Category Archives: Holding on to Tension

Finding Your Balance and Letting Go

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Be happy--dance, Believe you can dance, Better body control, Breathing to release tension, Encouragement, Holding on to Tension, how to balance in ballet, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration for ballet, Keep Dancing, life balance, Uncategorized, Unnecessary Tension

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Catching my balance for a moment has the easy satisfaction of catching a ball. It’s a suspension, a momentary win, an opportunity taken. It stems from a lengthened, fluid, effortful lift. It takes a quiet internal strength, but without tension or gripping. It also takes trust, letting go of control, and letting go of the barre! When my balance is on, it feels weightless, like a rising breath of air, and when it is off, it feels wobbly, uncertain, and totally frustrating.

I fight to maintain balance in the studio as well as in my busy New York life. Recently, I came home to Hawaii to visit a friend and help her welcome her new baby into the world. Letting go here is less about releasing my hand from the crutch of the barre, and more about melting into the landscape, life with a baby, and her milk-drunk cuddles. Yet in ballet class, I found my balance here in Hawaii was better than it has been. Maybe it was my friend Annie’s class, or maybe it helped to let go a little.

1. Set yourself up to succeed. While you are holding on to the barre, line everything up. Put your feet in sous-sus, in fifth position, in relevé, and start from the bottom up:
relax and lengthen your toes along the floor;

  • lift your heels in relevé as high as they will go;
  • make sure your legs are straight and long;
  • turn your legs out from deep in your hips, with your heels yearning forward,
  • pull your legs together like a baby snuggling, with no spaces between, or like a ziplock bag, zipping up all the way together with no holes;
  • relax your tailbone towards the floor, as you lift your lower belly up;
  • press your belly button to your spine as if wearing your skinny jeans;
  • calm your frontal ribcage, knit it together towards your hip bones and make space in your back ribs;
  • relax your shoulders down away from your ears and widen your collar bones;
  • lengthen your head toward the ceiling;
  • reach your arms up into fifth position – notice I didn’t say “place” – your arms also have a dynamic lifted energy. In a balance everything reaches up and out!

2. Before you let go of the barre lift more out of your hips by pushing down, reaching up and thinking happy thoughts of seeing friends, eating delicious pineapple or ahi poke, and Hawaiian trade winds. A balance is not total stillness, it has energy. Happy thoughts!

3. About wobbling – sometimes in letting go of the barre, there is some wobbling. A little wobbling is okay, focus on lifting and breathing. If I am wobbling badly, either I’m not fully lined up properly, not lifting in my core, or I’m hardening and gripping somewhere. I breathe and try again. Sometimes wobbling can be because of lack of sleep lack or food, or emotional distress. I refocus on pushing down, lifting up, and try again.

4. Breathing is not holding your breath-don’t forget to exhale too!

5. Your mind can play tricks on you with respect to other dancers in the room. Don’t be fooled. You are just as glorious and wonderful and have all the capacity they have. Yes, you can balance. Fight for it! Yes it is possible. Believing anything else is a cop out. Let others challenge and motivate you, and make you work harder, that is what dance friends are for! But your ultimate competition is you, your body and perhaps more importantly, your mind. Don’t give up on yourself, and don’t let yourself off the hook either. Go for it!

Now that I’m back in New York, mornings are no longer about burping the baby and her falling asleep on me to the music of mourning doves, a rustling brook, and the neighbors chickens. Letting go is about saying goodby to dear friends even as new exciting projects lure me back to the big city. But then again, it’s all about balance.

~Sarah

One of my projects is a fundraiser to raise money for Liberated Movement, the studio where I teach. You should come! It is going to be held on April 22, 5-8pm at Blender, located at 27 West 31st street at Madison Ave. Get your tickets here! 

Coming to New York? Come to my class! Tuesdays 7-8pm and Saturdays 12-1:30! 380 Broadway two blocks south of Canal street, buzzer #5. Only $10, yo!

