Self care as a dancer

Hey Friends,

It’s Monday, I’m sure you all are enjoying your day hopefully feeling relaxed and pumped for the week! I know I’m ready!

Today I’m writing a topic discussing self care, mainly avoiding those wrong decisions and turning them into right decisions and also being aware of our surroundings.

As a dancer, some may relate “dancer” to an Athlete or something else. For me, its considered an Athlete and I do anything and everything relating to athletes to make sure I’m healthy, strong, happy, and free.

As an athlete/dancer, there are guidelines that we have to follow in order to continue on a good self care streak. Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and of course Google all have self care tips and pointers on whats right and what’s wrong, Truly self care comes from YOU. Everyone has a body made of organs, bones, etc but its not all the same. Someone may say “I’m going to eat healthy today to boost my energy”. And the friend says “Awesome, try a smoothie with spinach and avocado” – Well that may work for your body but it may not work for theirs. We are all different.

My tips for good self care are …

–>> Just about Knowing Your Body. All humans have similarities and differences but most likely its different.

–>> Healthy Eating. You dont have to eat bananas, nuts, berries, and fruit but it is good to eat something that has high protein content, vitamins, and minerals to keep your energy flowing, bones strong, and heart rate steady.

–>> Stretching consistently. Stretching is literally like #1. As a dancer, your body needs to be stretched and warm before a class. Stretching keeps your bones and muscles flexible and strong and helps with getting higher kicks, etc.

–>>Practice consistently. Practice, practice, practice. practice is key, there is never a moment when im not practicing. I’m always learning something new each class so I’m always in the studio early to just practice and warm up. Normally I’ll go over a dance until I’ve got it wrong or I’ll go over things my teacher has mentioned in class for me to work on. Practice really helps me but sometimes it also helps with taking a small break.

–>>Take care of your feet! Our feet are the main priority for dancers. We use our feet for everything and as ballet dancers, just being in ballet shoes for a while is hassle. Soaking your feet in ice is a nice relaxer for the feet and ankle muscles and helps relieve cramps, and soarness. Also a hot bath with epson salt can help soothe muscle achs and soarness.