Sure, a shoulder is going to be under stress during an overhead lift, and the same can be true for backs. But why should such movements lead to injury?
The answer? Poor relational positioning between the ribcage and the pelvis. If a dancer is lifting his partner overhead but allowing his ribcage to flare and his pelvis to dump into an anterior tilt, then chances are he neither has the shoulder stability nor the lower back stability to execute the lift safely.
Read MoreThe key takeaway here is that Anna didn’t use yoga to get Margot into a bigger range of motion. Rather, she took a highly technical approach to shave off some range of motion, which in turn will keep Margot safe on the mat.
Read MoreCat/cow is a classic yoga movement wherein a person moves through spinal flexion (think of an angry or scared cat) and spinal extension (belly hangs low, like a cow). Hypermobile people who are attracted to things like yoga and ballet can easily get into impressive-looking cat/cow postures. But the problem is, they almost certainly shouldn’t be trying to exploit all of that range of motion on a yoga mat. Understand the distinction I’m making here: onstage, dancers need to do what they need to do. But in a yoga studio or strength training facility or on a Pilates reformer, their coach or teacher needs to make sure that they are staying within a safe range of motion.
Read MoreStrong lats are critical for any athletic movement, in other words, so it’s important that we understand the interplay between them and posture, injury prevention, and performance. When we consider how often dancers are in spinal extension—think arabesque or the standing posture we often associate with ballerinas—then we begin to understand the delicate balance between latissimus dorsi strength and latissimus dorsi mobility.
Read More