Let’s Talk About Balls

06 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in Back pain relief, Ball massage, Ballet Class, Breathing to release tension, Dance, Hip pain relief, Holding on to Tension, How to improve at ballet, How to Massage with balls, How to roll on balls, Keep Dancing, Letting Go of Tension, Moving with Ease, Plantar Fasciitis, Relaxation, Releasing tension, Releasing tight muscles, Rolling on balls to release tension, Sciatica relief, Shoulder pain relief, Uncategorized

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These are my balls

I want to talk about balls. Not the kind you can get away with grabbing when you’re a celebrity. Not the kind of balls it takes to call your political opponent ‘nasty’ or the kind you want to hurl at your television on occasion – or three occasions, or lately every time it’s on. I’m talking about the antidote to all the stress of life, dancing, and this political season – massage balls! (Only 3 more days, world, we can do this!)

Seriously though, self-massage using massage balls is great at releasing tight areas. Balls are inexpensive, portable, and easy to work with. You probably already know that massage increases circulation, and brings blood and oxygen to muscles allowing them to relax. What you may not know is that releasing muscles and ligaments that are gripping can also help them perform better, allow the correct muscles to engage, and enable your body to function better! While getting a massage is a wonderful treat, using balls whenever and wherever you need is easy on your wallet and your schedule.

Where to get Balls:

You can use tennis balls, though I prefer a slightly harder ball like the Pinky Hi Bounce balls pictured above that I got in the toy aisle at my local drug store. (In Harlem the balls even come in iridescent shades!) Google says you can buy them on eBay for $4.78. They are three inches in diameter, slightly smaller and firmer than tennis balls. Some people prefer the harder lacrosse balls which are the same size but I find those balls are a bit too hard for me.
A word of caution: if you are experiencing serious pain that is not going away, please go to a doctor! Also, for my type A friends, go easy with the balls, and don’t roll over bones, or any sensitive areas. Don’t confuse sensation or tenderness with out and out pain, and stop if you feel any weird (bad) zinging sensations indicating you may be irritating a nerve. Be gentle with yourself, always. 
Here are five ways you can use balls for massage:

  1. Back Massage: (For those of us with long hair, tie your hair up before doing this one so you don’t get your hair caught under your balls). Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Press your feet down and lift your hips high and put the balls together in the middle of your back so the balls are on either side of (not ON) your spine. If your balls want to roll away from each other you can put them in a little ball sack. Heh. But, yes, I’m being serious. Press your feet into floor to roll yourself down (and the balls roll up) until the balls are near where your shoulder blades are. This area carries a lot of tension and may feel tender at first. Breathe into the sensation and allow yourself to relax and sink into the balls. If you want more pressure, press your feet into the floor and lift your hips. If you need less pressure, you can do this same thing with the balls against a wall instead of the floor, bringing your feet close to the wall for the least amount of pressure. Once the initial area of tension has dissipated, roll the balls slowly up towards your neck or down your back, stopping to breath and relax into each new area of tenderness. 
  2. Hips: Stay on your back but open one knee to the side so you’re halfway rolling to your side. Put one ball under the fleshy area of your butt. You may find some tender areas in there to release especially as you roll towards the side. Prop yourself up on your elbow for more pressure. You are releasing your gluteal muscles and as you get more on your side, your piriformis, a muscles that runs between your outer hip bone and your frontal hip point. This muscle gets sore with a lot of walking or when you do a lot of frappes – your standing leg, that is. When you find a good spot, you can get deeper into the muscle by slowly straightening and bending the leg you tilted to the side, or moving the leg in any way that feels good. Recently I was having some pain in the front of my hip and when I used the balls to release this area in the back of my hip that was gripping, the pain in the front of the hip lessened remarkably. Don’t forget to breathe as you are doing this. When you finish rolling out one side, switch to the other hip.
  3. Hamstring massage: Sit on the floor with your legs bent. Straighten your legs out in front of you as you place one ball under each thigh. Press down into the ball and turn your leg in and out from the hip to roll across the muscles of the hamstring as opposed to up and down. Move the  ball up or down your leg to the next area and then go back and forth across the muscle fibers.
  4. Shoulder blade: Lie on your back and and put the ball under your shoulder blade. Move your arm straight up and shug your shoulder up and down to get into the muscles there. Gently open your arm to the side to ‘cactus position’ and you may feel a stretch across the front of your shoulder.
  5. Foot Massage: Step on your balls to massage the arches of your feet. Place one ball under your foot in the arch near your heel. Add some pressure and then release and move to a different spot and repeat. This maybe particularly beneficial if you have plantar fasciitis. You may find it helpful to roll gently adding pressure as you can tolerate it. Or roll the ball lightly underfoot with less pressure. 

