Definition of holistic: characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

The Whole Dancer is about supporting you as a whole person. As a dancer, yes, but you can’t allow your dance pursuits to take precedence over your well-being. For 2022, I’m hoping there can be a greater awareness of holistic nutrition for dancers.

Holistic nutrition for dancers, as shared in this post, is about looking at the big picture. No food is always good for everyone. What might be nourishing, supportive, and enjoyable to you may not work at all for someone else.

Your food values and dancer nutrition.

While it’s incredibly important to work towards the mentality that “all foods can fit” into your dancer eating plan, it’s also a great benefit to consider where your food comes from and what’s important to you in that respect.

Does it matter to you if the meat or other animal products you consume were produced in a certain way (e.g., pastured eggs or “humanely” raised meats)? Does it matter to you if your food traveled a long way thus using human or other resources? Would you prefer that your food be organic or non-GMO, or are conventional production methods OK with you?

The food system in the US is severely flawed. It is the responsibility of all of us to consider our food and grocery choices and the impact of those choices. Do some research, decide on your food values, and move forward adhering to those values to the best of your ability.

Primary Food vs. Secondary Food

This has always been one of my favorite concepts in Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching. Your primary food includes career (this may be dance even if you’re at the pre-professional level), physical activity, spirituality, and relationships. Each of these areas is tied in pretty closely to The Dancers’ Best Body Course because the food you eat really is secondary.

If you’re disconnected from any of your primary food areas, it’s extremely likely you’re struggling to feel calm, balanced, and confident in your food choices. This is where the balanced life wheel comes in.

The balanced life wheel exercise.

Within The Dancers’ Best Body Course, one of the most popular exercises is the balanced life wheel exercise. It looks at even more life areas than your primary food categories and asks you to consider fulfillment in each area (the actual worksheet and journaling includes a visual wheel with each area on a different spoke of the wheel).

• Home environment
• Social life
• Joy
• Health
• Career
• Creativity
• Finances
• Education
• Spirituality
• Home environment
• Relationships

It’s perfectly natural (and OK!) that you’ll go through phases of feeling more fulfilled in some areas than others. Balancing everything in life is a challenge! But the exercise of reflecting, considering each area, and deciding on specific actions to improve fulfillment in the areas that need it is a great benefit to your overall well-being.

Your secondary food: the food you eat…

Now you might be wondering if the food you eat is even a consideration. Yes, it is. However, it’s truly and appropriately secondary. There are some pretty simple things to consider when it comes to your actual food choices.

Create a balanced plate. That looks like including protein, carbohydrates, and fat. It also requires you to consider hydration (drinking half your body weight in ounces of water is the general rule though you may need more if you sweat a lot when dancing).

At each meal, consider including fruits, whole grains, vegetables (those dark leafys are all-stars), protein, and fat. Your fat sources can be whole food sources like nuts, seeds, or avocado. Other fat sources might be oils, sauces, or dressings. 

Balancing hormones with food

It’s essential to acknowledge that food has a big impact on the secretion and production of a number of hormones. Your hormone levels have an effect on your energy, stress levels, sleep, weight, and levels of hunger or fullness (and more!). They play a huge role in your everyday, normal functioning.

For so many, stress hormone (cortisol) levels wreak havoc on feelings of balance and well-being. Elevated cortisol can be a symptom of insufficient sleep, excessive exercise, inability to cope with stress, challenging relationships, and an eating plan lacking in nourishment. “What’s more, one study found a diet high in added sugar, refined grains, and saturated fat led to significantly higher cortisol levels compared with a diet high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and polyunsaturated fats.¹”

Relationship to food

Holistic nutrition for dancers isn’t just about the food you eat. It’s about how you’re relating to that food. If you’re stressing, obsessing, and overthinking every bite, it’s time to address your relationship to food. If you’re feeling guilty or regretful after eating something, then it’s time to address your relationship to food.

