What’s up dancers and welcome back to From the Top Dance Blog! I hope you all have had an amazing week and I’m so glad you are here with me for another blog post! Today we are ending off our Beginner Series with a low impact stretch routine to help build your flexibility and get your body conditioned for your first class. This routine is super low key and each stretch aids in the quest to making your flexibility better and better. Before doing any of these stretches, make sure you do a light warm up, such as running in place or jumping jacks, to make sure your muscles are nice and warm. We don’t want any pesky injuries! So, without further ado, let’s just skip the long intro and jump right into it!
Stretch #1
THE TENT
Start with your legs at hip width apart. From there, slowly roll your body down until your hand touch the floor or close to! Hold that stretch for 8 counts. From there, stretch toward the right leg and hold for 8 counts and then to the left for 8 counts. Return back to the center and slowly roll yourself back up.
Stretch #2
THE RUNNER’S LUNGE
Start on your knees and from there, bring your right knee in front of you and slightly push your hips forward, while your back leg rests on the ground behind you. Hold this stretch for 8 counts. From there, push your hips back to sit on your back leg and extend your front leg in front of you until it’s straight. Bring your nose to your front leg as much as you can and hold this stretch for 8 counts. Repeat this whole sequence once more before moving on to the other side.
Stretch #3
THE BUTTERFLY
Oh, what a classic! Start by sitting on your bottom, bring the soles of your feet together and hold this stretch for 16 counts. From there, with your feet still together, bring them out in front of you more and hold for another 16 counts.
Stretch #4
TOE TOUCH
While you are still on your tushy, bring both of your legs out in front of you with your feet pointed and bring your arms up long above your head. From there, with a tall, straight torso, lean over and reach towards your toes as far as you can. Hold this stretch for 8 counts. From there, bring yourself back up with your arms raised above your head once more, flex your feet and stretch forward once again. Hold this for another 8 counts. BONUS TIP: Feel free to bend your knees while doing this stretch. It can actually give you an even better stretch than having your legs straight.
Stretch #5
SADDLE STRETCH
Start on the floor with your legs apart as far as you can, comfortably. From there, stretch toward your right foot and hold 8 counts. Repeat on the left side
Stretch #6
COBRA
Start by laying flat on your stomach with your palms pressed on the floor, resting beside your armpits. From there, push yourself up and release your head back. Feel free to hold this stretch for about 8 counts. This stretch is super relaxing!
Stretch #7
THE JAZZ SPLIT
Our final stretch is the jazz split! “Ummm, split? I thought this was going to be a beginner routine?” Don’t worry, don’t worry. This moved is labeled a “split” because it is a perfect way to prepare your hamstrings and hip flexors to learn how to do a full split in the future! Start by putting your right leg straight in front you with your left leg bent behind you. From there, sitting up straight, lean your body forward and stretch toward the right leg. Hold this stretch for 8 counts and repeat on the other side.
Do this routine either every day or ever other day throughout the week and I can guarantee that you will be able to see more and more progress as you go! I hope you all found this post and Beginner Series helpful in your dance journey and I will check in with you guys next week for another blog post! Happy stretching, dancers and remember….
Keep Dancing!
-Lexi
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