
Welcome to Ultimate Women's Health Through Belly Dance and Mindful Movement!
Welcome to the course structure. This lecture is to get familiar with all the activities we will go over during the course:
breathing techniques
warm up
basic belly dance moves
stretching
pelvic floor exercises
self-massage
towel roll stretching
Breathing = Life!
In this video we go over the breathing techniques that you can apply to your everyday life as well as to your dance training (or any other training). The purposes of these techniques are:
to develop abdominal breathing
to saturate the blood with oxygen
to energize the whole body, especially the limbs
to open the chest area and improve posture alignment
Let's prepare our body for the exercises with the gentle warm up. If you have any injuries or currently undergoing rehabilitation please modify the moves to suit your body.
Welcome to the world of emotional expression through the arm work! In this video we dance with our arms and hands to loosen up shoulders and to increase flexibility in our joints. Our chest and arms are the heart of our presentation and emotional expression. Gaining better flexibility in these areas will result in expressing your emotions more freely with time & practice.
Let's loosen up and get the freedom of movement in our chest area with chest shimmies!
In this video we go over the basic chest isolations (locks and undulations) that help improve flexibility of our spine, open the chest and align our posture. Have fun!
In this section we will connect to our deeper abdominal muscles through belly exercises.
Vacuum exercise is truly magical. It stimulates diaphragm, which directly affects the whole lymphatic circulation!
Deep abdominal movements also improve digestion, prevent constipation and help shaping our waistline.
Note, if you haven't tried those before you might need some time to get used to them, practice diligently until it settles in your body.
If you are in first two days of your period and suffer from PMS and crumps, come back to this exercise when you feel better. However practicing abdominal isolations can lead to painless menstruation.
Let's prepare out hips to some fun exercises.
Belly dance hip movements lead to
- increased hip joint flexibility
- relief of the tension in the lower back
- improved circulation of blood and lymph in the pelvic area
In this video we learn to isolate our hip on the way up and increasing the mobility of the joints.
In belly dance we move one part of the body at a time. Remember to hold you upper body nice and still while belly dancing with your hips.
In this video lesson we go over horizontal hip figure 8. Try to keep the movement contained, horizontal and isolate your upper body area.
In this video lesson we focus on smaller, internal pelvic circles and vertical hip swings (aka maya).
Try to isolate your upper body while you are dancing with your hips.
In this video lesson we focus on basic Egyptian shimmies.
These are great for hip relaxation & lymphatic circulation, especially for people who have sitting work.
Pelvic floor muscle tone is vital for women's health.
These muscles have loads of functions:
- defecation and urination control
- pleasure during an intercourse
- carrying and delivering a child
- holding and preventing lower body organs from prolapsing
- sexual drive, motivation, femininity
- stimulation of hormonal exchange that happens in ovaries & more
Pelvic floor muscles don't get exercised during weight lifting, dance or belly dance classes, stretching, running, boxing, swimming etc.
In this lesson we focus on strengthening our pelvic floor muscles.
In this section we go over a posture alignment exercise that is accessible to everyone as long as you have a wall.
It looks very easy, but not so easy to execute. Make sure you follow all the instructions to get that graceful posture and younger looking face (this is not a joke, our posture affects how fast we age, when we are properly aligned the facial and head tissues get a better circulation which prevents ageing).
Get yourself comfortably on the yoga mat and take the time to stretch your major muscles and joints.
All bodies are different so please honor where you are in terms of your abilities, do not push yourself too hard. Every time you do a stretching exercise just find that sweet spot and hold there for a few moments. Do not over do! We are here for the long game.
In this section we go over porter back flexibility exercises.
Please remember, this is not a gym session. We don't need to flex our muscles and make moves of a huge amplitude. be mindful with your movements and you will feel your back loosens after a few of these stretches.
In this video we go over the self belly massage which is a great technique to do in the morning for a better digestion
In this section we go over self massage that is a great activity before you settle in bed for the night.
I have put together practices of Thai massage and techniques learned during yoga & self care classes.
In this video lesson we go over a towel roll stretching developed by a Japanese doctor Toshiki Fukutsudzi, to help decompress the spine, shape the waist line and to tone belly muscles.
Make all the moves gently and follow the safety technique when you are getting up.
Congratulations! You have made it through the course.
I suggest you not to rush through all lessons but rather take it one step at a time.
you don't need to implement it all in your daily life. Find techniques that really work for you and match your needs and revisit the course later to refresh.
Even if you just picked up a couple of things from this course is already great. Practice it with pleasure and the right mindset. With the goal to preserve youth, increase your sensuality and attractiveness & to get stronger physically.
This course is designed for women of walks of life. There’s no prior dance experience needed to take the course. This course can also be helpful for belly dance students who have been studying for a while or even dance teachers who are looking for some inspiration. I approach this dance style from a different perspective, offering my own style and flavor.
