Hip opening exercises

[Nym]

Hi, greetings to all. I am a novice when it comes to belly dancing. Does anyone know any exercises or drill that I can practise to open my hips? I do not attend a school, and often practise with DVD's e.g Neon. Can anyone give me any advise?

 

[kayshier]

Hi, greetings to all. I am a novice when it comes to belly dancing. Does anyone know any exercises or drill that I can practise to open my hips? I do not attend a school, and often practise with DVD's e.g Neon. Can anyone give me any advise?

Hey Nym
glad to see you finally posting on the forum.
you will find a wealth of info here and great advice.

 

[Mya]

Hey Nym
glad to see you finally posting on the forum.
you will find a wealth of info here and great advice.

That you will - welcome!! Most of my real dance education has come from the wonderful experienced folks who share their expertise here - stick around and you'll find alot of answers here that will make you start asking questions.

Do you know anyone who does yoga? I know there are some yoga poses that open the hips, but i wouldn't be able to explain them to you.

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Hi there are many Yoga poses that not only open your hips but stimulate other parts of your body. Here's are some sites that offers animated poses:
Beliefs, Religion, Psychology of Beliefs, The Power of Beliefs, Yoga Beliefs, Free Online Animated Yoga
DeZeClothing.com - "Bringing You Both Fashion And Fitness"

My favorites:
Pigeon Pose
Frog Pose
Warrior I and II
Three legged Downward Dog
Lotus
Keep in mind the names will vary but the poses are essentially the same. Yoga and Pilates, even Tai Chi work multiple forms nd parts of the body to increase strength and flexibility. Maybe you can find a Yoga teacher nearby if you can't find a belly dance teacher.
Yasmine

 

[kayshier]

Hi Yasmine. thanks for the advice. its easier for us in trinidad to find a yoga teacher.

 

[Mya]

Gaby Beston teaches yoga at the studio that i teach from - if you guys would like her contact info i'd be happy to give it to you.

 

[kayshier]

actually mya i'm starting Moska Yoga in january, i think Gaby teaches with them too. but it would be great to get her info

 

[Nym]

Will try yoga

Thank you ladies, I did not think that I would get a reply so quickly. Will certainly make use of it. There are yoga classes where I live. Will join in the new year. Kayshier, what DVD's do you think I shoud get?

 

[kayshier]

Thank you ladies, I did not think that I would get a reply so quickly. Will certainly make use of it. There are yoga classes where I live. Will join in the new year. Kayshier, what DVD's do you think I shoud get?

that depends on what you are looking for.
i would start of with Jenna's series. but there is a dvd thread somewhere in the forum that you could read and have a look at.

 

[Kashmir]

Hi, greetings to all. I am a novice when it comes to belly dancing. Does anyone know any exercises or drill that I can practise to open my hips? I do not attend a school, and often practise with DVD's e.g Neon. Can anyone give me any advise?

What exactly do you mean by "open your hips"? Do you mean increase external rotation or something else?

 

[Nym]

I do not know if there is a specific phrase for it in belly dancing. What I mean by "open hips" is the increased flexibility and looseness in the hip area i see in experienced dancers. I did a beginners course with an instructor this year and I remember her giving us specific exercises and movements that achieved this. Its just that I have a brain like a sieve sometimes so I have forgotten them.

 

[Mya]

I do not know if there is a specific phrase for it in belly dancing. What I mean by "open hips" is the increased flexibility and looseness in the hip area i see in experienced dancers. I did a beginners course with an instructor this year and I remember her giving us specific exercises and movements that achieved this. Its just that I have a brain like a sieve sometimes so I have forgotten them.

Hey - maybe next time you might want to write things down after class - I have the same problem as you - my memory is terrible; especially with choreography unless (i'm getting better though :dance. I used to have a little notebook just for dance and i would write down the exercises or explanation for the movements and the routines. Sometimes the description can jog your memory.

 

[kayshier]

I do not know if there is a specific phrase for it in belly dancing. What I mean by "open hips" is the increased flexibility and looseness in the hip area i see in experienced dancers. I did a beginners course with an instructor this year and I remember her giving us specific exercises and movements that achieved this. Its just that I have a brain like a sieve sometimes so I have forgotten them.

Nym, what Karem meant really was trying to get the hip movements to be loose so that they would look more natural.
there was a specific exercise where we had to do exaggerated hip drops, and even in the warm up exercises where we would do exaggerated side lunges
the figure 8's that we did with flat feet which forced us to push our hips out was another exercise...

i guess when we resume practice together i can show you these. because i still do them as part of my warm up exercises before i practice the steps.

i really don't do the choreographies that she taught us anymore, i am trying to get used to improvisation. remember? that part of our class that we used to hate so much:lol:

 

[kayshier]

Hey - maybe next time you might want to write things down after class - I have the same problem as you - my memory is terrible; especially with choreography unless (i'm getting better though :dance. I used to have a little notebook just for dance and i would write down the exercises or explanation for the movements and the routines. Sometimes the description can jog your memory.

mya,
if i remember correctly i think what nym used to ask a lot of karem was how her hips looked so 'loose' and natural, where she would do the baisc step and shimmy, or the egyptian step and shimmy. All karem kept telling us was to practice.. I remember nym asking how long it would take, karem's answer was just keep practicing, we will see the results.
i have found this to be true...when i started doing some of the steps with a shimmy at first it would look awkward, but now after a while of practicing i have gotten to a point where i am satifised. Still trying to do the "side step" with the shimmy...but i'm getting there as well....

 

[Kashmir]

I do not know if there is a specific phrase for it in belly dancing. What I mean by "open hips" is the increased flexibility and looseness in the hip area i see in experienced dancers. I did a beginners course with an instructor this year and I remember her giving us specific exercises and movements that achieved this. Its just that I have a brain like a sieve sometimes so I have forgotten them.

Ahh, I see. Actually much of the movement in belly dance comes from the lower back - that's what is doing the moving. The looseness is a combination of flexibility and control.

An exercise I use to increase the range of movement up and down is to stretch the lateral trunk muscles. Sit on the ground, one leg turned out and bent at the knee, the other relaxed out at about 45 degrees. Bend your arm and place your hand on the back of your head, place the other hand on the floor. (Same arm bent as leg). Place you hips, back, shoulders, elbow and head on the wall. Bend sideways keeping everything against the wall. Hold. Change sides, repeat etc.

Another thing to remember is to generate most movements from the abs - not the legs. This gives smoother movement and allows easier layering.

 

[Nym]

Thanx ladies

Thanks ladies, I have gotten a lot of good information from you all. This time I will take note of it and will definitely be putting it into practise during my at home training sessions. Thanx