Flexibility...dancing...and so on.

[porvida]

so...who else dances? who's working on flexibility? I used to dance, and I'm starting again soon, so I've been stretching to get back into shape. I still can do the splits on the right, almost on the left, lift my leg to my face, do the scorpion pose, backbends, etc. but I need to work on my middle splits...they're bad...and more flexibility in both legs.
im just curious to see who else dances, what kind of dance you're into, or if there are any contortionists out there who can impress us with their flexibility. got pictures? :D

[Virtue23]

I dance... can't do any splits tho. I have very high kicks usually but can barely do them now that I have a twisted hip joint or something :cry: . It totally sucks! I can do the backbends and a lot of other jazz dance positions fairly easily also. Still working on my flexibility but I have to get my doctor's permittion first. Bah!!

I try every chance I get.

[Vegankat]

I was a dancer for 16 years before quitting a year ago. I was very flexible, even with hyperextended knees. I could lift my feett above my head, do a split (the typical way and the "Chinese" way, where you face front. I could also keep my legs at 180 degrees in midair), bend over at the hip and touch the floor while standing, "fold in half" completely while sitting with my legs stretched out in front of me, etc. That's mostly because I had been working on flexibility since I was 3 years old, though.

I was mostly a ballet dancer, but I dabbled in modern, jazz (hard on my knees :( ), and hip-hop.

I miss dance. :( My ED is what put me out of commission, really.

[ynaffit]

i used to be flexible. i meant to keep working on flexibility when i wasn't allowed to do gymnastics anymore (7 years ago), but i haven't.

with a week or two of stretching every day, i could probably get at least my left leg splits back and be able to touch my head to my knees standing or sitting in pike. i've gotten those back with short-term stretching before. i doubt i'll ever be able to do center splits again.

i can still do things like put my feet behind my head (the "pretzel" thing) and put my feet to the back of me head (i'm guessing that's the scorpion thing?).

[Jinga]

I was extra flexible when I was in Taekwondo. We did a lot of standing stretches such as standing with our back flat on the wall and bringing our leg straight up until your toes touched the wall.

My only contortionist trick is placing both feet behind my head. Its a fairly common one ... I think. Pictures exist, but I am not sharing :p

[remilard]

I used to be able to do a "chinese" split and touch my chest to the ground, not so much anymore, I was thinking of working towards that again.

[Mskedi]

Flexibility isn't really required for tap dancers... and it's a good thing! I've never been flexible, despite 24 years of dancing. I'm currently at my worst since I haven't been doing anything but tap since January, but usually I do some jazz, ballet, and supplement with some yoga and that keeps me at my best, which is still pretty pathetic. Oh well...

[remilard]

BTW, PNF stretching is a great way to improve flexibility and especially to be able to do things like jump and land in a split, or stand up from a split without hands. It basically involves stretching, flexing the muscle being stretched in stretched position, relaxing and increasing the stretch, repeat. It is easier with a partner but can be done solo, google search brings up tons of info. There is a stretching faq somewhere by a guy named Brad Appleton that includes lots of lower body PNF stretches that can be done along with a chair organized into a program designed to achieve splits, thats how I got the last few inches when I learned how to do splits.

[Ahimsa_Kate]

yay! i dance too (not as much as i used to though) :sick: it's hard when in grad school
i'm lucky to be naturally flexible (but consequentially not that strong), i've noticed that yoga has increased my flexibility even more and helped with strength too
good luck! it's wonderful that you're getting back to dance. i hope to be more active in at least a small company once i have my degree and can 'settle down' in one city for over 6 mos. :vebo:

[Virtue23]

PNF stretching? Will google it and look into this! I'm pretty close to having both splits so we'll see.

Thanks Remilard! :)

[zoebird]

if you are doing the splits 'front,' can you answer me this?

do you do it dancer/cheerleader style or do you do it yoga style?

in yoga style, the back thigh is on the floor, the knee downward toward the floor. i've noticed that in dancer/cheerleader style, it's rolled outwards and knee is facing outwards.

to increase flexability in the inner thigh, i recomment warrior I (virabhdrasana I), warrior II (virabhdrasana II), side angle pose (parsvokonasana), triangle pose (trikonasana), wide leg forward bend (parsarita paddottanasana), seated bound angle pose (sometimes called cobbler's pose; baddha konasana), turtle pose (kurmasana), then work the seated splits/foward bends.

