Belly dancing
I heard that belly dancing is a great workout, especially for abs and core. So when my gym offered a free trial class the other week, I was there. I was sore for a few days, which is probably a testament to my need for it.
As a first-timer, I spent most of the hour trying to figure out how to isolate hips, abs and shoulders. Each body section essentially does its own thing to give the dancer graceful movement and, ideally, a toned body. I was anything but coordinated as I tried what the instructor called a washing-machine hip shimmy. And I nearly fell over raising one hip to complete a multi-step circle. I tried swirling a scarf in my arms the way my experienced classmates were doing, but got tangled in it. So much for being graceful. As much as this is exercise, it's clearly an art.
Only two of us in this small group were first-timers. Most of the women had been taking the class for a year or less and they said it helped their posture, strengthened their arms and abs. One woman has been doing it for years, and it shows.
I expect that I'll return to the class occasionally. It was a fun, low-impact break from my regular exercise routines, and that's something we probably all need every so often. If only I could be graceful at it!
Categories: General Fitness, Gym, Newbies
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It's not a matter of whether you're inherently graceful. In this case, grace is mostly a matter of practice. It'll come.
Posted by: Brookdalepark | May 6, 2011 7:25 AM
Good for you for giving it a try! I've been taking weekly belly dance classes for 7 years and I still wake up sore. There is constantly more to learn and ways to refine what you know. It definitely is an art, but luckily it's also a lot of fun. And those veils? A great upper arm workout! If anyone is looking for local classes check out
http://www.bellydancebaltimore.com/
I currently take classes with Shems at the Harbor East MAC, I highly recommend her for new and experienced dancers!
AS: Seven years! You are really sticking with it. Every woman in the class I was at had been doing it for at least six months, and they said the first noticeable improvement was in their arms. But those ab movements were a killer for me.
Posted by: Amy | May 6, 2011 10:25 AM
Yay! Bellydance is awesome.
Check out a FREE show on May 14 featuring tribal bellydancers! At Joe Squared. Info: http://bit.ly/1efje9
Posted by: Talis | May 6, 2011 1:43 PM
I have a set of instructional cd's for belly dancing. It looks very difficult, but I wonder why the instructor as well as a lady I worked with many years ago have terrible figures. The are overweight and one would not guess they were adept at this type of exercise.
Posted by: sissybarmama | May 9, 2011 10:05 AM
Sissybarmama: Belly dancing is definitely not the kind of exercise that will make you totally buff, you'll have to gym train for that, and being overweight doesn't always equal having a terrible figure (that's subjective). You'll find with belly dancing that body shape/weight really has nothing at all to do with a dancer's ability to dance well, both technically and artistically. It's the same with age, younger is not always better. You can be sure to find skilled dancers of all ages and sizes, though.
Posted by: Amy | May 9, 2011 5:49 PM
Belly dancing is not only for relaxing , it is also good for our health.I intend to have a belly dancing class to learn.
Posted by: belly dancing | November 17, 2011 7:11 PM