So much of your food relationship is based on habit, family experiences, and messages you’ve gotten from the media, dance teachers, and friends over the years. It takes a lot of intentional thought and reflection to shift the way you view and relate to food. However, it’s 100% possible, and for dancers especially, it’s essential.

The dancers I work with and the goal I hope to support all dancers in achieving is confidence in your food choices. When you are able to stop questioning each bite and move through a day, week, month, and year making food choices with ease, you’ll gain an assured feeling that can truly calm your mind. Food should not be stressful!! It should be fueling, fun, carefree, joyful, and nourishing.

Connection to your body

The thought and reflection that’s needed in your food relationship is needed for many dancers in the body department as well. It sometimes still surprises me (though I also totally get it because I’ve been there) that you can expect so much from your body in dance and yet remain so disconnected from it.

Dancers are masters at ignoring body signals and cues. It makes sense. You’re taught to ignore the pain. To push through the challenges. Many dancers are still given the very harmful message to ignore your hunger. 

To reconnect to your body, try yoga (no mirrors allowed), meditation, mindful eating, honoring your pain (emotional and physical), or intentional breathing. These are just a handful of ideas to get you started.

If you’re ready for the deep dive into a more holistic approach to nutrition for dancers, sign up for the free Holistic Nutrition for Dancers virtual workshop and consider The Dancers’ Best Body Course + Group Coaching Program. Now Enrolling.

Resources and scholarly articles are linked throughout this post. Additional resources: 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-to-lower-cortisol#TOC_TITLE_HDR_12

The post Holistic Nutrition for Dancers appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

This question comes up a lot among dancers – whether you’re already dancing professionally or working towards that end, you’re not alone in  your desire for guidelines. Unfortunately, ballet companies still expect you to list your weight on your resume. Although, I sort of think this practice should be banned. It’s definitely not helping anyone.

So there’s BMI, different height-weight charts and body fat percentage measurements. Which is the right measure? What about the old Russian Ballerina height-weight charts? Ignore those recommendations. And that the fact is this is a completely personal question.

Don’t let your ballet mistress or Artistic Director tell you what to weigh.

Your Artistic Director (whether of school or company) really shouldn’t get a say in the number you see on the scale. Want to know why? That’s a little bit of what I dive into in this video. Check it out here:

Do you feel conflicted about where you think you should be with weight? You’re not alone. This is super common among dancers and something that might keep you up at night. Your dance goals shouldn’t be a distraction…shift your perspective around weight.

My goal with this video was to share some realities about those numbers on the scale and to assure you that you can support yourself (maybe with a bit of outside help) to reach your healthiest, most powerful dancing weight. And that’s what you should weigh as a pro dancer. It doesn’t matter what any other dancer concludes is her best weight.

Your best weight only has to do with one factor. YOU.

To get started, download The Whole Dancer 7-Step Best Body Guide. It walks you through The Whole Dancer process of reaching your personal best dancers’ body in a healthy, sustainable way.

As you go through the guide, remember that taking the pressure off weight actually helps a lot. Your body goals can feel pressure filled and impossible to reach if you’re obsessing over the scale. What would it feel like to focus on just dancing full out and with energy?

Dance makes it extra hard to stop worrying about your body. Your teachers and artistic staff have told you that the thinner you are, the better off you are…especially in ballet. What you weigh does not determine your worth, nor does it decide your future in dance.

Make your priority feeling good and dancing your best.

This will help you build confidence! When we take the focus off of the external and commit to turning inward, confidence grows. It helps to step out of your comfort zone as often as possible as well. When you do that, you prove to yourself that you are capable.

You can create and reinforce the story that you can dance center stage (or center studio) and shine.

It’s all about the stories we tell ourselves.

Much of life is about the stories we tell ourselves and the evidence we collect to reinforce those stories. If you tell yourself, “when I’m thinner I’ll be a better dancer”  you’ll hang onto the messages that reinforce this story.

