Quote:
Originally Posted by Yasmine Bint Al Nubia
Well, in several of the DVD's I own, many of the instructors encourage the student to perform a full warm-up before practicing the dance.
But you know what, I don't believe that one needs a full cardio exercise prior to stretch. Your muscles are already warm, unless you've stepped out of a freezer! The natural body temp is anywhere between 98-99. Cardio, will raise the temperature(and heart rate and oxygen demand) even more. So just how warm do you need to be? I know this is the newest trend out there, but so far i've gotten by without it and I'm injury free.
For me dance is the cardio portion! What I will do, is a few rounds of Sun Salutations. These stretches, gently increase my flexibility, breath control so I feel energized to dance...not tired. Oh well....
Yasmine
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Dear Yasmine,
Do you know Shakira of Ohio? She attended both medical school and some other type of discipline to learn all about it and she rather agrees with you about this issue, except for the dance being cardio, which I also do not think it is because of the starts, stops, etc in the process of performing the dance. ( I have cardiac issues and have learned to walk for cardio stuff.) Anyway, Shakira warms up with belly dance movement and nothing more, for a quite short period of time. My theory on stretching has been roundly denounced, but I feel that when animals are getting ready to do any action after a rest period, they do what? STRETCH!!! It appears to be a natural body response to getting ready to work physically.
Except for arthritis in my right iliac joint and the place where my heel and the rest of my foot connects, I am also injury free, but Shakira claims my warm-up stretches are "not really stretches". I was never quite sure why not, but next time I see her, I will ask her to elaborate. She has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
When I teach now, I suggest to students in workshops and in my continuing classes that they do what feels right for them rather than stress anyone out by asking them to follow my warm-up.
Regards,
A'isha