I hope this helps ease the tensions in your body if not in the political scene. Those tensions can only be solved one way. Vote. See you on the other side, and see you at the barre. 

~ Sarah

Asking How to Get Better at Ballet (or anything) vs. Asking Why 

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Ballet teacher, Be happy--dance, Correction from ballet teacher, Correction in ballet class, Dance, Encouragement, Going to ballet class, Holding on to Tension, How do I concentrate in ballet?, How to get better, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration, Keep Dancing, Letting Go of Tension, Motivation, Motivation for Ballet, Motivation to go to ballet, Releasing tension, Showing up for class, Uncategorized

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Comic genius Lucille Ball at the barre

When I’m not doing well at something in life or dance, I inevitably ask myself ‘why’. Why am I not getting this?, Why does everyone seem to get this but me? Or in ballet: Why can’t I get my leg higher?, Why do I always fall out of my pirouettes?, What is wrong with me? It feels so frustrating and self-defeating. 

In a gym class the other day at Mark Fisher Fitness, Michael Littig, Fitness expert, encouraged us to instead ask ourselves ‘how’. We went around the room, each saying how we wanted to feel – accomplished, motivated, energized, successful, strong. Each of our desired outcomes could be ours, he said, if we asked ourselves how do I get there instead of why can’t I get there. Asking “why” keeps you stuck, spinning your wheels and not moving forward, while asking “how” allows you to see the possibilities, encourages you to problem solve, and allows your mind (and body) to start changing. I told a friend about ‘how vs. why’, and we applied the concept to an idea she had, and pretty soon we had talked out an exciting plan to make her idea a reality! 

With this concept in mind, I decided to apply it to ballet. How can I get better at ballet? Let’s make it more manageable. How can I get 1% better at ballet? (We’re not talking ABT, just 1% better!)*

1. First it might help if I show up regularly to ballet class. I can work on that by looking ahead at my calendar, and blocking off the time. I can help myself stay on course by letting friends know I have a previous engagement at that time but I’d be available afterwards or on another night. I don’t have to tell them what the commitment is! Don’t feel bad for your friend, like that person is less important than ballet. No, you are doing this for you, and aren’t you just as important as your friend? Yes you are! 

This also applies to work. If you had tickets to a show for which you already paid money, and your boss asked you to stay late, you’d say, “I won’t be able to stay late tonight, I have plans.” Why should ballet be any less important than Hamilton tickets? 🙂  You don’t have to explain your personal commitments. 

2. Next I make sure I have something clean to wear and I pack my bag the night before so in the morning rush I don’t forget my shoes or pants or something. 

3. During class, I stay present, and focused, continually bringing my mind back into the room and not worrying about work or something outside  of class. 

4. I listen to all of the corrections given in class, and apply them to myself even if they aren’t specifically given to me. Any correction in ballet class can potentially help, so I pay attention.

5. I scan my body during class. Is my head held high, extending the back of my neck? Is my chin parallel to the floor? Are my shoulders down and back and is my back wide? Are my elbows lefted and my fingers reaching out as if they had LED lights radiating from my fingertips? Is my tailbone lengthening toward the floor as my belly lifts in and up? Can I maintain this tall, wide, expanded posture with grace and without tension? Are my legs extending out and away from my body, are my feet reaching long with all the toes reaching and stretching long when I point my feet instead of scrunching up my toes? 

6. I watch the other dancers in class. Everyone has their gifts and abilities, no matter what their level and watching the other dancers can allow me to learn more than if I only focus on myself. There is also some research that suggests watching others dance creates a kinesthetic response. It’s as if neurologically you are doing the movement when you watch others do a movement, particularly one with which you are familiar. Pretty cool!

7. Finally, after ballet class is over and while you’re still warm, commit to doing 5 minutes of simple stretching to take care of your  body before changing your clothes. 