Instead tell yourself, “when I’m well fueled and dancing with energy I’ll be a better dancer” you’ll collect evidence to back this up. So really, it’s up to you. Which story will you choose? So to get back to our question: what should a pro dancer actually weigh? Bottom line: the weight where she can dance her best with energy, vitality and JOY.

As always, if you need support reach out. I’d love to hear from you!!

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In the past, I’ve gotten into the idea that those “What I Eat in a Day” posts are worth taking with a grain of salt. You might look to them for some inspiration but you shouldn’t give them too much weight and you definitely shouldn’t copy them outright.

Over the Summer, my point was magnified when I saw some dancer shares on Instagram stories. There was a little trend of sharing a “day in the life” at Summer Intensive, including daily food intake.

Without getting into specifics, because I don’t want to perpetuate the negative message, some dancers shared food intakes that were at anorexic levels. A banana and saltines are not a sufficient lunch for a high level dancer!

I was kind of shocked and considered direct messaging the dancer. I hope that someone in her circle (a parent, friend, teacher) did confront her. She wasn’t taking in anywhere near enough food to fuel a day at a Summer Intensive.

Whether you’re a young dancer, pre-professional, or pro, it’s possible that seeing that sort of food information makes you question things. Are you in fact eating too much? Do you really need to under eat to meet your body goals? Does she know something you don’t?

The short answer is no.

The more complex answer is that food intake can and should be different for everyone but no dancer should be severely under eating or restricting calories to meet body goals. If you want some thoughts on what a dancer should in fact eat in a day, check out this video on The Whole Dancer YouTube channel – subscribe while you’re there!

To the dancers thinking of sharing “What I Eat in a Day” details, please take pause.

If you think you’re a healthy example but you’re not sure, air on the side of caution. It’s really dangerous for other dancer’s to see clear examples of under eating. For the young ones the damage can be lasting. For the older dancer’s it can still make you question things.

Before you share your food, really ask yourself, “Am I eating a full, complete and healthy meal?”

“Is this something I would feed to my future daughter (or son) and be confident that I’m nourishing them?”

“Did I make this meal with the intention of loving and supporting my body and dancing?”

If you can answer yes to all of those questions then sharing is OK. Sharing healthy eat’s for the sake of inspiration can be a really awesome thing. With all sharing online I think we need to remember the impact we can have.

Your influence might be much further reaching than you even realize.

When you’re a viewer, take the time to consider the information you’re taking in as well. If a dancer you admire is casually sharing what she’s eating for lunch, it still doesn’t mean it’s what you should eat.

If you suspect that maybe a dancer isn’t eating enough, trust your instincts and don’t copy what she shares!! Also, remember that you might not be getting the full picture.

When someone shares their food, they might only show the “pretty” parts. They can leave out components of the meal if they don’t think they’re healthy enough.

In Conclusion…

The mentality that you approach your food choices with is key. If you allow too much influence from dancers (especially when they’re not nutrition professionals) you’re on a dangerous path.

You might be inspired to under eat or miss out on essential micro or macro nutrients.

Instead, find a professional to work with or do your own research (in reputable, science based books, not the internet)!

The post The Danger of Copying Meal Plans appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Lauren Fadeley

Where do you dance?

Principal Soloist with Miami City Ballet

Share a bit about your journey in dance…

MCB is the third company I’ve danced with. Originally from Orlando, FL, I moved to NYC at age 15 to train at SAB. A year later I was asked to join New York City Ballet, where I danced for 2 years. That was a little too much for me too soon, so at 18 I choose to go to college at Indiana University. I graduated with a BS in Ballet Performance with an outside field in Kinesiology. From there I joined Pennsylvania Ballet, where I danced for 9 seasons and became a principal dancer.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced in pursuing dance professionally?

My body and being “in shape”. I am naturally very broad and muscular and when I’m not dancing a lot, I don’t always fit the ballerina body aesthetic. I got my first “fat talk” when I was 15 and my most recent when I was 32, so has always been a struggle.

How did you overcome it?

