Help with belly rolls

Moondancer

New member
hey all! i was wondering whether someone can help me out. i am trying hard to master belly rolls and i think i'm actually starting to get somewhere! :dance:
however, i just wanna make sure i'm doing it right: i think i've learnt how to isolate two different muscles in my belly- the diaphragm (top) and the lower abdominal musles. am i right in believing that the muscle that pulls in the stomach/moves the belly button up is the diaphragm and the muscles that tense your stomach are the lower abdominal ones?
also, are there more muscles that need to be isolated? when i contract these two muscles in turn, it resembles a rough belly roll. do i just have to practice now or is there more i have to learn?

thanks for your help!
 

charity

New member
the abdominals are one large muscle mass. there really is an upper, middle and lower abdominal regions. though they are of one large muscle mass, this mass is seperated by tendinous intersections...hence a 6 pack appearance and this is how we designate an upper, middle and lower abdominals. 2 top, 2 middle, 2 lower...and of course the diaphragm sits above this 6 pack. it lifts and opens the ribcage which is good for getting belly roll momentum started. but i think using the diaphragm to initiate a belly roll is cheating. it isnt the proper muscle control/isolation that you want. you should be able to do a slow roll, from upper to middle to lower abdominals. and in time yes you will be able to even use the diaphragm for a deeper and higher roll.

anyway...the lower abdominals start right below the belly button. leg lifts will isolate them.

the uppers are two inches above the belly button. to isolate uppers, lie flat on floor and lift top half of body off ground.

and the rest, they are the middle. you can pull your bb in and out, in and out. that will get the middle.

it takes time to get a roll. its much easier to do a fast belly roll then to break it down and control it.

my advice is to practice the body undulations/camels with muscular contractions. in time you will be able to minimize and ween out the spinal roll until it is all isolated in your abdomen.

hope this makes sense. but honestly if you dont have a good camel, you should not be working your belly rolls, just my opinion.
 

Moondancer

New member
yay thanks that really helps! yeah i can do a camel without a problem so i should manage the rolls soon. i'm gonna go work those abs :D
 

Samantha

New member
My teacher tells us to push out the top, then the bottom, then pull in the top then the bottom. She also said its easier to learn lying on your back on the floor. I can do them... but backwards!!! I dont understand what Im doing with my muscles to make it be backwards, but I cant seem to put it right. It really frustrates me. My teacher said people usually find it really difficult to do it backwards!
 

slinks

New member
that's the same with figure 8's .. most people can't do them backward and think they're doing them when they're really going forward, or visa versa, lol off topic, sorry :)

Belly rolls .. been trying to do them for 9 years and I still can't do them !!!! even had my then 8 year old daughter trying to teach me !!! lol
 

belly_dancer

New member
the abdominals are one large muscle mass. there really is an upper, middle and lower abdominal regions. though they are of one large muscle mass, this mass is seperated by tendinous intersections...hence a 6 pack appearance and this is how we designate an upper, middle and lower abdominals. 2 top, 2 middle, 2 lower...and of course the diaphragm sits above this 6 pack. it lifts and opens the ribcage which is good for getting belly roll momentum started. but i think using the diaphragm to initiate a belly roll is cheating. it isnt the proper muscle control/isolation that you want. you should be able to do a slow roll, from upper to middle to lower abdominals. and in time yes you will be able to even use the diaphragm for a deeper and higher roll.

anyway...the lower abdominals start right below the belly button. leg lifts will isolate them.

the uppers are two inches above the belly button. to isolate uppers, lie flat on floor and lift top half of body off ground.

and the rest, they are the middle. you can pull your bb in and out, in and out. that will get the middle.

it takes time to get a roll. its much easier to do a fast belly roll then to break it down and control it.

my advice is to practice the body undulations/camels with muscular contractions. in time you will be able to minimize and ween out the spinal roll until it is all isolated in your abdomen.

hope this makes sense. but honestly if you dont have a good camel, you should not be working your belly rolls, just my opinion.

actually there are many muscles in the "abdominals"...
the abdominus rectus (the long "6 pack" muscle "mass") which is attached @ the pubic bone & the rib.... is the muscle closest to the surface, behind this (above the belly button) is the transverse abdominus.. the horizontal muscle that is the one that can pull the bellybutton "up".... the obliques are also behind the abdominus rectus attaching from the pubic bone & sort of wrapping around to the outsides of the ribs diagonally(& then you have the external & internal obliques...) the diaphragm is behind all of this... below the ribs... in sort of a flat (horizontal) pancake fashion...
to diaphragm or not to diaphragm... oh my.....
 

Samantha

New member
At first I found it easier to do figure of 8 backwards and struggled doing it forwards, but now I can do it all ways, it just kind of came to me one day.
My teacher says Im a backwards person!!!
Hopefully one day it'll just come to me to roll my tummy forwards. At the moment I just think at least I can do it...even if it is backwards!!!
 
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