8. What about homework?  Dancers ask me this all the time. The thing is, you can’t cram for ballet class. If you overstretch, you risk injury. Ballet is something at which you will improve slowly over time. When you are first learning, it’s better not to practice at home anyway because you don’t want to practice it wrong. The good news is that means you don’t need to do anything extra! You went to class, so give yourself a hug. No guilt for today! 

Keep asking yourself ‘how’. I’m going to see what other areas of my life I can improve using ‘how’. Until then, I’ll see you at the barre. 
~Sarah
Looking for a ballet class? Come join mine! Tuesdays 7-8, and Saturdays 12-1:30. 380 Broadway, Buzzer #5, two blocks south of Canal street. Classes are only $10.

*Getting 1% better at anything is also a Mark Fisher Fitness ism. 

Finding Grace: the Art of Port de Bras

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Arabesque arms, Ballet, Ballet Class, Breathing to release tension, Dance, Encouragement, Fifth position arms, First position arms, Grace, High Fifth, Holding on to Tension, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration, Letting Go of Tension, Motivation for Ballet, Moving with Ease, Port de Bras, Relaxation, Sarah Kaufman, Second Position Arms, The Art Of Grace, Uncategorized, Unnecessary Tension

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Grace: the mysterious element that makes a dancer irrisistible to watch. It is her elegant, controlled smoothness, a simplicity of line that catches the viewer’s eye. It is perhaps more important than high extensions and multiple turns. When a dancer has fluidity and ease, we are mesmerized by her astounding effortlessness, her harmony of freedom and control. We are pulled into the magic of her movement, by the warmth of her polished poise.

I recently read The Art of Grace, by Sarah Kaufman, dance critic for the Washington Post for the last 30 years. A dancer herself, she is an expert on the topic of grace and in true journalistic style, she explores its every iteration. Her book (that sometimes reads like a poem) deliciously discusses grace in a range of contexts from dance to acting, stage to screen, tennis court to Supreme Court. I was inspired by the vast variety of her interviewees and the many ways she related grace in movement to grace in life. Like her, I also learn life lessons from ballet. In her introduction she offers an open invitation “But Grace is within reach of us all….hopeful news for the klutzes among us. Grace is wonderfully democratic. The potential is there for everyone. With practice, grace is a skill we can all develop.”

Last week I wrote about positions of the arms. Now I want to explore one step further. Dance, after all, is not a series of static poses, it is the movement that joins positions, the grace that flows in between. How then do we harness that grace to improve our dancing?  

  1. Awareness.  The first step in bringing grace to your arms is awareness. Start by paying attention to your arms. Watch them in the mirror during class. Is your hand above the line of your shoulders? Where are they in space as you read this? Is there tension in your shoulders? Can you allow your breath to soften and melt any tension there?
  2. Long neck. Along with allowing breath to soften your shoulders, keep your neck long, and ears away from shoulders as you balance as much as when you move. Imagine you could slide your shoulder blades down your back. Think of the grace of a swan’s long soft neck.  
  3. Posture. Reach the crown of your head to the ceiling lengthening your spine as your feet push into the floor. Head is over your relaxed shoulders which are over your hips, which are lengthening towards your feet. Expand yourself. Take up space. Keeping that up-and-down expansive energy in your body, let go of any overt effort.
  4. Arms. Your arms are just an extension of your elongated posture, though always slightly rounded into a gentle oval curve, and elbows usually slightly bent, just enough to create a smooth line. Elbows lift away from the floor, and away from each other.
  5. Wrists and Fingers. Continue the line of your upper arms with your lower arms. Keep your wrists supple without being droopy, and your fingers energized without being stiff like the supple branches of a willow tree. One thing that can help droopy-wrist syndrome is energy in your fingers. Imagine you have tiny laser beams coming out your fingertips. You could also imagine that your fingertips are gently brushing something incredibly soft, like feathers or a bunny.
  6. Breath. There should be breath in moving your arms from one position to another. When moving arms from fifth to second, arms open and palms gradually turn to face forward. When moving your arms from second down to preparation, your arms should “breathe” and lift slightly, and fingers float up as if encountering a slight resistance, a wind, or as if moving through a thick substance. 

