Nutrition Blog

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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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My 3 Favorite Foods to Get More Collagen in Your Diet

South Florida Fitness Model

As we grow older, our natural collagen production slows down. Collagen is what keeps our skin firm and supple and when this production starts slowing down in our mid 20’s we start to see the visible Effects, fine lines and wrinkles. Instead of Botox, injections or other expensive invasive procedures, look no further than your refrigerator!

Top 3 Collagen Producing Foods

1. Bone Broth! This is a must. Bone broth actually contains a bio available form of collagen your body can use immediately. Know your broth. Beef bone broth is best for your skin, while chicken bone broth is best for your joints

2. Chlorella! Chlorella, a single-celled algae, is nature’s version of retinol only in pill form. Chlorella contains RNA and DNA which give our cells instructions such as cellular repair and regeneration

3. Eggs! Chicken eggs contain collagen in the yolk and eggshell membranes and are rich in sulfur which is required for collagen production. And great for joint health

Remember whenever possible, Whole Foods are better sources for your body than supplements which are usually difficult to absorb.

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3 Top Belly Dance Moves for a Tiny Waist!

South Florida Belly Dancer
  1. Shoulder Slide
  2. Shoulder Slant
  3. Side Waist Contraction
  • Tone and tighten your obliques with these great Belly Dance moves!
  • How to do them!
  • Put on your favorite music.
  • Shoulder Slide – Stand with your legs shoulder width apart and your knees. Slide your shoulders and rib cage side to side. Arms reaching out to the sides. Imagine someone is playing tug of war with you and you are the center
  • Shoulder Slant – Begin standing with legs shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Side bend to the right with arms overhead in Temple Pose (backs of wrists together and arms framing your face) and then back up to center Repeat 8 times and then do the same thing on the left side
  • Side Waist Contraction (the Hip Drop) – Begin standing with your legs under your hip bones and knees slightly bent. Deepen the bend of your right knee lifting your heel off of the floor. Using your Obliques (the side waist muscles) lift your right hip straight up and drop. Do this in time to the music you have chosen 8 times on each side
  • And there you have it! My three favorite waist cinching Belly Dance moves!!
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Turkish Oryantal and Roman Havasi

This weekend we were fortunate enough to have Ozgen, famous Turkish choreographer here in Miami. Saturday he taught a Turkish Oryantal choreography and Sunday Roman dance technique and choreography. Both days focusing on the Turkish 9/8 rhythm. He debunked a few myths most notably that Karshilama and Roman Havasi are not the same dance. When I first began belly dancing in NYC in 1999, and taught the Turkish 9/8, it was taught as a Karshilama with the disclaimer that the basic was what the NYC dancers interpreted from what they saw and felt with the rhythm. Mr Ozgen cleared that up by explaining that Karshilama is a male folk dance.

If you are looking for some great Roman Havasi music, there are the classics Rompi Rompi and Mastika. But also new pieces available such as Romantica from the album Didem and many selections from Kibariye. A favorite being Yanayim

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3 Best Stretches for Splits

Ah the illusive split. Looks so awesome sliding down to the floor with a sword balanced perfectly on your head. So how do you get them? Well in high school I had to have both my right and left splits flat for Dancerettes. So these are my top favorite stretches I did the most to get them.

1. The Straddle stretch! Seated with legs open as wide as you comfortably can. Then alternate reaches. In Pilates it’s called the Saw. After each set of 25, I open my legs a little wider. Working up to 100

2. Then it’s  nose to knee and hold for 30 seconds. 30 seconds allows the muscle spindles to relax and you can safely push past your natural flexibility increasing your range of motion. Repeat on the other leg

3. Then walk your hands forward in the center with a flat back. Think about bringing your chest to the floor, not your head. Bringing your nose closer and closer to the floor until you can lie down flat.

Remember it takes two weeks of daily stretching to see results show don’t give up! You will have those coveted flat splits in no time!

Dawn Rhys, South Florida Belly Dancer
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Dancing Away the Blues!!

Dancing Away the Blues!

When facing a difficult time in your life, the first reaction is probably to curl up into a little ball and hide. But what if there was a better way? Something that could not only distract you from the pain of the situation, but could also strengthen your heart, body and soul. Exercising has so much research behind it pointing to the mood elevating benefits. And dancing has the added elements of improving memory and cognitive functions. But more than that, it takes you out of your solitude and puts you with others who share your joy and love of music and movement. Dancing is my refuge and my savior. It has never deserted me no matter how dark the skies look. The same cannot be said of some of the people who made the greatest promises. And so I not only teach Belly Dance Classes but I take dance classes and go out dancing every chance I get. It makes me feel stronger both emotionally and physically. And somehow makes everything a little brighter 🌞

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Fun Cardio!

Looking to burn fat, but bored with the usual suspects? Walking, running, weight training. All great forms of cardio but they can also become boring. And boring means you’re most likely going to quit. So try adding some Dance Fitness classes to your routine. Not only will you be getting a great workout, but you will also have a lot of fun and make some new friends. Making friends will help keep you motivated and keep you on track for your weight loss goals. As we get older, keeping the weight off becomes more challenging because our metabolism naturally slows. To the sad tune of 100 calories a day! So that means we have to cut 100 calories a day from our diets or burn an extra 100 calories a day not to gain weight. Dance Fitness classes like Belly Dance can burn anywhere from 300-400 calories in an hour!  So give it a try!

Boynton/Delray Classes