Quote:
Originally Posted by A'isha Azar
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
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Hi Aisha, I do know Shakira of Columbus. In fact she has been a guest instructor at our school on several occasions! Yes she also is certified in Feldenkrais Method and Alexander Technique, both of which are theories relating to safe and effective movement. Speaking specifically about Shakira, she is one of a handful of teachers that really understand how and where movement originates. In terms of dance, she brings a wholistic awareness of what's happening in the body.
My take on all this: The terms 'warm-up' 'cold muscle' have different meanings for wide variety of people. The lay person and this includes many dancers, have a poor understanding of the body's physiology, and yet they bandy about these terms with an air of authority. Even if one bought an anatomy poster, it would be difficult to understand how the muscle works(much less pronounce it) in relation to movement. So if one doesn't have a working knowledge of anatomy and physiology, then stop trying to use terms you don't understand. It's not really necessary to teach bellydance anyway!
In terms of cardio,(vascular exercise)- it's not what you are doing but
what is happening to your heart as you increase its work to 60-85% above it's resting state. In other words, your heart has to reach a maximum effort for it to be defined as cardio workout. Now how many of us stop and check our heart rates during dance class? Cardio can be further defined as low intensity and high intensity. Dance fits into the low intensity category. Other types of exercise can range from low impact to high impact: walking, swimmimg, biking, hey even sex! As long as the heart rate increases, rich oxygenated blood will circulate faster to the body...thus warming it to higher internal temperature.
Moving the muscle doesn't make it warm, moving the heart makes the entire body warmer!
Stretches: before or after...whatever. Depends on what you are doing. Micro tears occur everyday within the muscle fiber. In fact they go unnoticed. Large muscle group tears occur because someone wasn't using common sense. In relation to belly dance, the risk of large muscle tears are miniscule. If one is sore after dance or a workout, it's not because the of muscle tears. Complex chemical changes takes place within the muscle during intense muscle use. This acidic envionment is the cause of muscle soreness.
And I agree about how animals stretch after resting. Try this experiment: once you get off the computer, stand up straight and reach youir arms toward the ceiling. include your torso. feel this whole body stretch. Ok when you relax, you should feel you heart begin to beat a little faster and you'll take in a deeper breath. Now doesn't that feel better
Yasmine