I’m in the works of crafting another snazzy post but feel distracted by my post lunch-walk cool down so thought I’d get a little bit out about stretching. I love belly dancing and have even gotten to the point that I’m crafting my own choreography now. I noticed that nights after a particularly long and hard practice I would get charlie-horse cramps in my calves. So I’ve started stretching. Also, I’m always on the look-out for new moves to add and thanks to the suggestions of another dancer I have one that requires LOTS of stretching and practice to do (if I can even get my body to do it!).
I’m not talking about the Turkish Drop. Rather, I’d like to be able to get from a gracefully belly-rolling floor pose to a sitting position. WITHOUT floundering around. And not from my side (although that will be nice too), but from flat on my back. To do so I am stretching a lot and working on slowly being able to get a tiny smidgen further from flat to sitting each night. It is difficult. IF it is even possible for my body it will take a long time. Also, I used to do 100-200 crunches each day and still this ability to get up gracefully never magically manifested so while I remain optimistic I am also just enjoying the flexibility I’m gaining with the stretches and not stressing about just GETTING to that final stage.
I guess, like anything, having the ability to appreciate an activity just for the pleasure it brings, instead of concentrating ONLY on getting to that end-goal, is a positive thing. Certainly it feels better than trying to mentally beat myself up for perceived flaws or for not reaching over-lofty goals instantly!
Huzzah for my increasingly flexible body. What activity do YOU do for the simple stress-relieving pleasure it brings, even if you never get to some crazy goal weight or size or calorie-burn or flexibility level? Reflect and thank your body for how far it HAS gotten you. It is always good to remind those who do so much for you just how much you care.
“You, yourself, as much as anybody else in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
~Buddha
July 22, 2008 at 5:56 pm
hi!
happened across here via shapely prose…
i bellydance and do a lot of floor work (one of my specialties are standing and kneeling backbends, up and down and up and down…)
i don’t know exactly what to what position besides from back to sitting you are trying to get to, but when my back is on the floor i like to wave my torso from side to side to get my feet up by my butt (takes some stretching and flexibility training), such that the tops of my feet are on the floor by my hips (i sit fully between my feet). from there i can sit up from the hips (crunch forward), but i really prefer to *arch* forward, such that my shoulders are back and hips/pelvis leads the way. it takes the abs to make it look graceful and front-thigh muscles of doom and burn to pull yourself up (it helps to push one shoulder back to get the momentum).
it always gets me a lot of applause and it really shows some strength in an area a lot of dancers forget about (especially when i am doing ecstatic and performing this maneuver over and over again).
have fun!!
July 22, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Thanks for the tips synj!
I will add in trying to get some of those positions as I stretch!