Ballet Secrets For Aging Gracefully

When it comes to fitness, the great advantage of age is the wisdom to make more satisfying choices.

I’ve encountered many young women who think that unless they feel “murdered”, “dead”, “beat”, “shredded”, or otherwise incapacitated after a workout, they haven’t worked enough. But this shortsighted “no pain, no gain” mentality often results in an over-emphasis on repetitions and lack of attention to proper form that invites everything from stress injuries to chronic aches and pains. What’s more, it sets up a torturous relationship between women and their exercise regimes that all-too-easily ends in discouragement and unmet goals.

Ballet offers sustainable mind-body fitness that delivers exquisite results while also accommodating a wide range of physical abilities. It’s a progressive technique that actually gets more intense as your form gets better. Whether you’re 9 or 99, ballet offers an elegant way to develop strength, awareness, flexibility, coordination, balance, and agility. Learning a beautiful art form also engenders feelings of accomplishment and enjoyment. And because it addresses the key elements of fitness in one beautifully designed technique, doing ballet keeps you looking youthful and feeling vibrant at any age!

Here are ballet secrets for aging gracefully:

• Develop good posture.

All of ballet technique develops beautiful posture. Maintaining a tall, supported spine not only brings an air of elegance to all your movements, but it also prevents many neck, back, and hip issues from developing.

• Build good balance.

Ballet builds good balance, which can help you feel more confident in all of your activities and lessen the risk of falls.

• Foster flexibility.

Each ballet exercise encourages flexibility in every joint of the body, even the toes! Flexible joints are less prone to strain and injury, while maintaining a supple physique helps prevent stiffness.

• Do weight bearing exercise.

Ballet helps develop strong legs and hips which can make you less prone to fractures down the road. As a standing technique, it’s excellent for maintaining bone health in a safe and effective way that protects the knees and back.

• Activate your mental.

Ballet’s sophistication encourages a level of mental engagement that’s good for your brain. Learning complex movements and pairing them with music develops a mind-body connection that elicits focus and gets your gray matter working in tandem with your muscles.

• Work your pelvic floor.

Yep, it’s true! Ballet technique lifts and tones the pelvic floor, which can improve bladder control and your sex life.

Ultimately, aging gracefully is about loving your life. As a “woman of a certain age” I can testify what a relief it is to no longer feel compelled to kill myself when I work out! Over the years I’ve realized the secret to looking and feeling good with each new decade comes from engaging my body in sustainable ways that I also enjoy. And let’s face it, we all have too many goals and responsibilities to be reckless with our bodies or our time!

Ballet is something you do that becomes something you are. It transforms the body through a concept of beauty that is so much more than skin deep. Age is just a number, but ballet instills timeless qualities of grace and elegance that last a lifetime.

HAPPY DANCING!

-Tiekka

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