Posture practice

I've been trying to work on the posture but am having difficulty. I ordered the DVD 10 days ago and haven't received it yet so am working from watching the clip. Problem #1: when I try to relax the muscles of the lower abdomen, I can't differentiate between lower and upper - my whole stomach hangs out and I look 6 months pregnant (awkward for one at 68 years). Problem #2: when I relax my stomach, my back gets sore. Any suggestions?

It is normal to find it difficult in the beginning. What I pay attention to is lifting the chest, keeping shoulders relaxed and down, long neck while breathing into the lower abdomen letting the air out naturally. I have a bad back too but find if I concentrate more on what my upper body is doing my lower half naturally forms the correct posture, and doesn't aggravate my back pain. You will get it in time. Hope this helps.

Susan

not that far a drive to albuquerque....is it realistic for you? i'd love to be that close, I'd be at Christine's all the time!!!

Hi Artist

I have just started seriously learning bellydance isolations. In bellydance world they are not taught to beginners for very good reason! There are all sorts of things you can do with your abdominal muscles once you can get them to stand up and take notice. Once we have been in tuck and zip posture for a few years our abdominal muscles stop being able to do anything else, so we have to relearn the full variety and range of movements that are possible.

I am finding it very frustrating learning how to do these isolations, but over the weeks it is gradually happening. Seasoned dancers say it took them months just to learn how to do them. I still can't nauli, but I am sure that when my ab nerves have woken up properly nauli will happen. I used to do it as a child.

Don't lose heart. It is just *consciously* practising a lot of times during each day, even if you only stop what you are doing for only a few seconds each time, and you will get it eventually. There are some good Youtube videos on learning to isolate your different parts of your abs. Search for "bellydance belly undulation". Have a look at "Queen Cassie Undulation Experiment" (ignoring the fact that she is about 20!). It makes me sick how easy she make it look, but I figure that I and you have exactly the same set of muscles, bones and nerves so there is no reason why we cannot learn too. I will master it, and so will you.

You might find that you get a sore back when you relax your abs because you relax your spine as well, so you end up slumping. I find that lifting the chest then relaxing the abs works, or push your abs right out momentarily until you can feel them stretching/burning down low, then lift your chest (which takes your mind off your pushed out belly, and it relaxes). I am still sure that a lot of it is learning to attend to one muscle at a time, which is an acquired skill.

You are right at the beginning of this work, but it is life giving work. Once you start to see tiny changes you will feel more encouraged. Baby steps.

Another little hint when learning the posture is to try it sitting first, then your pelvis is firmly rooted in one spot, so you don't have to worry about stability from the pelvis downwards at the same time as manipulating muscles and bones above the pelvis as well. There are isolations that I can do sitting that I have not yet mastered standing. Baby steps. Be kind to yourself for this very challenging bit of learning you have embarked upon.

Louise

Thanks Louise. It's so great to be able to talk to someone who knows what I'm going through. I just received the DVD in the mail today and will start working on it tomorrow. I will definately look up bellydance.
Thanks again.
artist