Speaking of bellies. A friend of mine recently went gung ho last summer on belly dancing for weight loss. It’s actually pretty interesting. According to my friend, who’s still into it, belly dancing is one of the best ways to lose weight, firm and tone your body. Personally, I like watching it. Dancing in general has never been more popular, as evidenced by the many dancing themed popular TV shows. Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and the like have revived an interest in dancing. At the same time, weight loss makeover programs like The Biggest Loser, Bulging Brides, and Ten Years Younger also surged in popularity. Belly dancing combines the two: weight loss and dancing. Pretty simple I guess… like milk and cookies.
Aside from dance studios, it was surprising to me that you can take belly dancing classes at community colleges too. Occasionally you can find a Middle Eastern restaurant that offers belly dancing classes as a marketing strategy. Using the Internet to find classes near you is a great way to save gas and time.
If you cannot locate a belly dancing class near you, you can also use the Internet to learn to belly dance. Many sites also offer online lessons, complete with music and video instructions. She tried my sister into it by teaching her some moves. Here are some of the belly dancing moves that she learned:
Snake Arms - Fluid, incessant arm movements are the hallmark of belly dancing. Learn to slither your arms as if they were snakes in your belly dancing class. If you are interested in toning your body while you dance, you will be happy to learn that Snake Arms tones the arms and shoulder muscles.
Shoulder Shimmy - This classic belly dance movement is used in other genres such as swing and jazz. Shoulders move back and forth in opposite movements. Beginners can learn the shoulder shimmy by slowly moving their shoulders back and forth to music, then bringing the speed up to tempo. The shoulder shimmy engages the muscles of the upper back and shoulders.
Hip Circle - The hip circle gyration is used in virtually every belly dance. To practice this motion, imagine you have stepped into a waist-high pipe that is a few inches wider around than you are. Circle your hips slowly as if you were polishing the inside of the pipe. Don’t forget to add style to your dancing. As you get comfortable with the moves, feel the inhibitions give way to the beat of the music and the sultry, sensual nature of the dance.
Hip Piston - This move is just what it sounds like: a pumping of the isolated hip muscle. Like the shoulder shimmy, you may need to learn this move slowly at first. Gradually increase the speed until you are moving at full tempo.
I guess once you’ve learned a little bit of belly dancing, a Tutela Valui tattoo on one’s belly could be a great thing regardless of its much debated meaning and translation.
