10 Yoga Poses That Improve Your Ballroom Dancing
If you've ever taken dance lessons, chances are you're familiar with a gentle voice asking you to "stand up a little straighter." After a while, it's uncanny how the voice seems to show up, even outside of your dance lessons.
Standing in a supermarket aisle, or at your desk, suddenly the body lifts up as if reminded by your teacher through telepathy. Over time, you seem to walk a little taller without reminders at all, until one day someone asks "are you a dancer?" and your heart swells just a little.
A Ballroom Dancing hobby does some marvelous things for our bodies and minds. But what if there was a way to fast track this process? That's where yoga comes in! These 10 Yoga poses are a fantastic way to build up your posture, balance, body awareness, and even flexibility.
Working hand in hand with your ballroom dancing program, doing these stretches for just 15 minutes every day will put your learning on hyperdrive.
We used information from YogaBasics.com for many of the descriptions for the following poses. Feel free to check them out for more detailed information.
Mountain
Great for: Posture, Stability, Groundedness
This little gem is the key to "standing up straight". It may seem simple, but just by taking a few moments to focus on how your body aligns itself (like a Jenga tower with one part stacked on top of the other) you can take your posture to a whole new level. Not to mention, set a different tone for how you stand throughout the rest of your day.
- From a standing position, bring the feet hip-width apart. Feel your weight evenly balanced over your feet.
- Tuck the tailbone slightly under. Feel the hips aligned directly over the ankles. The legs are straight, but the knees are not locked back.
- Lift the crown of the head up towards the ceiling, feeling the spine long and straight.
- Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths.
Staff
Great for: Posture, Core Strength
I, for one, thought dance teachers were quoting myths when they would talk about the illustrious "centre of balance". What I've learned is that the centre of the body is the set of core muscles that hold it all together and create a controlled and fluid movement. This particular pose will help you strengthen those parts of the body, and within a minute or so, you'll have a pretty clear sense of where your centre is.
- From a seated position, extend the legs straight out in front of you with your hands behind your hips.
- Press the hip bones down and reach the crown of your head up to lengthen the spine. Drop the shoulders back.
- Press the heels away from you and pull the toes towards your head.
- Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths.
Balancing Table
Great for: Balance, CBM
If you've never heard of the term "CBM", not to fret, it may be coming up on your dance horizon. Basically, it involves quite a bit of coordination between your upper and lower body. this practice exercise is not about twisting or rotating, just building up the movement of the opposite arm and foot slowly and together.
- On your hands and knees (table pose), inhale the right leg up parallel to the floor, teaching the toes toward the back wall and the left arm up parallel to the floor, reaching the fingers toward the front wall.
- Breathe and hold for 3-6 breaths.
- To release slowly, exhale the left arm down and lower the knee down, back into table position.
- Repeat on the other side.
Cat/Cow
Great for: Chest and Core Flexibility, Posture
Once upon a time, like many dance students and teachers alike - I had quite a pesky problem with sway back. Most of us have developed strange little habits in the way that we stand - from sitting in office chairs all day, standing for long periods or in my case, just being very tall and tending to slouch. The good news is that by practicing this exercise, you can build awareness and range in your posture, you'll be more flexible in your upper body in general, and you'll start to notice more when your pesky posture problems sneak up on you.
- On your hands and knees (table pose), reach the tailbone up towards the ceiling, arching the spine and letting the belly drop down.
- Reach the crown of the head up towards the ceiling. Inhale.
- Release and find a neutral position before rounding the back, tucking your tailbone under and looking down at your navel. Exhale.
- Repeat with long slow breaths, ten times in and out.
Downward Dog
Great for: Strengthening Lats, Stretching out calves and hamstrings
This classic yoga move is not only a great way to stretch out the whole body (especially the backs of the legs), but it also really builds up our lat muscles, which we use a lot in dancing. If you've ever found that holding your frame gets tiring after a few dances, this move will help you build a more solid, supported frame by strengthening the muscles that keep it up!
- From Table position, tuck the toes under, press into the hands and begin to lift the hips up toward the ceiling.
- Using straight (but not locked) arms, press the hips up and back reaching the chest towards the thighs. Lift up through the tailbone to keep the spine straight and long.
- Press the heels into the floor feeling a stretch in the back of the legs.
- Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths.
Tree
Great for: Balance, groundedness, weight awareness
This yoga pose works best for me when I imagine myself as Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas. But even if you are not an avid Disney fan, you'll probably find that this pose gets you feeling focused and clear-minded - mainly because standing on one foot in a strange position doesn't allow you to think of much else! It will also make you more conscious of where your weight is in your foot - toward the ball or the heel, inside or outside. This comes in very handy when working on lots of dancing techniques. It's the perfect practice for working on your roots!
- From Mountain pose, bend the right knee shifting all the weight into the left leg. Turn the right knee to the right wall resting the heel against the left leg, as high as is comfortable.
- Lift the arms over your head into an H position.
- Choose a point to stare at straight ahead and hold 4-8 breaths.
- Release to Mountain and repeat on the other side.
Awkward Pose
Great for: Ankle Strength, Balance
Building strong ankles in dancing is like building a strong foundation for a house - it makes things safer, more stable, and allows for a more significant end product. Now, don't be put off by the name of this pose, it may feel strange when you practice it, but it's a fantastic way to build up your ankles and legs so that all your dreams of floating around on the dance floor can be supported by some killer calves.
- From Mountain pose, bend the knees, squatting down. Reach the hips down and back as if you were going to sit on the edge of a chair.
- Lift the heels high up off the ground with weight on the balls of the feet.
- Inhale the arms in front to be parallel to the floor.
- Breathe and hold for 3-6 breaths.
Low Lunge and Half Monkey
Great for: Leg Flexibility, Strengthening Lower Body
This combo move is a highly efficient way to build up flexibility in the legs and stretch out tired muscles. It's one of those "hurts so good" stretches, so take care not to overdo it and remember - slow and steady wins the race!
- On your hands and knees (Table Pose), step the right foot forward between the two hands with the knee directly over the ankle. Lower the back knee down.
- Lift the crown of the head toward the ceiling and keep hips low and square. Hold for two breaths.
- Release hips back for Half Monkey, letting the front foot peel up off the floor onto just the heel. Lower the chest towards the front knee for a deeper stretch. Hold for two breaths.
- Repeat this sequence four times on each side.
Warrior II
Great for: Promenade Position, Leg strength, Posture
At last, we come to our final pose, and I think we saved the best until last. This pose will not only work your legs something fierce but (drum roll please) - it helps with promenade position! Everyone finds promenades tricky (shoulders popping in dance frame and tilty head positions are among the most common mishaps), so a pose that allows us to align our bodies in a side on position is an incredibly useful tool.
- Step into a wide leg stance, with your left foot in front and facing the front wall and your right foot turned out 90 degrees.
- Stretch arms toward front and back wall, look over your left fingertips.
- Bend the left knee over the ankle and lower hips, keeping the right leg straight.
- Hold for 4-6 breaths and repeat on the other side.
Final Thought
And there you have it, by trying out this sequence you are less than 100 breaths away from being a more body aware and confident dancer. Remember that yoga is a practice, not a perfection, so be gentle on yourself and keep at it a little each day. You'll see a big difference soon, and so will your dance teachers.
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Editor's Note: The poses listed in this article are meant as a guide and should be done at your own risk. When possible, just like your dance lessons, we always recommend that you seek out a trained professional to assist with your form and technique. You should discontinue any activity that causes physical discomfort or injury immediately.
