Which steps are more difficult for you?

[Is'adZahira]

I'm getting desperate because the vertical eights are not working for me ; I try and try but just can't get the motion as it is arrggh!!! is frustrating

 

[TiaSerena]

Awwww.... you need a hug to stop feeling like this :wall:

Maybe if you tell us how you think about the movement (as in the steps you were either taught to do it or learned to do it) we can see if we can guide you on something that might help.

 

[Safran]

Hey! Maybe you should sit back and relax a bit from trying those vertical eights. Concentrate on something else instead for a week, and then try again. Sometimes a break helps.

I am useless with anything that should come from the left knee. Especially when I am in the class under the close watch of my teacher But the shimmies I do while I brush my teeth in the morning are much better. Because I don't try that hard then

 

[Reen.Blom]

But the shimmies I do while I brush my teeth in the morning are much better. Because I don't try that hard then

Hey This is awesome! I can shimmy while washing dishes and carrying mugs with coffee, but I fail each time when I try while brushing teeth! Suppose just need more practice! Any tips?

LOL LOL LOL

 

[Lydia]

stand up strait when you brush!!LOL ...Lydia

 

[Samantha]

Im ok with my figures of eight, back, forwards and vertical. The move I find hardest is circles whilst walking. Im fine with them on the spot, but as soon as I move I loose the circle. It did really frustrat me, but I spoke to my teacher and she said you can sometimes try and try and not do it and then one day it will just come...Im still waiting for the day!

 

[Safran]

stand up strait when you brush!!LOL ...Lydia

Lydia nailed it! It is probably because you want to brush and shimmy with the same pace, even though in the beginning it might be pretty difficult to catch up with the hand moving... So, keeping the correct posture will help you separate those two movements. You can also just try to shimmy with half the speed of your tooth brushing.

 

[KuteNurse]

HA! I also nailed it! Thanks Lydia!

 

[slinks]

Right, now you've got me curious .. I'm gonna shimmy next time I brush my teeth .. lol, I'll get back to you after

I teach a few ladies here, in my boonie town and some have trouble walking with the circles ... try, L leg out, half circle to the front, then R leg in, half circle to the back, L leg out, half circle to the front, then R leg in, half circle to the back ... think hula hoops too, cos you gotta keep that balanced..

 

[janaki]

Flutter!!!

I never really paid attention to learn flutter up until I took the work shop with Randa last year. OMG!!! the way she does it!!! I am practicing ever since. Not there yet!!!!

 

[slinks]

I CAN brush while I shimmy !! lol

I'm with you Janaki .. my flutters and bellyrolls are very weak ..

 

[Mya]

i have come to the realisation that my belly was not made in such a fashion that it is capable of rolling. i have thus given up the belly roll.

 

[charity]

try them lying in bed. that way you cant help but for all your muscles to be relaxed. this is how i got the movement down.

 

[Didi]

This is a cool idea, charity. I'm gonna try it. I can do a belly roll about 20% of the time I try, which makes 80% of time spent practicing it very frustrating indeed.

I'm nowhere near the flutter, though. The breathing really throws me off...

 

[Didi]

It did really frustrate me, but I spoke to my teacher and she said you can sometimes try and try and not do it and then one day it will just come...Im still waiting for the day!

Samantha, I believe your teacher is right. One day a couple of weeks ago, my chest circles just "clicked". Suddenly it didn't feel awkward and wrong and somehow forced, but smooth and flowing and as if the muscles were really isolated. Plus, it looked dramatically different in the mirror. But it was months of practicing before that and always thinking... "I'm never going to get this." I was wrong, though. I guess my body just had its own schedule...

Happy practicing, everybody!
Didi

 

[Mya]

oh i can do them lying flat...i been doing them lying flat for 2 years...i just can't do em standing up.

 

[belly_dancer]

oh i can do them lying flat...i been doing them lying flat for 2 years...i just can't do em standing up.

KEEP practicing!!!! plus try putting your weight into your toes & leaning your (lifted) chest a tad forward (more over your toes) to do this (in the beginning) while standing...

 

[charity]

i have had bad trouble with the forward shoulder rolls and slow shoulder punches. just recently i discovered that while leaning forward slightly at the waist , i can do the alternating shoulder punches easier. and yet to walk with a shoulder shimmy i find i have to lean back a bit...?either way the shoulder moves are extremely difficult for me.

any suggestions as to why this is so difficult and how to improve would be much appreciated.

initially, i could do the belly roll down to up but now can only do it some of the time. whereas the up to down has become incredibly easy.

coordinating arms with the bottom half is always a challenge for me. that i have to practice as i learn new moves.

 

[TinaL]

I have trouble with the camel: I get the lower undulation just fine, but the initial chest circle is still beyond me. Plus, sometimes I get a little catch right at the dimple in my lower back on the left that doesn't want to let me bring my pelvis all the way forward to complete the move.
I can bellyroll from the bottom up, but the top down roll is just not coming!
Practice practice practice! :think: