Yoga Cool Down

The Memory Sequence warm up is designed not only to get your body going, it also warms up your mind. Sigil creates an improvised sequence for you, right on the spot. Memory practice is equally as important as getting your heart rate up so the brain and body are ready to work together.

This fundamentals video pairs hip-work on the up and down with a very simple foot and arm pattern, and offers important information for the safe repetition of these movements. If you want to learn to belly dance, this is a great place to start after your warm up!

This is a short lecture highlighting some of the basic information and history behind Pilates, the creator, the form itself, and why its an excellent practice to compliment belly dance.

This workshop offers some upper body layering over the 3/4 shimmy as well as three different 3/4 shimmy variations in the lower body. Upper body layers include chest circles, up to down body rolls, and down to up body rolls. Each movement will be broken down into isolations and then practiced on top of the 3/4 traveling shimmy. Each of the 3/4 shimmy variations combine an accent or shape in the hips: including hip locks up, hip locks down, twists, and slides. We’ll explore three specific variations that include these isolations. This workshop is designed for the experienced dancer who is already comfortable with the basic 3/4 shimmy and is ready to layer and travel!

Develop greater flexibility in the upper body through yoga and Pilates based stretching. In this concise spotlight Ashley will take you through exercises that you can fit into your daily practice. This is part three of three of Ashley's, "Built for Belly Dance Upper Body Conditioning Workshop."

Shimmies are one of the most impressive yet challenging movements in a belly dance repertoire. In this workshop we will go through a clear and concise break down of the Egyptian style hip shimmy and shoulder shimmy. We will dance through an extended shimmy session to help increase the endurance and velocity of your shimmy. Finally, we will begin to add exciting and challenging shimmy layers and level changes. The workshops begins with a full-body, classical dance based conditioning workout; designed to create a long and strong dancers body.

Get your daily dose! These concise belly dance practices include what you need to keep your technique strong when you’re short on time: yoga, conditioning, technique drills, a short belly dance phrase called "Pinball", and a cool down. Pinball #2 has a more gentle yoga practice and focus on arms. Daily doses are made in pairs so you can alternate practices for an all-over conditioning over the course of several days. This practice highlights the beautiful and complex phrase: Pinball.

Get your daily dose! The daily dose is a short, efficient practice that has what you need to keep your technique strong, even if you have a crazy schedule: yoga, drills, a short phrase combination, a focus, and a cool down. This daily dose is part of the "Arabic Shimmy" Series.

Get ready to get your heart rate up and have some fun in this challenging cardio class. Class is divided into two parts, beginning to intermediate dance drills with mini combos, sandwiched between short bursts of more traditional fitness conditioning.

An up-tempo combination with a lot of changes, the Hagallah combo gives both your brain and body a bit of work. In addition to the hagallah, enjoy the Arabic Shimmy, optional level changes, and a few surprising transitions.

This is a beginning level Pilates workout designed with the needs of belly dancers in mind. The beginning of this workshop is an introduction to the principles of the method, and guides the student through the main points of stabilization and good form, and includes tips for self-correction. This class focuses on strengthening the abdominals, back muscles while stabilizing the body for belly dance movement. This workout features primarily classic Pilates exercises and offers a variety of modifications for beginners.

This workshop is designed to give the beginning or intermediate belly dancer a foundation for traveling with 3/4 shimmies. In this workshop, we’ll break down the basic 3/4 shimmy, focusing on an even pacing and smooth execution. Pilates mat work, isolation drills, and balance exercise will help to prepare the dancer for the movement. This video includes a basic traveling combination to exercise traveling forward, back, and to the sides. Great for beginning to experienced dancers looking to drill the 3/4 shimmy.

This workshop will introduce the intermediate student to two technique phrases called “scales.” These phrases can be used for improvisation or choreography, as well as being strong technique drills. They are introduced individually, then practiced together in a combination. You will drill undulations, rib cage circles, maya, side to side undulations, a simple lock pattern, and a more complex isolation pattern. The class begins and ends with a brief warm up and cool down.

In this class we will be focusing on large, exaggerated hip movements. Big Hip Movements are one of the most exciting components in a belly dance repertoire, not only are they fun and dramatic but they also serve as the perfect contrast to intricate interior hip work and tight shimmies. We will break down and drill various favorite “Big Hip Movements”, then put them together to create a combination. The class will also include an extended warm up designed to increase hip flexibility and mobility as well as a hip opening cool down.

This spotlight focuses on to a technique concept called “scales". In this video, Rachel will break down and drill the scale called "Pinball". The Pinball scale combines undulations, rib cage circles, maya, side to side undulations, a simple lock pattern, and a more complex isolation pattern. These phrases can be used for improvisation or choreography, as well as being strong technique drills. This spotlight is taken from Rachel's "Serpentine Scales Workshop".