Learning proper breathing techniques for dancers is just as important as practicing and perfecting your moves.
The truth is that the right amount of oxygen will enhance your performance. Although we may be aware of these, here are some common mistakes dancers often make that prevent them from breathing efficiently:
- High anxiety levels: Controlled breathing helps to relieve tension dancers may be carrying. This can relax muscles and loosen movements. Dancers who are stressed are more prone to injuries. Practicing breathing exercises will help dancers to move more fluidly and give a better performance, all while preventing physical harm.
- Only focused on hold in the stomach and having the shoulders back: It is best to try to focus on your diaphragm by focusing on expanding your ribcage. A proper breathing technique includes heavy utilization of diaphragmatic breathing.
- Lack of awareness of their breathing patterns: For many dancers, the highly technical complexity of the art makes it easy to forget to breathe. Instead, pace your breath to the tempo. This exercise will help prevent stiffness and tension when performing and make your dance appear smooth and effortless.
- Tight muscles – like the abdominals, chest, and neck – that restrict the diaphragm from doing its work: Your diaphragm isn’t just for breathing – it also plays huge role in postural stability. If you don’t use your diaphragm properly, you’re missing out on a whole world of stability challenges and choreographic possibilities.
There are a couple of easy exercises you can use to get accustomed to this practice. We suggest that students lay with their backs on the floor with their palms on the lower abdomen. Take deep breaths to the count of four and watch your hands rise. Exhale and focus on tightening the abdominal muscles.
Another option is to practice a few easy yoga poses, like upward salutes and forward folds, while inhaling as you raise your arms up and exhaling as you bend forward to touch your toes.
Once you start to focus on properly breathing, you will instantly experience the benefits, such as improved posture, less stress while dancing, and getting rid of various musculoskeletal aches and pains.
You might have heard of it: one of the trending health routines that has great benefits, mostly to our skin. The idea is to use a natural bristle brush to scrub away dead cells from our skin, exfoliating and stimulating our blood and lymphatic systems which will improve our skin’s appearance. Dry-brushing is now offered in “spas” and other beauty salons, as it has proven to have effective results. Because Bella Diva Dance studio cares about your health, we share some benefits and steps for dry-brushing your skin.
