March 2018 Challenge - Mar 12th -- Mar 18th
cpanus
Posts: 20,454 Member
I have no pictures for these, but I hope you like the change.
6 essential pilates exercises for Irish dancing
According to TCRG and pilates instructor Caitlin Golding, “It is important we know how to properly care for and respect our bodies as they are our tools of expression.” Pilates is a form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility, coordination, muscular endurance, balance, and good posture, all essential for Irish dancing. According to Golding, “If you have begun to recognize any muscle imbalances, are prone to injury, or want to prevent the onset of either, practicing Pilates 3x a week (at least) can greatly improve your overall strength, mindset, and Irish dance technique.”
1. Treading
Start standing with your body in total alignment. Shoulders over hips, hips over knees, knees over ankles, feet in parallel. Make sure that your core is engaged and you are neither sticking out your chest or your glutes.
Take a deep inhale and on this breath raise your arms overhead feeling the energy course through your fingertips. Exhale and begin curling your fingers towards the ground. Begin rounding your spine by pulling your navel back towards your lumbar vertebrae. Scooping all of your abdominals as you get closer and closer to the ground- visualize your body as a candy cane. Once your hands reach the ground, walk them out in front of you while keeping your heels pressed firmly down. Sink back into your pelvis and release any tension in your wrists, neck, and shoulders. Continue to deepen this stretch by alternating gentle bends in the knees, always keeping the opposite heel pressed firmly into the ground. After 16 alternating reps, walk your hands back up to your feet and begin articulating up to standing- rolling through every individual vertebrae, navel pulled back to the spine, and energy flowing through your fingertips. Once you are standing reassess your body alignment to make sure you are neither sticking out your chest or glutes.
2. The Hundred
Begin by hugging the knees into the chest. Take a deep breath inwards and on the exhale curl your upper body off the floor until only the tips of your shoulder blades are grazing your mat. Release the arms from the legs and reach them long beside your body at shoulder height. Extend your legs out on either a 45 degree angle or straight up to the ceiling. Turn your legs out with your heels together forming a “pilates V”. Your spine should be in neutral – imagine a blueberry underneath your lumbar vertebrae that you cannot crush! Once in this position, take 5 short and deliberate inhales and 5 exhales while pumping the arms by your sides. Repeat 10 times or until your take 100 individual breaths. In this exercise you are meant to be squeezing the stale air out of your lungs, don’t be afraid to be a little loud on your breathing!
3. The Rollup
Begin by laying down, arms extended overhead and legs long with heels in a Pilates V. On your inhale, raise your arms towards the sky and lift the crown of your head, chin, neck, shoulders, and articulate through the spine – exhale until you reach all the way down towards your toes. Hold for a count of 3 and then inhale to begin rolling back up through the spine, sitting tall on your sitz bones, with arms stretched strong out in front of you. Imagine you are sitting with your back against a wall and you must sit as tall as you can – like a string is attached to the top of your head and is pulling you to your tallest form. Exhale and scoop out the abdominals as you contract your core – pulling your navel to your spine – and roll back down all the while reaching towards your toes. Bring the arms back overhead. Repeat 6x.
4. Leg Circles
Begin by laying down, legs extended and arms by your side. Pull the right leg into your chest, left hand just below your inner knee cap and right hand by your outer ankle. Take a breath inwards and on the exhale pull your leg deeper into your chest. Inhale and extend the right leg towards the sky without shortening your hips – keep the right and left hip squared. Give your right leg a tug either on your calf or your hamstring, never behind the knee – it is a hinge joint and has limited mobility. Release your leg and place your arms long beside your body.Turn both legs fully out and point through your toes. Inhale, and circle the leg towards the midline of your body, down to perfect hip alignment, and then gently outside the frame of your body on your exhale. Repeat 5x and then reverse directions – start by circling the leg outside, then down, then across, then up. When you are finished fold the right leg into the chest and switch legs. Repeat 5x each direction.
5. Scissors / Single Leg Stretch
Begin the same as leg circles by folding the right leg into your chest and extending it to the sky, grabbing either behind your calf or hamstring. Keep the legs in parallel during this exercise to work different muscle groups. Irish dancers tend to overdevelop certain muscles and under develop others – it is important to condition your body in all forms to maintain balance, strength, and overall health. Take an inhale and raise your upper body off of your mat until your gaze meets your lower belly. Gently pull the right leg twice and switch to pull the left leg twice. Inhale and exhale on the double “pull” alternating between right and left legs. Finish by folding the legs into the chest and resting your head.
6. Lion Drinking
This is a fundamental exercise used to increase upper body strength and awareness. Despite not using our arms much in competition dancing unless we are doing ceilis, we need to balance our upper bodies with our typically overdeveloped lower bodies or we will suffer back injuries or poor posture.
Start on all fours, knees hip distance apart, hands directly under shoulders, fingers facing one another, and spine in neutral or slightly exaggerated like in “cow” exercise in yoga. Begin by inhaling and bending through your elbows, lowering only your upper body to the ground. Your head and neck should be neutral and your gaze straight ahead. Imagine yourself as a lion drinking out of pond, always keeping a lookout for potential danger. Once your chin reaches your hands, begin straightening your arms through your elbows, curling up through your thoracic spine, dropping your head and neck, and pushing through your shoulder blades to feel a deep stretch like “cat” in yoga. Once your arms are back to full extension, release the spine back to neutral or “cow” and lift the head and neck.
Let us know what you think.
