Flexibility Pearls — Dance

  Have you ever been so tight in a stretch, you could not even start the stretch? You are not alone, many people have this challenge. Here is how to solve it  I have spoken to many frustrated people about it. Many of them beginners, but not just beginners. Some intermediate or advanced students still have one or more muscles that that are tight. There are people who can do 180 degree side straddle splits and can’t put their palms on the floor standing. While others can do full forward folds, and yet are far from a full straddle. For...

Don't force your muscles to stretch Muscles adapt to stretching between attempts Your Fibers need time to adjust to what you require of them Rest for a few seconds When you try again your body will be more prepared and will go deeper into the stretch EASY, FAST, SAFE! Click Below to see a short video of EasyFlexibility Stretching Tip # 1   Let us show you how to achieve an Open Front Split, True Front Split and a Side Split Fast, Safe and Easy! Our programs are scientifically based and created by a world-renowned fitness & flexibility expert Paul Zaichik  This program contains 27 videos focusing on:...

Every day, millions of people wake up, drive to work, run errands, and take part in various other activities. But as a dancer, “being on your feet” all day takes on a whole new meaning. To a dancer, movement is life. The thought of a foot or ankle injury is unbearable and in many cases, injuries to these areas can be career-ending. Therefore, it is important to both stretch and strengthen these priceless assets to avoid any mishaps. The foot and ankle take quite the beating on an everyday basis as they absorb shock and also help to support your...

Recently we discussed the applications of Zaichik Stretching Principles to the Butterfly Stretch. (If you missed the article click here to read it). We received numerous replies from people who tried the techniques and were happy to see their Butterfly get deeper, even after just a few attempts. As happy as we were to hear that, we also expected some people not to improve and in fact several people did contact us about that. They said that they did not feel or see any difference when performing the exercise in the video we sent a few days ago. In this article,...

 So by now you have tried the Turned Out Incline Plane (TIP) from here. Chances are you got cramps trying to hold a full turnout that we dealt with in the previous article. If not - Congratulations. You are ready for the next step of moving your foot partially off the blocks. We will talk to those of you who are ready for this in the next newsletter. But for now, let's answer the question presented yesterday. What were those antagonists that cause those cramps? We know that the muscles that cramped up are the extensors and lateral rotator of the...