During seated stretches, I encourage my students to sit straight on their sits bones and then fold forward at the hips—even if they don’t go forward very far. One student tells me that if she sits as I instruct, she can’t reach forward at all. Why? Whenever you see a student slouch or sit on […]
I was taught to consistently squeeze my gluteals when dancing, to assist in turnout, and have encouraged my students to do the same. Recently, though, I experimented with relaxing these muscles and have discovered immediate relief from chronic hip pain. Have I been teaching my students incorrectly all along? What you have discovered is that, […]
My daughter’s ballet teachers have been telling her to straighten her legs more—particularly in arabesque—but she swears they’re as straight as she can make them. Do you know how we can help this? Sometimes knees won’t straighten due to injury, like a meniscal tear or swelling caused by trauma or arthritis. To test if this […]
One of my dancer friends was told by a doctor that she had reverse curve in her spine due to constant forward curves, head-tail movements and backward rolls. Do you have any advice for how to remedy or prevent this? The answer is: good posture! The constant forward head that students have as they look […]
When I am lying down on my back with my feet together and knees apart and press down on my knees, my hips pop. It feels really good. However, now when my hips don’t pop, they hurt, and my lower back starts to hurt as well. What do I do to get them to pop, […]
“If you don’t have strong abdominal muscles, you sag into your lower back, your pelvis usually tips and you’re hanging out and slumped into your hip joints,” says Deborah Vogel, movement analyst, neuromuscular expert and co-founder of the Center for Dance Medicine in New York City. “It just has this whole chain reaction.” The effects […]
I have plantar fasciitis. What do I do? —Jacqueline Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the fascia on the bottom of your foot. Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue that surrounds muscles. The traditional first step is to roll out your foot on a ball. Next, you’ll want to check other areas that may […]