Category: Stretches

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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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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