I was doing my knee strengtheners today on the stairs and thought I would share a few of them. I’m going to be doing a long distance hike this summer with multiple ascents and descents. As many people know, going down the stairs or downhill is often more challenging to our knees. Why is that? […]
I wrote a children’s book in 2007 called Train Your Brain: A Teens Guide to Wellbeing. I hadn’t read it in a while and decided to today as I was deciding if there were products that I wanted to drop from my store. I was delighted that this little downloadable pdf has withstood the test […]
This clip demonstrates how to help your students achieve beautiful arabesque lines by working in the quadruped position. Often students don’t understand the spiraling action of the spine as well as how to track the back leg correctly. It becomes much clearer when working from this kneeling position. Thanks to Elizabeth Gillaspy who is an […]
It’s not unusual to have small differences in leg length. It’s often hard to know whether to balance out the difference with a heel lift. If you have questions about whether to use a lift I would encourage you to start with an assessment by a PT or sports physician. They will look at the […]
Have you ever watched a student make a mistake on a combination, which quickly morphs into falling apart? Or have you ever been late driving to the studio and the person in front of you is driving below the speed limit and you get totally pissed off? How about when a student feels down because […]
It takes strength from the deltoid and other muscles for a good port de bras. This is a simple, easy to do anywhere exercise to check the endurance of the deltoid muscle. Make sure your shoulder is in neutral to begin and work your way up to 2 sets of 40 repetitions forward and 40 […]
Most everyone understands that sleep is a time for rest and recovery for the body – and the brain – and yet, somehow we continue to try to perform our best on less than adequate sleep. I thought it would be interesting to share a few lesser known facts about sleep. Studies have shown that […]
The soleus muscle that is underneath the gastrocnemius muscle. The length of the soleus helps to determine the depth of your demi plié. The strength of the soleus aids in jumping. It controls the descent as you lower the heels so you don’t ‘clunk’ your heels down and can land quietly. Below is a simple […]
The short clip below talks about creating good breathing patterns that will help release tension in the ribcage. This is an important factor in maintaining mobility of the thoracic spine. Tightness and tension in the upper back can go hand in hand with a weak core.
I just returned from teaching an intensive course at TCU after a 2-year hiatus, due to the pandemic. It was WONDERFUL to be back teaching in person… even with a mask. This course starts with individual assessments before delving into essential anatomy. Love love love teaching it! Anyways, there were quite a few students with […]
