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Moving Your Body

A Body in Motion Stays in Motion

By Maxine HupyPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
Top Story - May 2020
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"A body in motion stays in motion."

I love this quote for a variety of reasons. First, I am a professional dancer…so my body is always in motion! Outside of work I stay in motion because I love the way it feels to MOVE. Second, keeping your body in motion is great motivation to stay active and to stay healthy. And finally, motion makes the world go ‘round. Let me break this down for you and offer a few tips to keep your body in motion too!

Adjusting my pointe shoes

As a professional dancer, it is my job to move. There are three ways in which I move: to train, to feel, and to perform.

When I move to train, I take it slow and focus on my form, perfecting the movement of each muscle in my body. This prevents injuries and ensures that when it comes time to perform, I will have developed my muscle memory. Additionally, I am able to listen to my body to understand when it needs to review the form of a step, to slow things down, or to eliminate a move that does not work with my body structure.

The next step is to feel. Feeling movement allows me to connect deeply with my body. I close my eyes and feel how the movement is initiating and where it flows from there. For example, in Swan Lake the “flapping” wing motion looks like it comes from the arm, but when you truly feel the motion, it initiates in the shoulder blade and follows to the elbow, wrist, and fingertips. This deep connection into the body builds upon my muscle memory to prepare me for performance.

When I move to perform, I not only utilize my muscle memory from training and feeling, but I feel the music and I let it take over my body because each performance is different. The audience might be especially excited, or especially quiet. Everything around me goes into a performance. With the deep body and music connection, I am able to project the emotions of the music and the story through my movement and my facial expressions.

On set for Ballet Beach Body

If you can move your body, do not take it for granted. There are so many people who cannot move theirs, so move yours for them. Learn to love the way it feels to move your body because that alone is enough to keep you motivated to stay active and healthy.

I was so motivated by movement that I started my own fitness program called Ballet Beach Body. You can find all 32 FREE videos here (LINK). I developed this program because I was constantly asked “how do I get a ballet body?” or “how do I get a beach body?” And so…Ballet Beach Body was born! Ballet requires the use of a lot of deep and small muscles for control, stability, and strength. My workouts target the ballet muscles with your own body weight and do not use any equipment. Each workout is designed for anyone on the go, with limited time, and with limited space. However, you will sweat and FEEL your body moving in each one of these workouts. Ballet Beach Body will lengthen and strengthen your body.

Fan favorites:

1. PostureLINK HERE – Posture is so important for the body, especially while we are all working from home. We tend to forget to engage our posture muscles (especially while we work on the computer or watch TV from the couch) which can cause long term back, neck, and shoulder pain. My students will tell you the first step to keeping your posture is wearing my infamous DIAMOND NECKLACE! From there I will lead you to perfect posture, check out the link above for the full workout.

2. AbsLINK HERE – Abs are one of the most popular target areas for men and women. When the abs are not properly held and engaged, lower back pain develops. I have a series of ab workouts that target all of the abdominal muscles. Working on the lower abs are the best for lower back pain. Strong abs will help you with all movements in your everyday life and your workouts. Check out the link above for one of my favorite ab workouts!

3. BootyLINK HERE – I am well known for my Booty Blast…for the burn, the results, and how easy it looks initially! This is another important muscle group to target especially as we site for prolonged periods during the day. The glutes help alleviate hip and knee pain as well as back pain...they hold it all together! Check out the link above for the ultimate booty blast!

4. ArmsLINK HERE – Ballet arms are effortless and graceful, but when you try my Swan Lake arms not only will you develop lean arms but an appreciation for the difficulty of ballet! Try the workout in the link above and make sure you keep your diamond necklace on, abs engaged, and booty strong.

By Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

Finally, motion makes the world go ‘round. We move to get work done, to visit with a friend, to hug a family member, to cook a meal, and to smell the flowers. Think about this the next time you don’t have time to move your body. We can find movement everywhere…it pushes us forward and it keeps us connected.

No matter how you decide to move today, remember to always LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! Sometimes a body in motion is a body in a chair during meditation, and other times it is swimming in the ocean, and yet another time it is tuning into my Ballet Beach Body workouts on YouTube (link).

Can’t wait to stay in motion with all of you. <3 You can find me on Instagram as well at this link here!

athletics
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