Warm Up / Sleep
Dancing Smart Newsletter
January 7, 2005
Hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning to 2005. I'm going to jump right into answering the questions for this week.
The first one is from Kristina..
Is it okay/smart/advised to include running in an advanced/professional ballerinas routine?? What about walking leisurely and or speed walking? Thanks, Kristina.
Absolutely, Kristina! Advanced and professional dancers know the importance of staying fit cardiovascularly. Running, speed walking, swimming, Nordic tracking, the elliptical (my personal favorite) are all okay for cross training the elite dancer.
You may not want to run 5 miles a day in addition to taking a class and rehearsal, but to cross train in some way at least 3-4 times a week is a good thing. Running has gotten a bad rap over the years. It isn't so much that running is inherently bad, more that if you run and have any alignment or biomechanical problems with your feet, you are more vulnerable to injuries. Well, guess what, if you dance and have alignment or pronation or other ankle/foot problems, you are more vulnerable to injuries too.
Balance is the operative word in this answer. Having a balance between activities, promoting good muscle tone, which means our muscles are both strong and flexible will be the best guide. You can always adapt the activity if your body starts complaining about an activity.
Next from Tae..
I am in college pursuing a dance degree. I sleep on a futon as most college budgets would allow but I feel myself fatigued in the morning after 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Some nights that I sleep less feels like I've slept more. So, my question to you is, how much does the bed we sleep on affect our dancing bodies?
Good question! The answer is as you might imagine. The bed you sleep on can strongly impact your ability to rest comfortably. It's possible that the futon is too hard, especially the older ones where the batting compresses with time. You might try putting an egg carton foam pad, or another type of foam to lay over the top of the futon as an inexpensive way to alter the softness to see if that helps at all.
The other question I would ask is when you are falling asleep. I know many of the college students I know have a tendency to go to bed around midnight or later, and sleep to 8-9am. You are getting your 8 hours of sleep, which is good, but just not at the optimal times. There are circadian rhythms to our body that follow nature.
Ben Franklin ( I think it was him) said early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. I can't attest to the wealthy part, but in general, feel it is a good rule to follow.
If you are interested you can read more about sleep cycles and the Ayurvedic perspective at http://www.ivillagehealth.com/experts/guests/articles/0,,234284_413574-3,00.html
Deepak Chopra wrote a short article on sleep for iVillage.
Sweet dreams!
Last question is from Amy..
I have a 13 year old student who complains of a "twinging" pain on the inside of the right knee when in sousous. The pain is only experienced during sousous and it doesn't matter which leg is in front. She does not experience this pain while on flat or during any other time of class.
I have suggested she visit her physician. Do you have any additional advice?
Thanks in advance and happy holidays!
You gave your student good advice to get her knee checked out by a physician to rule out problems. What I would have you do is to watch her right ankle and foot as she does her sous-sus. I suspect that she may have a twist at the knee because of having less turnout in the right hip and compensating by over turning out at the ankle.
Test her turnout range, and note any imbalances between the two hips. If you find that the right hip does have less turnout, then see what happens in the sous-sus when she doesn't try to push the turnout as much. She can then focus on releasing the turnout muscles and realigning the leg.
Without seeing her movement in person I can only give you my best educated guess. Let me know how she does. She's lucky she's got a teacher that is so observant and caring!
On with the dance!
Deborah