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3 Great Dance Stretches for Tight Hamstrings

Tight hamstrings can pull your back out of alignment causing lower back pain. Also very difficult to get your splits flat when your hamstrings are too tight. Creating long lean dancer muscles and avoiding big bulky muscles requires proper and daily stretching.

1. Seated Head to Knee Stretch

How to: Sit with your Right leg straight out in front of you and bend your left leg into passé (foot resting against your thigh). Start walking your hands down your right leg. Pull your abdominals in a little deeper and walk your hands a little further. Hold this stretch for 30sec to 1 min. Nice deep breaths allowing the muscle spindles to release safely. Then switch to the other leg and repeat

2. Seated Forward Stretch

How to: Now extend both legs out in front of you. Again walking your hands forward, pulling in your abdominals and leading with the crown of your head. If you can, grab your big toes and continue reaching forward. Hold and relax for 30sec up to 1 minute

3. Reclining Hand to Big Toe

How to: Now lie back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Extend your right leg up, holding the big toe. Hold this stretch for 30sec. Then begin sliding your left leg out without bending your right knee. Hold that stretch for an additional 30sec to 1 minute. Repeat with the other leg

Remember that increasing flexibility safely takes time. Stretch daily and hold your stretches for at least 30sec to 1 minute

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Sleep and Health 8 Reasons not to Skip Sleep

Sleep is often overlooked in favor of squeezing in an extra workout or night out dancing so a quick reminder on some of the reasons why you shouldn’t take sleep for granted

  1. Weight Management. Proper sleep improves hormone-related hunger response. The better we sleep, the lower the body’s levels of the hormone ghrelin, which promotes appetite. Better sleep also increases the hormone, leptin which is the satiety hormone. This increase helps us feel full sooner so we eat less.
  2. Exercise Performance. Energy levels increase with better sleep so performance and enjoyment increases
  3. Heart Health. Better sleep reduces the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, and stroke by improving cardiovascular function.
  4. Inflammation Control. Sleep reduces the risk of inflammation in joints, muscles and connective tissues.
  5. Hormonal Output. Better sleep increases anabolic muscle-building hormones such as prolactin, testosterone, and growth hormones while decreasing catabolic muscle-wasting hormones such as cortisol, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6
  6. Brain Improvements. Sleep improves cognitive function, decision making and reaction times.
  7. Immune Response. Better sleep helps the body fight off colds, infections, and other common illnesses. It also helps the body respond better to serious health problems such as cancer and AIDS
  8. Emotional Well-being. Better sleep reduces the risk of mental illness, depression, and bipolar disorders

Taken from American Fitness Fall 2018

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Learning Turkish – 3 Great Phrases to Know

Getting ready for the Turkish festival in Istanbul in June means learning some key phrases to make the trip a whole lot easier. I also enjoy some of the Turkish dramas because they are soooooo much more romantic than our shows. The love poetry is beyond compare and if you are a fan of Courtly Love as I am, there are two shows you can’t miss. Seyit ve Sura and Muhtesem Yuzyil are packed with romance and adventure. And available on Netflix with English subtitles

So now let’s get started.

  1. Alla alla. Pronounced allahalla. Easily my favorite. It basically means Good Lord which has sooooooo many uses, especially in traffic. And believe me if you have ever been in Istanbul traffic you know exactly what I mean.
  2. Insallah. Pronounced eenshalla. It means God willing. How many workshops will I take at the festival? All of them, insallah!
  3. Tesekkur ederim. Pronounced teshekur ederim. Not only can you use it to say Thank you, it’s also a very polite way of saying I’m not interested or I’ve had enough

So let’s get practicing!

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Sigara borek (Turkish filo pastry cigar)

One of my favorite Turkish dishes! The name sigara borek means cigarette pastry because of the shape. The mint and feta cheese combine for a refreshing and tasty treat. Whenever I performed at the Turkish restaurant in Delray Beach, they would let me wrap and make my own boreks. Of course I also made mine too fat and instead of looking like a cigarette, they looked like cigars!

Ingredients
Makes: 6 Turkish sigara borek

  • 150g feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • 1/2 tablespoon chilli powder
  • chopped fresh coriander or parsley, to taste
  • 3 sheets filo pastry
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons oil

Method
Prep:20min  ›  Cook:8min  ›  Ready in:28min 

  1. Neatly lay the three filo sheets out on a work surface, one on top of the other. Make one clean diagonal cut across the pastry to form 6 triangles.
  2. In a bowl, combine the feta cheese, mint, chilli powder and fresh coriander. Mix well, mashing the ingredients together.
  3. One at a time, spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture in the middle of the pastry in a line but a bit towards the long side of the triangle pastry. Fold the sides in and then start to roll the pastry like you would roll a cigarette.
  4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat then add the sigara boreks into the pan. Once one side is golden brown, continue turning until evenly brown all over. Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Blot away any excess oil then serve hot.
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Florida Senior Living Dance Edutainment

Gypsy Fire South Florida Belly Dancers
Gypsy Fire Flamenco Dancers

Senior Living Dance shows aren’t just entertaining, they are also educational!

