Is there any hope for an inflexible older beginner?

Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
MariaAZ said:
I'm a really new newbie, only four classes into my belly dance class and I'm getting very frustrated. After reading through this forum to see if others are having the same problem, I think I discovered what the problem is; I'm incredibly inflexible AND unable to isolate my ribcage from my hips.
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And then there is doing more than one thing at a time, like arms and hips and moving. For some reason, my mind is set on the idea that this is going to be impossible.
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4 classes!! Don't worry about it. I've seen people take 4 months to get a reasonable shoulder shimmy (and the issues usually isn't flexibility it is co-ordination and control).

You need to build neuron paths that you don't have. You need to teach your body how to fire this muscle then this one and not that one and just this much. It takes time. Do it slow. Do it perfect. Repeat - over and over - 10 000 repetitions for a new motor skill. Slowly bring up the speed and add layers. It takes time.

What not to do is to practice it incorrectly trying for speed or not using a mirror.
 
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Shara

New member
Here is something for you to try. Grab your cane. If you don't have a cane, use a broom handle. Do this both standing and sitting.
Hold the cane above your head with your hands a little more than shoulder width apart. Keeping your body in alignment, lean to the side as far as you can. You should feel a pull, but not feel pain. Repeat on other side. You will hold the stretches 10 seconds each. Start with 5 on each side.
Now, put the cane or broom handle across your shoulders and rest your fingertips on it. Gently twist to the left, then the right in order to gently stretch your lats and obliques. When you get used to doing these, start practicing your ribslides afterward. See if this helps your range of motion. Also work on your riblifts. Put pillows on your bed to relax backward over them to stretch your upper abs. Practice deep breathing to expand your diaphragm (the muscle spanning the bottom of the ribcage that expands and contracts to facilitate breathing). All of these things will help increase the range of motion for the ribcage.
Hope this helps!
Shara
 
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MariaAZ

New member
Kashmir, the statement about building neurons that I don't have makes a whole lot of sense! I have a family member who has sustained brain damage and so have a bit of understanding about how long it can take for neurons to rebuild after an injury. It just never occurred to me that learning to move in ways I've never moved would require a somewhat similar building of neuron pathways :) Makes me feel a whole lot better (and less "inflexible") :D

Shara, I tried those stretches and they really DID work a lot better than without the broomstick. I thought I was doing pretty well with the side stretches but when I did that first one holding a broomstick, it was a MAJOR difference; the pull was a lot more intense (I didn't go so far as for it to hurt) and felt more "opening".

Although it's getting better, I still have problems holding my arms out to the side for very long (gotta build those muscles) so by the time I've done my warmups my arms feel like lead weights. When my arms start giving out (when they're at that point I can't hold them up any longer) I usually take a break to let them relax. Today I tried holding the broomstick over my shoulder the way you suggested for the twists while I practiced hip and rib cage slides. It seemed to keep my arms fairly close to the position they are in when held out but relieved the stress on my shoulder joints. I don't intend on using it as a "crutch", but my shoulders are my weakest muscle group right now so it will let me continue working on non-shoulder areas when they tire out and need a quick break.

Oh, and I have been implementing all the tips and hints, and have actually seen improvement :D
 
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Shara

New member
Using the cane or the broomstick make you more aware of keeping your body in alignment and it makes you do the stretch correctly instead of collapsing. I am so glad that it was helpful to you!!! Soon you will be kicking butt in class!
;-)
 
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