Dance Health, Medicine, & Fitness (for Belly Dancer
Proper Dance Alignment (posture) for Dancers
Good alignment is important for life not just dance! With a good instructor, your dance training should improve your daily alignment; helping you prevent injury and pain, as well as helping you prevent unnecessary postural problems associated with aging. The road to good alignment is a process of identifying problems and habits and improving muscle strength and flexibility. It’s also learning how to stand, sit, and move without causing undue tension or strain. Normal joint motion in the spine and other body areas, as well as balanced muscles on both sides of the spine are needed to achieve good alignment. Below, you will learn how to observe your body and to identify visible problem areas, learn about common postural problems, and learn ways to make improvements.
Don’t Listen to Your Mom:
Many moms used to say, “Hold your shoulders back.” Sound familiar? Doing this often results in an excessive curve of the lumbar spine, which puts strain on the lower back. We do want our shoulders to fall back, not round forward, but we want this to be their default position because our chest muscles are flexible and elongated, not pulling shoulders forward, and our back muscles are strong, not over extended or hunched. When we think of “posture” most people want to instantaneously “hold” something in place, and too often this involves pulling the shoulders back and sucking in the stomach, which can cause tension, physical and mental pain, and other problems. Static posture is the alignment of your body when you are still, and dynamic posture is the alignment or your body when you are moving. In both static and dynamic posture, there are many components working together, balancing or equalizing the push and the pull from either side. Therefore, holding or focusing on only one area, like pulling the shoulders back, is most likely going to cause more problems then good.
The Frontal Plane (Front & Back View):
Look at yourself in a mirror or get a partner to look at you, as you stand erect in tight fitting clothing. If you have a partner, have them observe you from the back, too. This is not a side view; just back and front. Notice any asymmetry. Is one arm or leg longer than the other? Is one shoulder lower than the other? Is your neck straight? Are your kneecaps aligned? Do your feet turn in or out? All these things will affect your alignment. For these issues, you may want to seek a specialist, such as a physical therapist, who can either help you or refer you to the appropriate specialist. These problems will only worsen in time and can result in less mobility as we age, so they should be addressed right away.
The Sagital Plane (Side View):
This is where we can focus our attention and help ourselves. Again, stand erect, as you would usually stand, and have a partner observe you. Is your ear over your shoulders, or is your head-protruding forward? Is your thoracic spine hunched (hunch back)? Do you appear to have sway back? (Sway back is sometimes difficult to observe due to differences in soft tissue.) Do your ribs stick out? Do your abdominals spill over? Take note of all these problem areas.
Your Life Style:
Stress, fatigue, and poor sitting and standing habits can cause alignment problems, as well as poor ergonomics at work and home. Wearing high heels, poor footwear, obesity and pregnancy can cause issues, too. As we age, without adequate exercise our bodies will begin to atrophy (lose muscle) at a greater rate, causing all kinds of postural problems. These things, along with poor muscle strength and flexibility (tight muscles), are all culprits. Unfortunately, poor alignment seems to be affecting the very young, especially around the neck and upper back and shoulders, perhaps because of current lifestyle trends.
Alignment for Dance:
When we belly dance, we are sometimes in a fixed position but more often we are moving. Therefore, we especially need to have a balanced, strong and flexible body. Strong core (abdominal, pelvic, and lower back) muscles are important, too. Any issues in muscles weakness, tightness or imbalance are going to appear in your dance, so address any of these problems right away.
Alignment Check & Practice:
1. Stand with feet, toes and knees facing forward. Line up your knees with your toes. When moving think about keeping these aligned.
2. Slightly bend your knees, lengthening and taking pressure off your back, making it easier to isolate your hips. When you begin dancing you will sometimes need to straighten your leg/s for a pose or move, but most of the time, they should remain soft (slightly bent not extended).
3. Slightly tilt the pelvis forward (it’s actually a backwards pelvic tilt but most people associate this with tilting “forward”). Bring your pelvic floor closer to your belly button, just a little bit, like you’re zipping up your lower abdominals. Feel your lower back lengthening as you do this. You’re trying to find a neutral position for your pelvis, not too forward or too back. Some people may naturally have this alignment without doing anything but most people need to tilt a bit more forward. When you begin dancing you will naturally move in and out of neutral pelvis alignment but this should be your home base. Unfortunately, if you do not have balanced muscle strength and flexibility on both sides of the trunk, it will be extremely difficult to sustain this neutral position. For now, work on finding it when practicing moves in place when you can focus on technique, and work on the stretches and strength training exercises recommended below to correct these problems.
