or push further than what is comfortable. Stretching does not mean forcing and pain
is never a gain.
After that, lay flat on the floor and hug both knees to
your chest. Lower them slowly to the floor. Bring one
knee back up, slightly bent at the knee and with both
hands supporting the back of the thigh, pull gently
then relax. Leaving the leg up, lay your arms out to
the side, point your toes skyward, then cross the leg
over to the opposite side. You may not be able to touch
the floor, but you will get a good stretch nevertheless. Raise your leg back skyward, bend to your
chest, hug as first described, then gently lower. Repeat this series of movements with the opposite leg.
Before getting up, take a moment to lay flat. Think of
your body as a pancake, relaxing and releasing body
tensions for a few moments.
Time to stand and roll your shoulders, first forward,
then backward, alternating sides, then simultaneously.
Keeping your feet together, bend slightly at the knees.
Do this four or five times, then straighten your legs
and raise up on your toes. Do this several times as
well. Placing your legs apart, feet pointing outwards a
little, bend forward at the waist - remember, do this
gently and slowly, with no bounce. If possible, put
your hands on the floor. Stretch, straighten legs, then
slowly roll up.
Picking up the tempo, place your hands on your hips and
lunge off to one side four times, then the other. You
will feel the pull in your thighs. Be sure to continue
to do this routine at a pace which is comfortable to
you, and remember the number is not as important as the
routine of stretching and limbering up. Next, turn your
head to face the direction you are also lunging in, as
you lunge. Finally, add the arm, held at shoulder height and bent, straightening out on the lunge. Do
this for both sides. Holding in your tummy while you
lunge not only aids in the limbering process, but also
helps protect your lower back at the same time.
After these gentle lunges, begin running in place with
little steps using your feet and ankles. Gradually pick
your feet higher and higher, using your knees and thigh
muscles. Lower as gradually as you lifted your legs up,
slowing down gently. At this point your heart rate has
begun to increase and you're ready to dance, so turn up
the music, feel the rhythm, and feel better!
© Copyright 1996 by Patricia Older
Write to Patricia at pattyolder@prodigy.net
with comments or questions.
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