Bellydance for Core Fitness [DVD] [NTSC]

Bellydance is an amazing art and one of the world's oldest fitness disciplines. Bellydance emphasizes movements of the abdomen and pelvis, and is an ideal way to develop deep abdominal core strength. Passed down from mother to daughter, this ancient celebratory dance became the traditional method for imparting body awareness, techniques of posture and movement, both natural and beneficial to the female body, as well as preparation for and recovery from childbirth. In our age of sedentary lifestyles and stress-induced back pain, the bellydance fitness program developed by New York dancer and dance movement researcher, Ayshe, will help you regain and maintain abdominal core awareness and strength: An important step toward healthy and graceful posture, back pain relief, and safer ways to move your body. Bellydance Core Fitness Workout flows from a warmup and isolations that engage your core muscles, to dance combinations and a beautiful dance routine. Every movement in the workout has a name that can be referenced in the tutorial section, where each is carefully explained. The tutorial section contains a 1 hour 40 min. in-depth presentation by Ayshe, explaining the roles of the core muscles in the anatomy of dance movement, and their impact on our health and postural habits. Core muscles are our deepest muscles, that provide the"cement" that holds the frame of the body, the skeletal stucture, together. When contracting these muscles, the sensation is subtle and very internal, not large and powerful. In this program we focus on the abdominal core muscles that span the lower spine, pelvis, and legs. Of main importance are the psoas and iliacus (iliopsoas), the key muscles for structural balance in the human body. The balanced fully-functional psoas is crucial for women's health. If the psoas is in a state of contraction or atrophy it will affect the reproductive system by restricting blood supply and disrupting the positioning of the organs within the pelvis. Menstrual cramping is often caused by the psoas exerting pressure on the reproductive organs when they are in a state of tenderness. A healthy, released psoas will bring relief from cramping and lower back pain.

I pre-ordered this DVD, so naturally I did not have a review to fall back on. I expected to see an energizing, fast-paced routine, a DVD I could put in my drive and get some sweat - after all that's what a workout is! The description made me believe that the excercises will be targeted at specific areas in the body. Eg, if you want to work on your abs, do crunches, etc. I was more than surprised when upon receiving the DVD on the back cover I saw that the total run was 170 min (almost TWO HOURS AND A HALF!). This already looked unusual for a workout. Once I ran the DVD I understood why. The DVD comprises of two main parts, Tutorial and Workout. The Tutorial is more than 1.5 straight hours long! When you play the Tutorial, you see Ayshe alone at first (she is later joined by two of her students). She's probably past her middle ages but an amazing dancer with an impressive technique. Ayshe speaks directly to the camera and explains everything in great detail, which gives you the feeling you're right there with her in the studio. The studio itself is nothing too fancy but the lights are great and everything can be seen very clearly. Ayshe starts by reviewing the body posture. This is by far the longest and most comprehensive review of the body posture I have ever seen. Ayshe takes her time explaining which body posture is correct and why; how it should feel and how it shouldn't. It's good to remember that Ayshe has a degree in this field, so she is INDEED an expert. There are also pictures shown of the spinal column and the pertinent muscles used. This is truly amazing! Suddenly all becomes clear AND logical. [A lot of teachers can show you how stuff is done but they can't explain why it works]. To put a disclaimer here though, let me say I am licensed as a massage therapist and a part of the training is taking 100 hours of more hours of anatomy and physiology, thus I was aware of the body structures she addressed. In relation to this I do not think she mentioned a very important part of the body posture - keep your shoulders down! Horizontally it's clear where they go but trying your best to do it right, one can bring her shoulders closer to the ears which would compromise the levator scapula and the infraspinatus and lead to stress in the shoulders. So, your chest up and shoulders down. :-) Ayshe continues with a few excercises to help strenghten the muscles. The issue of safety is addressed at ALL times. Ayshe, aided by her students, shows slowly and meticulously, giving plenty of repetition but don't expect sweating. The tutorial includes more excercises which teach how to fully isolate particular muscles and work on these only. The Psoas is paid a lot of attention in particular. I have to remark here that by the way Ayshe explains it, it looks like the psoas is an anterior (of the front) muscle just like Rectus Abdominis or the obliques but it isn't. At least I got this impression. The excercise she shows is very effective - if done right. Her whole program actually is like that - you have to listen carefully to her explanations and take your time soaking in the information and exploring. I found using a mirror a very good way to take advantage of her "don't do that" tips. Also, seeing three different body types works great. At the end Ayshe demonstrates pelvic locks/thrusts which are very funny to look at but I can't think of a better way to strenghten the muscles of your lower abs. The Workout: Ayshe demonstrates a warmup, dance combinations and a full dance followed by a cooldown. As a basis she uses the steps and excercises demonstrated in the Tutorial. This is great because this gives you an opportunity to focus only on isolations first, then to incorporate them all together in a string - in a whole dance. This DVD is really different -- truly one of a kind. --amazon.com (US)