Comments on: Tension: Use IT or Loose IT ! http://daxhock.com/dance-theory/tension-use-it-or-loose-it/ The Rhythm Chef - Rhythmical Recipes for Ravenous Dancers! Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:44:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: bartsnewenergy http://daxhock.com/dance-theory/tension-use-it-or-loose-it/comment-page-1/#comment-37 bartsnewenergy Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:44:02 +0000 http://daxhock.com/?p=92#comment-37 Great article, this is what sepparates the talented from the not so talented. And this not only applies to Lindy Hop. I see the same thing at my other passion Soccer. And look at how some people walk with grace and others look all tightened up. Often people just use an extroadanary amount of energy just to be normal. As it's an issue I know sometimes struggling with as well I learned a few simple excercises that I'd like to share. First excercise: total body awareness To be aware of tension and releasing the most easy excercise is just tensing and releasing your body part by part. Start with tensing your feet. Hold on for 10 seconds and let go. Continue with your lower legs. Tense and hold on for 10 seconds and let go. This way go along your entire body: upper legs, hips, stomach, upper body, arms, shoulders, neck and head. Which part of your body was easy to stretch and release? Which part was more difficult? That's probably the part you also have issues with at Lindy Hopping. Second Excercise: getting control over tension The second excercise is to also get control over the tension issue for a certain part of your body. Often there's a certain part that's tense most of the time. A good muscle massage of course is a nice releave, but there's also an excercise that gives you more control of letting go and tensing. You can do this excercise any time when you have some spare time left. And you don't need anything! The excercise consists of a three parts: normal rhythm, slow rhythm and fast rhythm. Choose the body part you want to train. Start by tensing this part and at the same time breath in. Breath out and release. Breath in and contract again. Breath out and let go. Repeat this for 20 times. This is the normal rhythm. Continue by tensing the same part of the body. But now hold it when you breath out. Breath in again. Now release slowly and controlled on the second time you breath out. Repeat this for another 20 times. This is the slow rythm. In the third part of this excercise you go for the fast rhythm. You quickly tense and release the muscle. This should not match your breathing and is about 3 or 4 times quicker than your breathing pattern. Repeat this during twenty breaths. For more knowledge and training of this issue there are some specific methods like yoga, pilates, bio-energetics or feldenkreuz. The way doesn't really matter as long as you become aware. Listen to your body and ask for feedback from your dance-teacher, dance-partner etc. Great article, this is what sepparates the talented from the not so talented. And this not only applies to Lindy Hop. I see the same thing at my other passion Soccer. And look at how some people walk with grace and others look all tightened up. Often people just use an extroadanary amount of energy just to be normal.

As it’s an issue I know sometimes struggling with as well I learned a few simple excercises that I’d like to share.

First excercise: total body awareness

To be aware of tension and releasing the most easy excercise is just tensing and releasing your body part by part. Start with tensing your feet. Hold on for 10 seconds and let go. Continue with your lower legs. Tense and hold on for 10 seconds and let go. This way go along your entire body: upper legs, hips, stomach, upper body, arms, shoulders, neck and head. Which part of your body was easy to stretch and release? Which part was more difficult? That’s probably the part you also have issues with at Lindy Hopping.

Second Excercise: getting control over tension

The second excercise is to also get control over the tension issue for a certain part of your body. Often there’s a certain part that’s tense most of the time. A good muscle massage of course is a nice releave, but there’s also an excercise that gives you more control of letting go and tensing. You can do this excercise any time when you have some spare time left. And you don’t need anything! The excercise consists of a three parts: normal rhythm, slow rhythm and fast rhythm.

Choose the body part you want to train. Start by tensing this part and at the same time breath in. Breath out and release. Breath in and contract again. Breath out and let go. Repeat this for 20 times. This is the normal rhythm.

Continue by tensing the same part of the body. But now hold it when you breath out. Breath in again. Now release slowly and controlled on the second time you breath out. Repeat this for another 20 times. This is the slow rythm.

In the third part of this excercise you go for the fast rhythm. You quickly tense and release the muscle. This should not match your breathing and is about 3 or 4 times quicker than your breathing pattern. Repeat this during twenty breaths.

For more knowledge and training of this issue there are some specific methods like yoga, pilates, bio-energetics or feldenkreuz. The way doesn’t really matter as long as you become aware. Listen to your body and ask for feedback from your dance-teacher, dance-partner etc.

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