Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace and Focus of a Ballet Dancer (19 page)

a
Begin seated on the mat. Pull your legs into a comfortable crossed position.

b
Place your hands on your knees and pull in through your stomach as you arch your back.

c
Sit up and take a port de bras with both arms up to fifth position (hands together with the arms curved above your head).

d
Repeat the port de bras stretch, dropping one arm to a low fourth position, curved by your stomach, and lifting the other arm up and over your head to fourth position, extending up and over to the side.

e
Repeat on the other side.

I love the way this exercise lets me quickly connect to my center. This is one of my favorites to do before ballet class or a rehearsal to quickly heat up and engage my abs. These movements work the obliques, the sides, and the center part of your abdominals.

a
Start from the Classic Ballet Beautiful Abs position, with your knees slightly bent, your arms in first position, and your stomach pulled in tight. Extend your legs straight out in front of you on the mat.

/B.
Beginners may keep their knees bent as in the Classic Ballet Beautiful Abs position.

b
Extend back about 30 degrees, twist your upper body, and pull your stomach in tight, scooping your lowers abs in toward your center.

c
Keep pulling your abs in as you change sides, rotating from the right to the left. You can find a nice rhythm here. I find that moving a bit more slowly and taking a beat on each side to truly pull in and connect to my abs makes this exercise more challenging and rewarding!

d
Keep your arms in first position and really scoop with your core. Think about pulling that stomach in as you lower and twist. This is a difficult exercise, and when you’re exerting, the urge is to push the stomach out rather than pull it in.
10 counts, 4 sets.

a
Stretch your legs out long on the mat.

b
Pull back and pull your stomach in tight, with your arms in first position.

c
Lift one leg off the floor about 10 to 20 degrees.

d
Keeping the leg lifted, lean back, pulling your stomach in and lifting to the starting position. Note that you are working your abs here—the movement is in your core, not in your leg. Your leg should stay steady, lifted at 10 to 20 degrees.
8 counts, 4 sets.
Repeat on the other side.

If your lower back or hip flexors are sensitive, you can keep this leg extended out but on the floor, as in the starting position. It’s still a great ab workout!

Stretch
:
Sit up, release your rib cage with a Seated Ab Stretch, and relax your upper body.

This exercise combines the movements from Ballet Twists and the One-Leg Extensions.

a
Repeat the One-Leg Extension, but this time, when you lower your leg, twist to one side (the same side as your raised leg), pulling in tight through your abs and side, and then return to the center.

b
Be certain to keep your stomach pulled in and engaged and to stay relaxed through the upper body.
8 counts, 2 sets.
Change sides.

You can modify this exercise by keeping the working leg on the floor.

Stretch
:
Sit up, release your rib cage with a Seated Ab Stretch, and relax your upper body.