Chris
6 essential pilates exercises for Irish dancing
According to TCRG and pilates instructor Caitlin Golding, “It is important we know how to properly care for and respect our bodies as they are our tools of expression.” Pilates is a form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility, coordination, muscular endurance, balance, and good posture, all essential for Irish dancing. According to Golding, “If you have begun to recognize any muscle imbalances, are prone to injury, or want to prevent the onset of either, practicing Pilates 3x a week (at least) can greatly improve your overall strength, mindset, and Irish dance technique.”
1. Treading
Start standing with your body in total alignment. Shoulders over hips, hips over knees, knees over ankles, feet in parallel. Make sure that your core is engaged and you are neither sticking out your chest or your glutes.
Take a deep inhale and on this breath raise your arms overhead feeling the energy course through your fingertips. Exhale and begin curling your fingers towards the ground. Begin rounding your spine by pulling your navel back towards your lumbar vertebrae. Scooping all of your abdominals as you get closer and closer to the ground- visualize your body as a candy cane. Once your hands reach the ground, walk them out in front of you while keeping your heels pressed firmly down. Sink back into your pelvis and release any tension in your wrists, neck, and shoulders. Continue to deepen this stretch by alternating gentle bends in the knees, always keeping the opposite heel pressed firmly into the ground. After 16 alternating reps, walk your hands back up to your feet and begin articulating up to standing- rolling through every individual vertebrae, navel pulled back to the spine, and energy flowing through your fingertips. Once you are standing reassess your body alignment to make sure you are neither sticking out your chest or glutes.
2. The Hundred
Begin by hugging the knees into the chest. Take a deep breath inwards and on the exhale curl your upper body off the floor until only the tips of your shoulder blades are grazing your mat. Release the arms from the legs and reach them long beside your body at shoulder height. Extend your legs out on either a 45 degree angle or straight up to the ceiling. Turn your legs out with your heels together forming a “pilates V”. Your spine should be in neutral – imagine a blueberry underneath your lumbar vertebrae that you cannot crush! Once in this position, take 5 short and deliberate inhales and 5 exhales while pumping the arms by your sides. Repeat 10 times or until your take 100 individual breaths. In this exercise you are meant to be squeezing the stale air out of your lungs, don’t be afraid to be a little loud on your breathing!
3. The Rollup
Begin by laying down, arms extended overhead and legs long with heels in a Pilates V. On your inhale, raise your arms towards the sky and lift the crown of your head, chin, neck, shoulders, and articulate through the spine – exhale until you reach all the way down towards your toes. Hold for a count of 3 and then inhale to begin rolling back up through the spine, sitting tall on your sitz bones, with arms stretched strong out in front of you. Imagine you are sitting with your back against a wall and you must sit as tall as you can – like a string is attached to the top of your head and is pulling you to your tallest form. Exhale and scoop out the abdominals as you contract your core – pulling your navel to your spine – and roll back down all the while reaching towards your toes. Bring the arms back overhead. Repeat 6x.
4. Leg Circles
Begin by laying down, legs extended and arms by your side. Pull the right leg into your chest, left hand just below your inner knee cap and right hand by your outer ankle. Take a breath inwards and on the exhale pull your leg deeper into your chest. Inhale and extend the right leg towards the sky without shortening your hips – keep the right and left hip squared. Give your right leg a tug either on your calf or your hamstring, never behind the knee – it is a hinge joint and has limited mobility. Release your leg and place your arms long beside your body.Turn both legs fully out and point through your toes. Inhale, and circle the leg towards the midline of your body, down to perfect hip alignment, and then gently outside the frame of your body on your exhale. Repeat 5x and then reverse directions – start by circling the leg outside, then down, then across, then up. When you are finished fold the right leg into the chest and switch legs. Repeat 5x each direction.
5. Scissors / Single Leg Stretch
Begin the same as leg circles by folding the right leg into your chest and extending it to the sky, grabbing either behind your calf or hamstring. Keep the legs in parallel during this exercise to work different muscle groups. Irish dancers tend to overdevelop certain muscles and under develop others – it is important to condition your body in all forms to maintain balance, strength, and overall health. Take an inhale and raise your upper body off of your mat until your gaze meets your lower belly. Gently pull the right leg twice and switch to pull the left leg twice. Inhale and exhale on the double “pull” alternating between right and left legs. Finish by folding the legs into the chest and resting your head.
6. Lion Drinking
This is a fundamental exercise used to increase upper body strength and awareness. Despite not using our arms much in competition dancing unless we are doing ceilis, we need to balance our upper bodies with our typically overdeveloped lower bodies or we will suffer back injuries or poor posture.
Start on all fours, knees hip distance apart, hands directly under shoulders, fingers facing one another, and spine in neutral or slightly exaggerated like in “cow” exercise in yoga. Begin by inhaling and bending through your elbows, lowering only your upper body to the ground. Your head and neck should be neutral and your gaze straight ahead. Imagine yourself as a lion drinking out of pond, always keeping a lookout for potential danger. Once your chin reaches your hands, begin straightening your arms through your elbows, curling up through your thoracic spine, dropping your head and neck, and pushing through your shoulder blades to feel a deep stretch like “cat” in yoga. Once your arms are back to full extension, release the spine back to neutral or “cow” and lift the head and neck.
Let us know what you think.
Chris
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Replies
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Muahaha, looks like this could be fun. Wish you could see my interpretation of each.
Shelley0 -
How's this:zumbaforever wrote: »Muahaha, looks like this could be fun. Wish you could see my interpretation of each.
Shelley
ME->
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Muahaha, that is so awesome Paula! They are all so adorable. I so resemble the guy and his chocolates! I did get up and do push ups this morning.
Shelley0
This discussion has been closed.