4. Shoulders should line up with your hips from the side view. Avoid pulling shoulders forward and allow them to rest back and down. Begin by rolling them forward, up, back and then down…feeling them drop and relax, opening the chest. Extend and lengthen your arms towards the floor on either side. You’ll need to do some regular chest stretches if you have rounded shoulders. When you lift your arms or move your arms forward, do not allow your shoulders to come up or forward with your arms.
5. Armpits- Put some space under your armpits, slightly moving your arms away from your body. Again, pull shoulders downwards.
6. Chest should be slightly forward and slightly tilted downward to close the gap under your ribs. In other words you don’t want your ribs to stick out.
(4-6)- Numbers 4-6 above work together, balancing the upper body. Pushing forward with upper erector spinae muscles and traps, while pulling in just under the breasts and opening the chest. It should feel equalized and strong all the way around, front to back.
7. Neck should be elongated. Think about the vertebrae in your neck as a small spring that you allow to stretch out and up through the top of your head. Feel your entire body lifting up and out through the top of your head as you stand and move.
8. Head -Your ears should line up with the middle of your shoulders. Avoid sticking your chin out. When you elongate your neck, your head should follow.
9. Weight Distribution- Rock from balls to the heels until you rest your weight into the middle of the arches of your feet.
10. The Peacock- We want to look confident and open, larger than life, like a peacock on the stage. We do this by following the steps above, pulling and pushing, equalizing the back, front and sides of the body so that we feel slightly contracted all over. Do not focus on only one side of the body but on all sides, which creates a strong alignment for dance, as well as for daily life. Feel confident (pretend if you’re not) and visualize energy coming out of your chest and fingertips.
For a video example, check out the “ballet alignment” link below in the “resources” section!
Common Problems with Alignment:
**Kyphosis Lordosis (hunch back) – curvature of the thoracic spine, with rounded shoulders, sunken chest, head jutting forward, and/or neck hyperextension. To correct this, you’ll want to stretch your chest muscles and strengthen your upper/mid back muscles (rhomboids and trapezius muscles) with strength training exercises, and improve your poor postural habits. See my favorite chest stretch in the “resources” section below.
**Lumbar Lordosis (swayback) – This is when the natural curve of the lumbar region is slightly or dramatically accentuated, making the buttocks and abdominals stick out due to the anterior tilt of the pelvis. It’s sometimes seen in dancers who arch their backs, putting stress or extra weight on the lower back. Certain diseases can also cause this and other spinal issues. Too much belly fat and tight, shortened hip flexors from too much sitting can cause this, too. This condition can cause spine compression, tension on ligaments, and back pain as well. For most people, stretch the back extensor muscles, hip flexors (rectus femoris or quad and iliopsoas muscles, as well as the adductors), and strengthen the abdominals and hamstrings with strength training exercises. You may want to stretch the piriformis, too, which can shorten along with the psoas. Work on losing excess belly fat, too, with exercise and healthy eating. People who have lumbar lordosis usually have hunch back, too, so read that section if applicable. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to diagnose from just observation and palpation is needed. See the hip flexor, adductor, and piriformis stretches in the “resources” section below.
**Tight Chest Muscles – On most untrained people the chest muscles are stronger and shortened as compared with the back muscles, causing an imbalance. Stretch the chest muscles and strengthen the back muscles (trapezius and rhomboids). See my favorite chest stretch in the “resources” section below.
**Fatigue Postures- Many postural problems are caused by stress, lack of energy, muscle imbalance, and pain. As with all postural issues, if allowed to continue, the bones will adapt over time causing skeletal deviations that can be irreversible. Get plenty of sleep and efficiently deal with stress. Poor alignment can also cause fatigue.
**Muscle Imbalance- “Symmetry” Equal strength and flexibility on the right/left sides of the body is needed to maintain good alignment. If one muscle group is too tight, it may pull the body out of the neutral position, creating an imbalance. Alternatively, if one muscle group is weakened, the body will fall out of alignment on the opposite side. Common example: Erector spinae muscles (back extensors) are stronger and shorter than opposing abdominal muscles, causing lower back pain. In untrained individuals the quadraceps are usually 2x the size of hamstrings, resulting in an imbalance; thus hamstring strains are common.
**Irreversible Skeletal Deviations- Over time, all of these poor postural patterns can cause the bones to adapt resulting in skeletal deviations that can be irreversible. So, begin correcting the problem areas now.
Recommendations:
Alexander Technique- Buy a book on this technique and/or see an AT trained specialist. It will help you identify and lose harmful habits and learn to move more freely. AT is popular amoung actors, dancers, singers and other stage performers.
Ergonomics at Work/Home: If you ask, many employers will now provide an ergonomic specialist to help you create a healthy work space. Look below for websites that may help.
