I'm 5 weeks pregnant with my second child (yipee!). I danced all through my first, with no issues. However, I am now much more involved and much more advanced than I was then. I belong to a progressive fusion bellydance company, which is pretty much what it sounds like. We fuse everything. Which means our dances tend to have a lot of hip-hop type locks in them, as well as deep knee bends, and modern / contemporary extensions. Several of our dances have berber walks within the choreography. So I guess here are my questions:
~ what type of twisty locky stuff is dangerous? Is it only hip stuff? Or do I need to worry about chest as well?
~ At what point do the joints start relaxing, so I need to be extra careful of over extension?
~ Is it okay to do quick dips from standing as long as my balance holds out?
~ what about spins? is it just a balance issue?
I am very good at listening to my body, but we weren't doing a lot of this stuff during my first pregnancy. We tend to dance fast, we dance hard, and we have a lot of layers (think arabic second transition with a pelvic undulation with a chest circle and a shoulder roll - and that's all at the same time in 4 counts!) I intend to ask my doctor, and to demonstrate the things I am concerned with, but at this point, she won't see me for another month, and I'm not sure I'm sticking with her anyway (based on my first birth with her).
We do have one move where we end up face down fully extended on the floor - my girls have already agreed to modify that one for me once my belly starts to pop out :)
Thanks,
Jeanne
~ what type of twisty locky stuff is dangerous? Is it only hip stuff? Or do I need to worry about chest as well?
~ At what point do the joints start relaxing, so I need to be extra careful of over extension?
~ Is it okay to do quick dips from standing as long as my balance holds out?
~ what about spins? is it just a balance issue?
I am very good at listening to my body, but we weren't doing a lot of this stuff during my first pregnancy. We tend to dance fast, we dance hard, and we have a lot of layers (think arabic second transition with a pelvic undulation with a chest circle and a shoulder roll - and that's all at the same time in 4 counts!) I intend to ask my doctor, and to demonstrate the things I am concerned with, but at this point, she won't see me for another month, and I'm not sure I'm sticking with her anyway (based on my first birth with her).
We do have one move where we end up face down fully extended on the floor - my girls have already agreed to modify that one for me once my belly starts to pop out :)
Thanks,
Jeanne
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Boise
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Hello Jeanne!!
Congratulations!! hehe
I am also 5 months pregnant and with the same issue , I already ask my doctor but unfortunately I dont trust him enough ,I mean I ask him if my bellydancing and kung fu can affect the baby and he only told me as long as they dont kick me so hard its ok =(..
So I went and did my own research and start to fell my body and the way it grows , so for me is:
No:
deep backbends and backdrops , as much as I love them I have to stop
no 10 minute shimmie session
dont over do any deep ondulations
no sharp hip movements
those are the no nos for me , but I do shimmie , pop and lock on all my classes the basic thing is , dont start doing something that you where not use too , actually I am taking advantage because I am working hard on my arms posture and chest movements ..
Just feel your body if something is not ok it will tell you =)!!!
Blessings!
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New here, referred from the Tribal Bellydance Tribe as I just found out I'm pregnant with my third (7 weeks).
I have the same questions. I danced through my first two preganancies but my dance was much more mellow then. I've since gotten much more fusiony and *love* the locky poppy thing.
Thanks for your advice Alesa ... the sharp hip movements are not recommended because of joint loosening?
I was hoping to do a Unmata workshop in July which would put me at about 15 weeks. I would be so sad not to be able to. But they are all about fast sharp movements. Hmmm. -
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Your body will let you know if chest twists will work for you- most likely they will simply become uncomfortable. that goes for most other movements too. Depending on level of fitness, you may be able to do any number of things safely, but you might want to pick up a personal trainer for now to make sure. I was able to do some fairly intensive stuff in my 3rd pregnancy that I wouldn't have recommended to my 1st pregnancy self- did a little floorwork, gentle extensions, shimmied forever- because I was fit enough to do it and I ALWAYS had a spotter.
The key things to avoid are ballistic movements (just like it sounds- sharp, stacatto, sudden anything!) deep lunges & extensions. Your ligaments are loosened right now, and your body is being pulled out of regular alignment by the added weight up front. your center of gravity is different. You need to do specific stretches & strengthening exercises to counteract some of this, like back & shoulder exercises to help prevent hunchback (kyphosis) and stretching overworked hip muscles, strengthening the adductors to counteract the overworked abductors, kegels, of course- there are any number of prenatal exercise books, blogs, etc, but I really do recommend finding a licensed prenatal trainer.
Most movements you can soften, and I sure hope others would make allowances for any adaptations you would need to do both in choreos and in a workshop. We all want you dancing *safely* for a long time, after all! I would encourage you to go to that workshop regardless, just be aware of your limitations (and bring lots of snacks!)
A great book to get is Women's Fitness Program Development by Ann Cowlin- directed toward fitness instructors/program directors, but invaluable for the prenatal section alone.
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Go to the Unmata workshop. Having taken one of thiers last summer, I totally recommend it. However, take it easy. Keep hydrated, cool, and fed. And take lots of notes so you can do the moves fully after the baby is born! Thier workshops are crazy fast, so just do what your body can, and don't push it. But the workshop is so much fun, and you'll get a ton out of it whether you can actually do the moves or not. And by the way, I'm totally jealous. :)
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As I've always understood it............you can continue doing whatever routines you were used to doing b4 the pregnancy......just don't start anything new.
One of Urban Tribal's dancers...actually Heather's right hand dancer for a long time (forgive me I'm blanking on her name right now...on the tip of my tongue, but she was fabulous)...danced far into her pregnancy doing their very modern style dance (including laybacks, floorwork...with drops to ground and popping up into something else & laybacks on the floor......and all their old hip hop stuff. She rocked it, but mind you had been doing it a LOOONG time b4 she got preggers!!!
Hope that helps!!!
...and, of course, everyBODY is different!!!
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Hi there wow you sound like you must be pretty fit! I have just found some general guidelines, but depending on your level of fitness and flexibility, you might be comfortable doing more.:
Women should avoid exercise in the supine position [lying on the back] after the first trimester. Prolonged periods of motionless standing should also be avoided.
Sharp hip lifts and drops, prolonged shimmying (fine during labour), twisting in the horizontal (washing machine shimmies) omni shimmies (slow omnis fine), African type shimmies, sudden changes of direction (loss of balance could be detrimental to maternal or fetal well being, especially in the third trimester.)
Further, any type of exercise involving the potential for even mild abdominal trauma should be avoided.
Pregnancy requires an additional 300kcal/d in order to maintain metabolic homeostasis. Thus women who exercise during pregnancy should be particularly careful to ensure an adequate diet.
Pregnant women who exercise in the first trimester should augment heat dissipation by ensuring adequate hydration, appropriate clothing and optimal environmental surroundings during exercise.
Many of the physiologic and morphologic changes of pregnancy persist 4-6 weeks postpartum. Thus pre-pregnancy exercise routines should be resumed gradually based on a woman's physical capability. Belly dancing is the perfect postnatal exercise.
Happy dancing, Stef
