Bellydance Homework

Here are a few drills and combinations I wrote on my Bellydance Willow Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/bellydancewillow). All notation is written out and abbreviated in SS Format.

All Students - Work on isolating the upper and lower abdominal muscles separately. Just the upper - contract and release. Just the lower - contract and release. Then work on alternating the contractions between the upper and lower abdominal muscles, eventually smoothing it out into a belly roll.

B1 Students - Begin walking quarter time (1/4t) downbeat Right. Add alternating glute squeezes half time (1/2t) downbeat Right (DbR). You will do two glute squeezes (R L) for every step. When you are ready, increase the walking tempo to half time (1/2t) and the glute squeezes to full time (1/1t).

B2 Students - Walk 3 counts, Low Jazz Passe' on 4 (Walk23 Passe') Half Time (1/2t) downbeat right (DbR). Alternating glute squeezes full time (1/1t) downbeat right (DbR). Finger Cymbals 3's. When you feel comfortable with the alternating glute squeezes, change the bellydance move to twists. Everything else stays the same.

Layer Drill - Pas de Bourre' full time (1/1t) downbeat right (DbR). Twists full time (1/1t) downbeat left (DbL). Undulation Up to Down (UtD) half time (1/2t) downbeat upper back (DbUB). Finger Cymbals - 4 5 5.

Interval training is more effective than steady state aerobic activity. Short bursts of high intensity activity followed by short intervals of low intensity activity/recovery, rinse, repeat. Start incorporating bursts of Double Time Glute Squeezes with Double Time Footwork aka Running Shimmies, into your daily routine. You will develop your shimmies, glute and leg strength and increase your cardiovascular health!

Getting more activity everyday

Do you know how to incorporate more physical activities and exercise into your busy schedule?

What with work, family obligations, running the kids around after school and just plain tiredness, where do you have time in your life to incorporate more physical activity, nevermind a regular exercise program? Well, it's easier than you think. It only takes a few minutes at a time to accumulate 30 minutes of activity into your day. You can achieve the benefits of physical activity in short 5-10-15 minutes sessions throughout your day. Every little bit you do is good for you. The key is to start with small doses of activity and build from there. Soon you will feel great and look for more ways you can incorporate physical activities into your day that will leave you feeling great and improve the quality of your life!

What can you do to increase your activity level and improve your health and well-being? Start small. Here are a few small steps you can take to increase your activity level and start reaping the benefits of a healthier active lifestyle:

• Park farther away from the entrance to buildings. Walking a few dozen extra feet takes minutes of your time and gets you up and moving. This will also help improve your mood and get feel-good chemicals - known as endorphins - released from your brain to improve your mood and lower your stress levels.
  
  
• Use the stairs rather than the elevator. No one says you have to start by climbing all the way to your 10th floor office or apartment. Take the stairs for a floor or two and then get on the elevator. Every week, increase the number of floors you climb and soon you will be avoiding the crowded elevators completely and feeling full of energy and mental alertness by the time you get to your office or home every day!
  
  
• Take a walk after lunch. Rather than sitting at your desk for an hour eating lunch and reading a magazine, get up. Go for a walk. Take the stairs and get outside. Walking after a meal helps improve digestion and relieve the feeling of "fullness" that creates that mid-afternoon lethargic feeling that makes you want to go home and take a nap. It also burns a few extra calories and gives your mind and metabolism a boost to help you through the rest of your afternoon.
  
  
• Drink a glass of water. Drinking water also helps with digestion and alleviates the feeling of wanting to snack in the afternoon. Thirst is only the third symptom of dehydration, with tiredness being the first. Drinking a glass of water wakes you up, giving you more energy and helps increase your metabolism so that your body will burn more calories and feel more energetic throughout the day. Water also helps cleanse waste and toxins out of your body, which can make you feel sluggish and out-of-sorts.
  