Massage- If you can afford it, find a licensed and skilled massage therapist. Deep tissue and sports massage are great for people with postural issues.
Myofascial Release- A hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue that has become restricted, causing pain and impairing mobility.
Strength Training- Belly dancing itself will improve muscular endurance and will improve muscle strength somewhat, but regular strength training is recommended, especially to improve core stability and correct imbalances.
Stretching- Warm up and stretch daily, and at the least, stretch after each rehearsal, class or show but only after you have warmed up the body. A warm up is gentle, dynamic movement (large/generalized movement) with full range of motion of all the major joints. This might look like gently marching in place with arms moving side/up/side until you begin to feel warm. Know your problem areas (chest? hip flexors?) and give these extra attention. Get a good book about how to stretch effectively without injury. Below are the best websites I could find on stretching that included pictures and that didn’t have erroneous information.
Resources:
Adductor Stretch - Scroll down to the “Moderate Frog Position” stretch
Ballet Placement & Postural Alignment A great video demonstrating alignment for the dancer.
Chest Stretch This is my favorite chest stretch. You can use a towel, too.
Hip Flexor Stretch Keep back straight. Lots of other great stretches are listed on the left side of screen, including back stretches and chest stretches.
Lordosis: Assessment & Care Information on how to assess pelvis tilt with palpation.
Posture Problems This site says to stretch hams as the cure to swayback, but this is wrong according to ACE and other resources. The hamstrings need to be strengthened. Otherwise, all other information is great.
Stretching A series of safe, easy stretches.
For more info about the author, Mellilah, please visit www.mellilah.com
Dance Flooring: Injury Prevention & Dancer Longevity
Importance of Proper Dance Flooring: Injury Prevention & Dancer Longevity
Written by Mellilah
Don’t forget to check out the dance flooring before taking dance classes or choosing a studio. Dancing on hard surfaces, like concrete, or dancing on flooring that is too soft, can lead to injury and can even end a dancer’s career.
Dancing on hard floors can produce serious return shock waves, causing premature wear on cartilage and damage to muscles and joints. Basically, there’s no decompression of the surface when your feet hit the floor, so all the force just pounds up into your legs, instead of having some of the force dissipating into a floor that moves a little. In contrast, dancing on a floor that is too soft can cause the muscles and tendons to work harder. A dance floor needs the right about of energy absorption and flexibility, which will differ slightly according to the type of dance/activity.
Educating yourself is the key to your safety. I was just in a gym and noticed that the floor in the aerobics room has a thin wood or faux wood surface directly over concrete. Keep in mind that just because the facility ’should’ be looking out for your safety, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the case. Sometimes owners are more interested in saving a buck.
Guidelines and Suggestions for Safe Dancing:
~Look for sprung (or semi-sprung) sub-floors, also known as floating floors
~Find out what’s under the surface? Just because you see wood, doesn’t mean it’s safe.
~Avoid dancing on concrete!!
~Avoid squishy surfaces
~Avoid uneven surfaces
~Look for floors that are clean, unpolished, and not waxed
~Ask the teacher or a staff member about the floor
~Carpeted area? Pull up a corner of the carpet and visibly see what is underneath
~Test the floor. Knock on the floor with your knuckles to see how much give it has. Jump on the floor and see if it seems to absorb some of the shock
~Consider the type of dance/exercise you will be doing. The more jumping, bouncing and/or propelling into the air, the better the floor must be. Higher Impact = Better Flooring
~How often will you be dancing on the floor? Increased Frequency = Better Flooring
~If you will be dancing barefoot, you’ll need to avoid abrasive or slippery surfaces
~If you must dance on a hard surface, wear dance sneakers, use good technique, limit duration, and stick with low impact movements
Some Effects of Dancing on Poor Dance Flooring:
Shin splints
Stress fractures
Inflamed ligaments and joints
Joint damage to ankles, knees, and hips
Damage to the spinal vertebrae
Premature wear of cartilage
Damage to muscles
Achilles tendonitis
Articles for Further Reading:(Be sure to push the back button to return to my blog!)
Flooring it: one key to dancing well–and long–is right beneath your feet.
The Facts About Sprung Floors for Dance
Flooring Ergonomics
Flooring for Dance, Theatre and Performing Arts (Read: What You Need to Know)
National Floor Standard
Wikipedia: Sprung Floor
Harlequin Floors: Considerations for Choosing a Dance Floor
Dance Floor Expert Tips
Dancer’s Health A Medical Resource – Reflexology for Dancer’s Feet
How to Keep Feet From Hurting When Dancing
ANS E1 .26-2006 (Scroll down to find floor standard)
Mellilah is a trained fitness instructor and belly dance performer and instructor. For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
