How to be more flexible

by Mia
(no location given)

How do I become more flexible?

FIRST ANSWER:

Dear Mia,

Flexibility can be gained, but it requires patience and a long and disciplined process of work.

I suppose you are a dancer, so I recommend you to make from half an hour to one hour of stretching exercises every day when you wake up, after your breakfast. This means that you need to organize your life so that you have that time available.

Also, you should relax and stretch again before any class or rehearsal, if your body is cold. The time for this depends on the class or rehearsal that follows, as much as on your physiological needs. Therefore you should observe your body and its reactions to movement so that you learn to recognize what you need.

Once you’ve finished rehearsal or class and are very warm, you should stretch again. Do this after performances too, even if you are willing to go out and talk to the audience immediately.

You may do some stretching before going to bed too…

Summary:…to be more flexible you need to do a lot of stretching… a looooooooooot… . But again, each dancer has specific physiological needs, so always pay attention to the messages coming from your body. Too much pain is not a good sign.

Also, remember that dance is not only about acrobatics. I tell you this because that’s what you need the flexibility for. Dance is also about expression, musicality, sensing, thinking, communicating, relating to a context and other issues. If you are not very flexible, you can always dance, maximizing any of the other components of dance as an aesthetical strategy.


We have a page about basic yoga that may be helpful for your stretching routines. Find it here:

Basic Yoga

Warm regards,

Maria ;)