  
• Walk around your yard. When you go outside to get your mail in, take a few minutes to walk around. Smell the sweet summer air, enjoy the warmth of the sun on your skin, walk around your yard and look for new flowers and plants that you may not have noticed before. Watch a couple of squirrels chasing each other around a tree. After a few minutes outside, you will feel refreshed and energized and ready to open that mail and deal with the next thing on your busy to-do list.
  
  
• Put on music and dance around your house. When you're washing the dishes or doing the laundry, put on some upbeat music that makes you want to move. You won't be able to resist the thumping beat of the music and your body will just want to move naturally. Dancing while going through your daily routine improves your mood, increases your metabolism and burns more calories than just sitting reading a magazine and drinking coffee waiting for the laundry to be done. Plus, dancing helps keep you feeling younger! Who doesn't want to feel younger and more energetic all day long?
  
  
• Take a class! Whether your preference is Yoga, Martial Arts, Spinning or Dance, you can probably find a class in your area that fits your schedule and will bring a new level of activity and excitement into your life. Plus, you will meet more people who are interested in exercise to help support your new active lifestyle as well!
  

Breaking up exercise and activity sessions into smaller increments helps keep you more active all day long and creates life-long habits that you will be more likely to stick with, rather than trying to incorporate a major workout plan into your life and finding that you don't stick with it.

There are many small things you can do to increase your activity levels throughout your day. And if you have a day where you're just not feeling it, take a break. Take the elevator and take that nap after work. You work hard and you deserve it! Your body and mind need rest and recovery as much as they need activity. So, listen to your body and never push yourself beyond your reasonable limits. Rest and relaxation is just as important as exercise, and when you're well rested, you will feel mentally and physically stronger and be ready to add that next flight of stairs on your way to work tomorrow!

Benefits of Exercise

In addition to being a bellydancer, I am a certified personal trainer and I wanted to share with you a list of some of the benefits that can be derived from a regular exercise routine.

Most people know that exercise is good for them and that there are many health benefits to regular physical activity.  But in this day and age of hectic schedules and technological convenience, most people don't think about what those benefits are, or how they can achieve a healthier active lifestyle themselves.

So, what are the benefits of exercise, you might ask?  Let's take a look at them and how you can improve your quality of life through increased activity and exercise.

Benefits of Exercise Include:

• Reduced risk of major diseases such as:
  
  
  • chronic heart disease
    
  • chronic lung disease
    
  • high blood pressure/hypertension
    
  • diabetes
    
  • some cancers
    
  • clogged arteries/arteriosclerosis
    
  • obesity
    
  • mental health disorders
    
  • stroke
    
  • pre-mature death
    
  
  
• Lowers bad cholesterol levels and increases good cholesterol levels.
  
• Helps reduce body fat/obesity.
  
• Helps improve bone density, which prevents weak brittle bones that are prone to breaking (osteoporosis).
  
• Improves cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory function.
  
• Increases muscular strength/builds lean muscle mass - stronger muscles increase your metabolism, which burns more calories and fat.
  
• Decreases stress and improves mood - relieves symptoms of depression.
  
• Prevents and relieves back and joint pain.
  
• Increases energy levels so that you can do more and feel better all day.
  
• Increases natural life-span and improves mental awareness and quality of life for older individuals.
  
• Increases physical intelligence, strength and coordination.
  
• Increased coordination and strength make everyday tasks such as carrying groceries and housecleaning easier and less stressful on the body.
  
• Improves mental clarity and alertness.
  
• Improves posture, which helps increase self-confidence and feelings of well-being.
  

There are so many benefits of exercise, it's unbelievable that not everyone participates in some form of physical activity on a daily basis.  But it’s true.  More than 50% of adults do not get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity 5-7 times per week as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), to maintain good health and prevent major health problems.

Do you know how to incorporate more physical activities and exercise into your busy schedule?  Read my next post "How to be more Active in your Everyday Life" to find out!