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Avoiding Injury From Belly Dance

© Shira

Every form of exercise carries some risk of injury. Belly dance is kinder to the body than many other dance forms, but it too has some risk. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid injury as you explore this dance form.

The Single Most Important Rule

If it hurts, don't do it!

Maybe you're doing it wrong, and your teacher can correct your technique. Maybe you're doing the move correctly, but your muscles lack the strength to execute it properly at this time. Or maybe your particular body is simply not able to do this move due to previous injury, surgery, or just plain structure.

In any event, if you feel pain, stop immediately and find out why. No dance move is important enough to risk injury!

Watch Your Posture!

Most people understand that poor posture can look bad, so it's no surprise when a dance teacher corrects rounded shoulders and slumped stances. But there's another reason for using good posture -- in some cases, bad posture can cause injury!

Many women, in particular, are accustomed to standing with their rears protruding in the back. That's because a woman in high heels needs to push her buttocks to the back just to keep her balance.

The problem is that when she's not in high heels, a dancer still adjusts her body into the position she is accustomed to. As a result, when flat-footed she still tries to push her buttocks behind her, which leads to a dangerous arch in the lower back.

If you try to do hip accents and shimmies with your lower back excessively arched and your bottom thrust behind you, you risk damage to your sciatic nerve. A damanged sciatic nerve can lead to a lifetime of lower back pain.

So what is the correct posture for avoiding injury? Here's what you should practice:

• Feet.Stand flat-footed with feet a small distance (about shoulder width) apart.
• Knees.Gently relax the knees, so there is some bounce to them.
• Pelvis Angle. Rotate the pelvis so that the triangle formed by the two points on the front of the pelvis and pubic bone points directly down to the ground. Another way to visualize this: thrust the hips forward, and then keep them there. Feel the extension in the lower back. This is the most important point for preventing lower back injury!
• Chest.Pretend the breastbone (sternum) is attached to a puppet string, and the puppeteer is lifting directly up. This will open up the lower abdomen.

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