I have been teaching dance fitness for nearly 2 decades and have naturally developed the desire to give back to my body and to deeper connect to my inner feminine through the mindful movement, breathing techniques, pelvic floor exercises, self massage and various stretching routines. All these routines have been accumulated through attending various courses & workshops and meeting masters around the world since my teenage years.
The main goals of the course are:
To improve the overall women’s health
To deepen the connection to the body through the mind-body work
To increase flexibility of major joints through dance & stretching
To practice of abdominal breathing, optimization of the breathing process during dance practice
To release the stiffness of shoulder and lower back areas
To strengthen the pelvic floor muscles
To learn self-massage and roll stretch techniques for a deeper relaxation and a better night
Women’s health is crucial! It’s important to take small daily steps towards inner harmony and physical health. Women are the center of the Universe, we are the inspiration, the beauty of the world, we are the bearers of life! But in order to be all that we need to put ourselves first. You can’t serve from an empty vessel, they say. This is so very true!
These techniques help develop posture alignment, flexibility, body control; loosen up tight upper and lower back areas. With constant practice, over a period of time, you will feel a boost of sensuality & confidence, and improvement of the overall body image. The stretching exercises given in the module will result in you feeling graceful and light.
Belly dance is a translation of the French term danse du ventre (dance of the belly). The name first appeared in 19 century, however the dance itself existed in different forms for thousands of years. It takes its origins in ancient Egyptian land. The dance has accompanied major life events of people from birthdays to funerals. It has been the most primal expression of life, a tool to connect to the body & the world around and live through the various emotions with ease.
There are undeniable health benefits of belly dance for women. Firstly, this dance style works for all ages (my most senior student was 82!). It has a low impact on joints. Secondly, the dance includes isolated movements of different parts of the body which improves lymphatic flow in each area from top to toe.
The two main areas of stress in a human body are shoulders and lower back. Our chest and arms are the area we express our emotions with. Unfortunately, a lot of women, for various reasons, are unable to express feelings freely. It results in hunched shoulders and tight chest. Upper body work (shimmies, waves, circles etc.) help to loosen up the stiffness. Lower body movements and shimmies help to release the tension pelvic area and gain a better connection to the sacred power center (underneath the belly)
Mind-body connection is truly powerful! I always say dance can be a dynamic meditation. We will be learning to connect the flowing, staccato and shimmy-like movements with breathing and the music at the same time. It’s a whole body experience. You will find it’s nearly impossible to think of anything else while you are dancing, so it helps to clear the head too!
I have taught belly dance around the globe and I firmly believe that the value of it for women’s health is enormous. All that is learned in the class is applicable to everyday life. Flexible body - flexible mind. Relaxed rib cage causes expressing emotions more freely, released blockage in the hip area causes more connection to your feminine power center. Belly exercises result in improved digestion and graceful waistline.
Our posture is at the core of our physical health, youth and blood circulation (especially in the brain area). In this technological century our eyes are glued to the phone screens all the time and vision is not the only thing that suffers unfortunately. It’s also our posture. The shoulders are very often hunched which naturally makes the skin of our face weigh down (hang, if you like) earlier than it’s supposed to be. Posture alignment exercises will be presented throughout the entire course to keep us young, beautiful and radiant.
Pelvic floor muscle exercises included in this course are vital for women’s health. These muscles never get toned during weight lifting, running, swimming, dancing or other fitness activities. However this muscles carry a few very important functions, such as defecation and urination regulation, carrying and delivering babies, holding internal organs, sexual drive, motivation, charisma, stimulation of ovaries (that produce hormones, vital for women’s health) and more. These exercises deserve a few minutes of your time daily.
Back in 2013 I completed a nearly 400h training as a Thai massage therapist at one of the best massage schools in Thailand. These techniques helped me tremendously throughout my dance journey. I do self massage every night before I go to bed to help relax tired leg muscles to improve the blood circulation in my feet and to have a good night sleep.
The course will be concluded with Dr. Toshiki Fukutsudzi’s towel roll stretches which helps the spine to become straight, gets the body in shape and places the internal organs in the most favorable position for them.
Disclaimer: if you have any injuries, serious health conditions or recovering from an operation please consult your doctor before taking the course. Your health is #1 priority.
You were born a woman for a reason. We are naturally very powerful beings. Since the beginning of time women have had the capacity to connect to higher forces and preserve the unity of people and nature. This connection to nature and body awareness can develop through belly dance. We are the bearers of life. The longer we remain connected to our inner feminine source, the brighter our life is, the more beautiful we feel and the longer we live.
I’m excited to share my knowledge with you and my biggest wish is your longevity, beauty, attractiveness and ability to live a joyful and fulfilled life!
Let’s start.