If you never have pain or soreness , don’t read on.

But if you are like most of us humans — myself included,  you will push yourself to a point that is too far beyond your challenge zone.

I grew up in a middle class German ancestry family where pain and suffering was a way of life.  Suffering was viewed as not just human but necessary in order to grow,  toughen up and live life. Courage in the face of hardship was an attribute so respected that I learned early on to implicitly move towards suffering in order to activate my courage. It is no wonder I was able to become a professional ballet dancer and withstand the inherent discomfort built into such a physically demanding and athletic art form.

This paradigm has remained with me in varying forms.  After practicing the principles of F.M. Alexander’s discovery there was a shift away from it.  But, that overdoing nagger is half asleep waiting to wake up when I least expect it.

A recent illustration of this occurred in a lesson where my partnered choreography was demonstrated by another female teacher.  It looked pretty cool and I thought – I can do that.  The next lesson, I did and should not have.  Dizziness followed me home and I was glad I had time to lie down  before teaching my next student.

If I had tempered my enthusiasm and become more attuned to what I was doing in that moment, I would have saved myself from suffering – yet again.

Yet,  soreness is a normal outcome of using new muscles to move our skeleton.  But that is different from rehearsing steps that you know to be potentially injurious to you.  Your teacher would much rather know how you feel and modify your routine than have you miss lessons.  You may need to reconsider your approach to movement

Here are 3 Ways to do that:

1. Be in the moment and notice what is happening in your body.
2. Be aware of overriding what you notice.  Important!
3. Practice freeing the neck part of your spine.  If you find it difficult to let go I can help you to do just that.

 

And yes, I will heed my own advice!

If you would like to unlock patterns of tension, and move with more ease and less muscular effort, book a lesson with me, either on Zoom or if you are in the NY/NJ area at my studio in Montclair, NJ.  Please use my contact form, tell me about yourself and leave your availability.  I will respond within 24 hours.

Happy Dancing!   If you know other dancers who may benefit from reading my blog, please forward.