The music, the costumes, the pageantry but also the history. Educating our audiences on the history of the dance and time period while entertaining keeps everyone engaged. Those who are able are invited up to dance too. Those who are not, are encouraged to mimic modified movements in their seats.

If you have always wanted to give back to the community and love performing, give us a call. We are always looking for new dancers. Or if you are an Activities Director, looking for some fun and educational entertainment for your residents, contact us at 561-358-8132

 

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Chickpeas Recipe

Chickpeas are high in phytoestrogens, easy to make and delicious!

What you will need:

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight)

4 cups water

Pinch of sea salt

Immerse chickpeas in a bowl of cold water. Shells and broken parts will float to the top and can be picked out by hand. Rinse and then cover the chickpeas with fresh water. Soak overnight.

Transfer the chickpeas and water to a large saucepan. Bring the chickpeas to a boil, then cover and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, approximately 90 minutes. The fresher the beans, the quicker they will cook.

Use cooked chickpeas sprinkled on salads, in stews, in hummus, or mixed in with grains.

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Eat Your Water! Top 3 Foods for Hydration

Not a huge fan of drinking 8 glasses of water a day? Then do I have the solution for you! Eat your water. And here are my top 3 choices with a bonus of course that I personally can’t eat because of food sensitivities and allergies but if you can, go for it.

1. CUCUMBERS! Cucumbers are 96% water and only 16 calories. A cucumber is actually more hydrating than a glass of water so perfect to replenish after dance class or a workout. You will also get 4% of your daily requirement of potassium, 3% of your fiber, and 4% of your vitamin C. That means cucumbers are also filling and can help with your weight loss goals.

2. SPINACH! Spinach is also 92% water and only 7 calories for one cup of raw spinach. Spinach is loaded with vitamin A, giving you 56% of your daily requirement.

3. WATERMELON! Watermelon is 92% water and only 85 calories per serving. You also get 8% of your daily requirement of potassium, 4% of your fiber, and 3% protein.

4. STRAWBERRIES! Strawberries are 92% water and only 4 calories per strawberry. High in vitamin C giving you 11% of your daily requirement

And there you have it! Adding these foods to your diet, will keep you full and help meet your daily hydration needs.

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Top 3 Foods to Prevent Hormonal Headaches

From the moment I turned 30, I started experiencing debilitating headaches right before my menstrual cycle. My gynecologist suggested I stop having periods. 🙄 That seemed weird and somehow not the best solution. So I began a search for the reason and a better method of preventing them. The reason for the headaches is the sudden drop of the hormones estrogen and progesterone right before menstruating. So the better option for me? Loading up on estrogen rich foods seemed like a better strategy. When I get busy with life and forget to do that, I am immediately reminded why estrogen rich foods are so important in my diet.

Here are my top 3 choices and a bonus for those who can.

1. FLAXSEED these seeds are a superfood often referred to as the richest source of phytoestrogens and just 2-3 tablespoons capable of keeping healthy normal estrogen levels

2. NUTS Pistachios, Walnuts and Peanuts are your best choices. They are rich in Phytoestrogens and also rich in heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and proteins

3. MOONG BEAN SPROUTS Not only high in phytoestrogens, but also high in iron, folate, vitamin-B complex and fiber

4.BONUS SOY PRODUCTS. I include these as a bonus because I cannot personally eat soy but if you can, they are packed with phytoestrogens and can be easily added to your diet. Soy milk, tofu, and soy nuts

Photography Robert Swinson

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Top 3 Skin Aging Foods to Avoid

You are what you eat. And your skin suffers along with your waistline when you give it these top three villains of the anti aging cause.

1. SUGAR – first on our list is sugar. That seemingly innocent and delightful sweetener we all love is actually damaging your collagen. Whaaat?! You say. How? You say. We all know how important collagen is to keeping our skin firm, lifted and tight. Well when you eat sugar, it binds to the collagen proteins in your skin. This binding creates molecules called advanced glycation endproducts, or, AGEs. These AGEs damage collagen.

2. PROCESSED MEATS – Bacon, cured meats, and pepperoni are loaded with sodium. And sodium leads to water retention which show up as under eye bags and carrying excess weight.

3. ALCOHOL – All alcohol is super dehydrating which means your skin will look less plump and fresh. It also generates free radicals which contributes to the aging of skin.

There you have it! My top three enemies of collagen and beautiful, youthful skin!!! Avoiding these foods will make your skin look great, your waistline trim and your heart healthier.

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South Florida Senior Living Entertainment

As performers, nothing brings the same joy as an appreciative excited audience. And none more appreciative than the residents of the senior living communities. The Independent Living, Assisted Living, Nursing Home and Memory Care residents are always so happy to see us and to participate to the best of their abilities. They love the music, the costumes, and the smiles on our faces as we perform our shows.

We perform several different shows for Senior Living communities. From Belly Dance, Polynesian, Latin Samba, Great Gatsby Flapper shows and working on a new Christmas Rockettes show.

My dancers love the opportunity to give back to our seniors and agree, these are the best shows we do!

If you are a performer and would like more information on performing in shows with us, or an Activities Director and would like us to perform at your facility, contact me at 561-358-8132

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