Active Relaxation
☙ Make time for necessary release practices. ❧
The physical and artistic demands of being a dancer can be overwhelming. Massive expectations from outside, and inside sources, can push you into the unhealthy regions of self-harm.
Dancers tend to over-work, which unchecked, can become detrimental to body and soul, and set training goals back, rather than advance them forward.
Although we admire dancers for their work ethic and laser-like determination, over-working puts so much pressure on the anatomy and things can start acting in opposition to the desired effect.
If your body never gets a chance to release all the work it has undergone, it starts to hold onto that state of effort as the norm, or *baseline.
*The baseline is the optimal resting condition before the body prepares itself for dynamic action.
Letting Go Makes Space For More
Imagine squeezing a sponge until it’s a tight, little ball. You’ve pushed out all the water until it’s completely empty, and therefore, it should be able to soak up more water, right?
Not if you don’t let go first. If the sponge stays balled up tight, and you don’t let it relax, it loses all capacity for gaining anything else.
Now, for example, think of that sponge as your external rotators. See yourself working so hard to open your hips and hold onto that rotation when you’re standing in first position. This type of holding is often referred to as ‘gripping’. You may look like you’re in the best first position you’ve ever accomplished, but now you’re locked in. How is your body expected to move, or create any other position, when you’re gripping so tightly?
If you don’t allow those muscles to relax and stretch, you’ll only ever be able to find that amount of rotation in that gripped state, which is essentially a particular shape. That is not helpful to your goals of external rotation while dancing, ie. movement. Your body will not be able to find what it needs for a dégagé to second, or a pirouette in retiré, because it can’t use the same grip for those movements.
Additionally, over-working can present as chronic tension in seemingly unrelated areas of the body, muscle imbalance, locked or dislocated joints, headaches, or tummy troubles.
Similarly, over-stretching can cause the same sort of adverse result.
☙ Respect your body, it’s the only one you get. ❧
Over-Stretching
❥ Range Of Motion (ROM) is the extent of movement of a joint, measured in degrees of a circle.
❥ Flexibility is the absolute ROM in a joint or a series of joints.
Dancers are always seeking to improve their Range Of Motion because with great range comes beautiful extensions, dynamic kicks, fluid transitions from one position to the next, and an overall awesome appearance; dancers with a broad range of motion often look like they are larger than life on stage, and capable of anything.
In actively pursuing a greater ROM, there are several factors to consider:
The type of joint: some joints are simply not meant to have much ROM.
The ability of a muscle to contract and relax.
The elasticity of the muscle tissue, ligaments and tendons involved.
History of injury to the joint and supporting system of muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
Ability, both natural and practiced.
*Commitment to increasing ROM.
*A commitment to increasing ROM involves equal strength and flexibility training.
While working to increase ROM, you may want to focus primarily on your flexibility. After all, flexible hamstrings are crucial for any extension devant and a la second, penchés, splits, pike position, forward folds, and the list goes on.
However, flexibility is only part of the equation of a powerful Range Of Motion. Strengthening the whole system for movement and support is also key.
Consider flexibility to be the potential and freedom, and strength to be the activation and control. You need both.
If your focus is weighted more heavily on your flexibility, you are at risk of over-stretching, that is, stretching your muscles significantly beyond their normal range of motion. This can cause injury.
You may be over-stretching if:
You are not strengthening the muscle group you are stretching each time
You feel a sharp pain when holding a stretch
You are sore the next day
You are pushing yourself too far, ie. through fatigue, pain, or known injury
Over-stretching can cause pain, joint trauma, and set your commitment to increasing ROM backward.
Effectively finding and utilizing your technique is a balance between holding on and letting go. It means knowing which muscles to activate, and which to relax. It isn’t about flexibility. It is about actively letting go of over-worked muscle tension to create space in your body for the greatest range of movement possibilities.
Very rarely do we get to practice letting go, but it is crucial for our physical and emotional needs as dancers, and now is your chance to focus.
↓Try this Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique and see how it makes you feel! ↓
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique (PMR)
In 1938, a doctor named Edmund Jacobson discovered that a muscle could become deeply relaxed by tensing it first for a few seconds before releasing it. He found this process of tension then release of certain muscle groups relieved many conditions, from high blood pressure to ulcers to anxiety.
The benefits of relaxation come from the ‘relaxation response’, which is the opposite response to ‘fight-or-flight’. Rather than surging with adrenaline and other response hormones as it does when stressed, during the relaxation response, the body finds its way back to its best state for healing and regeneration. (This is one of the reasons why sleep is so essential.)
When Dr. Jacobson first published his book Progressive Relaxation, he included a series of 200 different exercises that took practitioners months to complete! Since then, his work has been abbreviated, but the effectiveness has remained the same.
General Guidelines for PMR
The PMR technique takes about 20 minutes. Practice once a day for best results.
Find a quiet place without distraction. Make sure your phone is silenced, and let your family or roommates know you would like not to be disturbed.
Try incorporating PMR into your daily routine; maybe first thing in the morning, or just before you go to bed.
Similar to swimming, wait 30 minutes after eating before practicing.
Make sure you are comfortable. Use blankets and pillows to help you feel supported. If lying down, try putting a pillow underneath your knees.
Wear comfy clothes. You can use an eye mask, or simply close your eyes. Use aromatherapy oils, incense, or candles, as long as there is no risk of accidental fire or damage.
Make the decision not to worry about anything. Permit yourself to put aside any concerns you may have about school, dance, work, family, friends - allow your peace of mind to take priority for the next 20 minutes.
Don’t feel the need to force anything to happen, or judge yourself on your technique. This activity is not a performance. ☺️
A few more notes
When you tense your muscles, try not to strain too hard. Think of it as a squeeze rather than a grip. You will need to squeeze for 8 seconds.
Try not to hold your breath.
Concentrate on what is happening. Try to visualize the muscle group you are tensing.
When you release, do it quickly, like you are ‘dropping’ the muscles, and then sink into the relaxation. Allow the relaxation to last for 20 seconds before moving onto the next group of muscles.
The programme suggests tensing and relaxing each muscle group once, but if particular areas feel especially tight, you can work with them up to two more times. Wait 20 seconds after each cycle.
A script for PMR is detailed here. You may want to read through and become familiar with the sequence before you start.
It is best not to have to read while going through your practice. If you feel comfortable with a friend or family member reading for you, that’s great! (You can also be the reader for them if you’d like to share).
Or, use the button below ↓
Happy Active Relaxing!
Let me know how this technique made you feel! Share in the comments!