Good luck!

[remilard]

if you are doing the splits 'front,' can you answer me this?

do you do it dancer/cheerleader style or do you do it yoga style?


I couldn't get my thigh completely flat if my knee was pointing down (it was hard to tell if I was wearing loose pants though). I usually did knee out anyway, I felt less pressure on my back knee that way.

http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs/rec/stretching/

Thats the guide for doing solo lower body pnf stretches. If you have a (somewhat strong) partner you can add some partner stretches such as standing with a back to the wall having them push your leg up in either split position, push against them, increase the stretch etc. as described in Brad Appleon's guide. You can also do a pnf stretch in the "chinese" split position using a hip abductor machine (assuming it goes to at least 180 degrees), although in that case the machine controls the resistance, not you, so err on the side of low resistance to avoid injury.

[zoebird]

the outward position is a cheat in yoga world. if you engaged the quadricep in the posture to move the forward weight above the knee cap, as well as put the weight on the top of the foot (extending it back and away from the body--as if trying to lift the leg off the floor) tends to take any pressure off the knee cap.

unfortunately, i don't have any pictures. But i can do lots of things.

[Doc Holliday]

so...who else dances? who's working on flexibility? I used to dance, and I'm starting again soon, so I've been stretching to get back into shape. I still can do the splits on the right, almost on the left, lift my leg to my face, do the scorpion pose, backbends, etc. but I need to work on my middle splits...they're bad...and more flexibility in both legs.
im just curious to see who else dances, what kind of dance you're into, or if there are any contortionists out there who can impress us with their flexibility. got pictures? :D

Never danced in my life, but since you asked, I am a bit of a yoga buff.

[ynaffit]

if you are doing the splits 'front,' can you answer me this?

do you do it dancer/cheerleader style or do you do it yoga style?

in yoga style, the back thigh is on the floor, the knee downward toward the floor. i've noticed that in dancer/cheerleader style, it's rolled outwards and knee is facing outwards.
the knee has to be turned down in gymnastics.

[zoebird]

ynaffit:

cool. that's good to know, so i'll add that to my descriptions (ie, "as in gymnastics")

also, i love your bunny. :)

[porvida]

Never danced in my life, but since you asked, I am a bit of a yoga buff.






whoa, that is so cool!

[Virtue23]

DITTO! As Paris would say, "that was hot!" ;)


* side note: I can't believe I just quoted Paris Hilton. :p

[zoebird]

doc:

the poses that your posted are nice! mind if i give a few suggestions? (hope not! :) )

scorpion pose (from handstand position) is generally excellent. if you upward dog your chest forward more (as in pulling the chest forward through the arms using the shoulders), extend through the viscera stretching the stomach muscles, have better maintenence of your bandhas, and roll your inner thighs inward (toward each other) more, you'll have a safer, and deeper position for your back.

with side crow, try looking forward instead of forward and toward the legs/side (as you are in the photo). your current position can screw your neck a bit--through the upper trapezius. your hip lift is fabulous! To extend further in this posture, take both legs straight out to the sides, and then to extend even further, take the upper leg straight back.

those are two fine arm balances. :) also, i have to compliment you on the equanimity in your face--excellent relaxation and joy!

[Doc Holliday]

doc:

the poses that your posted are nice! mind if i give a few suggestions? (hope not! :) )

scorpion pose (from handstand position) is generally excellent. if you upward dog your chest forward more (as in pulling the chest forward through the arms using the shoulders), extend through the viscera stretching the stomach muscles, have better maintenence of your bandhas, and roll your inner thighs inward (toward each other) more, you'll have a safer, and deeper position for your back.

with side crow, try looking forward instead of forward and toward the legs/side (as you are in the photo). your current position can screw your neck a bit--through the upper trapezius. your hip lift is fabulous! To extend further in this posture, take both legs straight out to the sides, and then to extend even further, take the upper leg straight back.

those are two fine arm balances. :) also, i have to compliment you on the equanimity in your face--excellent relaxation and joy!

Thank you, and the suggestions are appreciated.

[zoebird]

cool! :)

we worked on titthibhasana (firefly pose) in class on saturday--arm balances are a TON of FUN. :)