Simplicity is key. Graceful arms are challenging because they are so specific and so simple. We almost want to make dance harder than it is by adding arm embellishments or wrist movements or drooping hands that only detract from the line, and break the flow. Keep it smooth, easy, fluid, relaxed, unhurried, gentle and simple.

The artistry involved in port de bras takes awareness and practice, but your dancing will improve as you find and develop this grace. Look for grace. Read about it in Sarah Kaufman’s book, watch dance as often as you can, discover grace in unlikely places – in the falling snow, or the warmth of a stranger’s smile. The invitation to finding grace is open to us all.

What’s Your Holding Pattern?

27 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by in Ballet Class, Breathing to release tension, Holding on to Tension, How to improve at ballet, Letting Go of Tension, Moving with Ease, Relaxation, Uncategorized, Unnecessary Tension

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I recently flew from New York to San Francisco to see my mother. As the plane was coming into San Francisco, the pilot came on the air to say we were going into a holding pattern. I had just been rubbing my neck, stiff from the long flight. A “Holding Pattern!”, I thought, “That’s what I have going on in my neck!” Since getting back I have been been noticing where else I hold my tension – in my jaw, between my shoulder blades, my upper back, in my feet, and in my hips. Excess tension doesn’t make dancing easier. It makes a dancer stiff and robotic – better to be like grass that is willowy and can move and sway than to have the stiffness of an oak tree that can break. Holding your body in a certain way for a long period of time can cause repetitive patterns of stiffness when dancing, and can cause pain or even injury.

Where do you have a pattern of holding on to tension you don’t need?

1. Pay attention to how you stand. Do you press your hips forward with your weight shoved forward into the fronts of your hips? When you dance do you find your hip flexors are painful and gripping? Or do you stand with a sway back letting your belly out and then notice pain in your lower back? Without judging it, just notice your posture and then become aware of how you can modify your stance – weight even between your feet, pelvis neutral – neither tucked under or arched, shoulders wide and relaxed.

2. How do you walk? Are you gripping with your feet? See what happens if you imagine your feet are wearing big clown shoes. You may find you engage your core more. See what you can let go of just by noticing.

3. On which side do you carry your purse or bag? Be sure to alternate the shoulder that does the heavy lifting. That extra weight on your arm affects your hips and pelvis as well as your shoulders neck and back. Of course your shoulder and other muscles must work when carrying the bag, but when you put your bag down, do some gentle shoulder movements to release the tension there.

4. Notice how you sit, particularly if you work at a desk job. Try this: sit up so you can feel your sit bones in the chair (might be easier to feel in a hard chair), relax your shoulders and ease your rib cage down–they are just riding along on top. Keeping your chin parallel to the ground and your collar bones wide, use your low-low abdominals to start lengthening your spine on the inside from your tailbone up through the top of your head. While you’re doing this, see if you can take ten deep breaths – expanding your ribs on all sides – front, sides and into your back. I try to do this at work though I’m usually interrupted, but the next time it quiets down I find my sit bones, lengthen my spine and breathe.

5. What about your ribcage? A lot of times the front ribs flare out in our efforts to sit or stand up straight. Try relaxing them. What do you notice? Maybe your upper back can lengthen, and you can expand your back ribs as you breathe.

6. I’ve also noticed how much I bite my lips when I’m thinking. I’m trying to become more aware of that so I can release the tension in my jaw. What is your face doing? Do you bite your lip when you do developés in ballet class or when the subway doesn’t come, or things get stressful at work? Don’t judge yourself, just notice your jaw, your tongue, and all the little muscles around your eyes. See if you can release that tension.

Of course getting a massage or rolling on a foam roller or rolling on balls can help release tension. But if you go right back to grinding your teeth or gripping your hips when you walk, it’s only a temporary solution. We all have holding patterns in our bodies. By being aware and noticing these patterns, and breathing into tight areas, we can release unnecessary tension, and leave the holding patterns to the airplanes.

~Sarah

Join me for ballet class on Saturdays 12-1:30 and Tuesdays 7-8pm at 380 Broadway, buzzer #5. Two blocks south of Canal Street at the corner of White street and Broadway. Classes are only a $10 donation.