Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace and Focus of a Ballet Dancer (11 page)
Authors: Mary Helen Bowers
I love this variation on the Classic Hamstring Stretch. I mix this in during the Classic Workout when I am already on my mat or as part of my cool down after one of the Blasts.
a
Begin seated on your mat with both legs extended out long in front of you. Lift one leg up into the air and pull it towards your chest, keeping the knee straight. If you are very flexible, you can place your hands on your foot; if your muscles are tighter, get started by placing your hands on the calf of the extended leg or even behind the knee.
b
Work within your range of motion as the back of the leg and hamstring begins to stretch out and release. Start at 90 degrees and then bring your leg back further toward your chest if possible.
c
For a more advanced version and a deeper stretch try this exact movement lying on your back.
The center split is a terrific inner thigh stretch and a great way to increase flexibility through the insides and backs of your legs and hips. You don’t need to worry about opening the legs to 180 degrees. Begin slowly and your splits will open in time.
a
Begin seated on the floor with both legs extended to the side, keeping the knees straight.
b
Place your hands on the floor between your legs and scoot your hips forward, opening your legs to the side as you go.
c
Keep your upper body upright and your stomach pulled in. When your legs have opened as far as they will go, you can rock your hips forward for a deeper inner thigh stretch.
This exercise is a gentle hip opener that you can use throughout the Classic Workout and seated exercises. It’s one of my favorites for the warm-up and cool-down because it is very gentle yet effective.
a
Begin seated on the mat. Bend your right knee in toward your right hip on the mat. Lift your left knee and cross your left leg over your right leg, keeping the right foot on the ground.
b
Keep your upper body lifted and your stomach in.
c
Pull your left knee back toward your chest with your right hand for a deeper stretch through the back of the leg and hip.
d
/A.
For a more advanced version of this stretch, lift your left foot and leg into the air, bending your knee in the air in an attitude front.
e
Using both arms, pull your knee back toward your chest and balance on your hips.
f
Repeat on the other side.
A Word About Flexibility
M
any people, especially those who say they are not flexible, believe that some people are born able to bend and others are born without this ability. True? Sort of. We all have a different range of motion, and there is no question that some people are hypermobile. I happen to have very open joints and hips and legs that in many ways were built for ballet. But in the same way that you can target and tone your inner thighs, you can increase your flexibility and improve your range of motion. So whether your goal is to simply be able to reach your toes or to achieve the perfect center split, I will help you work to achieve it. And increasing flexibility over time changes and improves how your body feels and moves.
Perfect ballet technique begins with the basics, and the same is true for getting great results from the Ballet Beautiful method: having the right form is everything! As you go through the movements, it’s very important to keep your body in proper alignment. The same exercise can give you very different results if your placement and form are incorrect, so I want to take the time with you now to get it right. Let’s begin by getting into a really great resting position, a neutral position to which you can continually return and use to remind yourself of your Ballet Beautiful program, whether you are sitting in your car, working at your desk, or standing in line at the grocery store!
Your ideal resting position is one that is strong yet lifted, with your chin lifted, your neck relaxed, and your shoulders down. This position is the base for building great posture, and it is key to your Ballet Beautiful form. Whether you are sitting or standing, your posture should be regal and erect—it should inspire confidence in yourself, and when it does, I know that it will do the same in others. Proper form isn’t reserved just for our workouts—try it in your next meeting or interview and see how you feel. I always find that I feel more confident and powerful when I stand or sit upright. (See the box on
page 64
for a quick posture-check you can do anytime!)
Many of our lives are incredibly stressful, requiring constant juggling to get it all done. We carry heavy bags on our shoulders, wear weighted backpacks that weaken our lower back muscles, or perch kids on our hip, throwing it out of whack. This physical pressure combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle can affect our overall alignment and posture. All of us, however, need to be conscious of our alignment. How much time a
day do you spend bent over a computer at your desk or in a car hunched over the steering wheel? The more time you spend sitting down, the more likely your frame is to crumple or slump, weakening your center and wreaking havoc on your back.
Just writing about this is making me feel antsy! I’m going to stand up and take time for a quick stretch and stroll and put into practice my own tips on how to quickly reconnect with my elegant ballet posture before we move on. Try it with me:
•
Stand up very tall and straight, extending through your vertebrae and spine.
•
Pull your stomach in tight, stretch through the front of your hips and legs, and extend long through your joints.
This exercise should leave your body feeling stretchy, elongated, and energized. There is a push-and-pull to this too—you are lifting and stretching through your center and your limbs as you push your shoulders down, keeping your neck long.
Upright carriage and elegant posture are a ballet dancer’s calling card. Ballerinas spend hours every day performing incredibly difficult steps and movements in a perfectly upright position. This action engages muscles through the center, the back, and all across the upper body that strengthen and develop excellent posture. The upper body work in my exercises mimics this process, helping you build the strength you need to experience and maintain perfect ballet posture from home! It’s also the foundation for great Ballet Beautiful form, as I explain on
page 64
.
I recommend choosing a space for your Ballet Beautiful workout that is quiet, calm, and uncluttered, with room for a towel or a mat. This is going to mean different things for different people, so just focus on finding an area that lets you focus on yourself.
POSTURE-CHECKS
Getting in the habit of spot-checking your posture throughout your day will help you improve it. When you feel hunched over, stiff, or achy, take a moment to straighten up your spine. It will change the way your body feels and give you clarity of mind!
Try doing this exercise throughout the day:
a
Pull your stomach in and open your chest.
b
Take a deep breath and imagine that you are carrying a stack of books on your head.
c
Lift your arms out to the side in second position, stretching all the way through to your fingertips. Keep your neck long and your stomach pulled in tight.
d
Imagine that someone is lightly touching you between your shoulder blades and open your chest without arching your back.
e
Keep your stomach engaged.
f
Now drop your hands to your sides, but don’t relax your center or your spine.
This is how to get Ballet Beautiful posture in an instant!
The only equipment you’ll need—if you can call it that—is a mat (or a towel if you’re traveling). That’s it! You do not need a barre, a pair of pointe shoes, a dance studio, or weights. You can do a Ballet Beautiful workout in the comfort of your own home or in a hotel room when you travel. I even have clients who do Ballet Beautiful in their office on busy days! If you already attend a gym, you can find a mat section of your gym or an empty corner to lay down a mat or towel and do a quick Ballet Beautiful workout while you’re there. Just don’t be surprised if people ask you if you are a ballerina when they see you stretching and practicing a set of Ballet Beautiful pliés and lunges!
Some of my clients ask whether they need to do the workout in front of a mirror. This is entirely a question of personal preference. The mirror played a big role in my life during the years I spent dancing with the New York City Ballet, and I am happy to take a break from it now. During my years with the company, I would start my day in the morning with a cup of coffee, sewing pointe shoes in front of the mirror at my dressing table, and then spend all day dancing in front of a mirror in class and rehearsals. Downtime for meals or resting my feet at my dressing table left me staring at my reflection even if I was not pulling my hair into the perfect bun for the stage or putting my makeup on. The physical therapy room was filled with mirrors too—the only escape from mirrors was onstage at night. I will take the cool inky black expanse of a full audience over my own reflection any day! This is probably why I enjoy practicing Ballet Beautiful without a mirror now—I can focus on how I feel rather than how I look.