I never fully overcame it, but have tried to find balance and peace with my body. When I was younger, I resorted to unhealthy means to try to achieve the “perfect” body, but after breaking my foot I realized how unsustainable that was.

Studying nutrition, anatomy and physiology in college helped me gain a better understanding and as I get older in this career, I never take my body for granted. During long lay offs, I just have to be more aware of how I’m fueling myself and stay active even if not dancing everyday.

What does it mean to you to be a “whole” dancer?

To be strong and confident. Though I will never look as thin as most of the other dancers onstage, I take pride in my strength and power that come across in my performances.

Do you have any special self-care rituals that help you feel balanced?

Yoga and gyrotonics are both good for my mind, body and soul and I try to fit them in once a week. I also love unwinding with a face mask and essential oil diffuser.

What role does cross-training play in your life?

Cross-training as become even more important to me at this stage of my career than ever. Pilates and weight training have helped with injury prevention and cardio to keep my stamina up for shows. When on lay offs, I try to change up what I do everyday to not get in a rut and stay motivated.

How do you keep a positive relationship with food and your body in the face of aesthetic pressure in dance?

It is very difficult and some days are harder than others. Staring at a mirror 6 hours a day can do numbers on how you perceive yourself, but I try to remember how fortunate I am that I have a strong body that enables me to dance and do what I love. With food, I try to think of it as the fuel needed to perform and how it makes my body feel.

Photo Credits:

Dances at a Gathering by Daniel Azouley

The Four Temperaments by Alexander Iziliaev

Diamonds by April Singleton

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Alicia Holloway

Where do you dance? Share a bit about your journey in dance…

Dance Theatre of Harlem

I began dancing at the age of three, then when I was thirteen years old, I moved away from home and attended the University of  North Carolina School of the Arts, then moved to NYC to attend the School of American Ballet, and then after four years there, joined the The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Company for one season, as well as the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and now Im in my fourth season at DTH.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced in pursuing dance professionally? How did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I’ve faced is the pressure to be perfect. I have always been a perfectionist, and when I first started dancing  professionally, I felt this constant pressure to be perfect 24/7, when in reality, that isn’t realistic.

The older I get, the more I’ve  realize that perfection isn’t the key to becoming a successful dancer, it’s consistency, artistry and exploring and pushing new boundaries that you haven’t before.

What does it mean  to you to be a “whole dancer?

To be a whole dancer means to always keep learning. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing, and when you  stop growing, you become stagnant. I believe learning makes you a whole dancer, because in ballet, there is always something you  can work on, and taking other people’s knowledge will help you grow not only as a dancer, but also as an artist.

Do you have any special self-care rituals that helped you feel balance?

Yes! I recently started taking a hot bath with bath bombs, a face mask, and candles after every evening performance, so that I can treat my skin, relax, and wind down from the whirlwind of an evening. I also have recently found yoga, which helps center me whenever I am feeling anxious about performing a specific role or ballet.

What roles does cross-training play in your life?

A HUGE role. I love to cross train. I have a gym in my apartment building, so I find myself spending a lot of time there after rehearsals, but I also love doing yoga, cycling classes like SoulCycle, and I also love to swim.

How do you keep a positive relationship with food and your body in the  face of aesthetic pressure in dance?

I have always enjoyed eating healthy primarily because I like the way healthy food makes my body feel. I think that healthy food fuels my body, and lets me perform at my best. Don’t get me wrong, I will go have a burger or chocolate from time to time, because I believe “treating yo self” is a very important key to maintaining a positive self-love relationship.

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I want to start this post off by saying that I’m not an affiliate for any supplement brands and I don’t sell supplements for dancers. The opinions I share are based on my experience working in the supplements industry and with dancer health coaching clients.

It’s completely individualized to find the supplements (if any) that work for you and support your dancing.

Food. Food should really be your main source of nutrients and sustenance. There are of course some dietary choices that require supplementation (vegans need B12 and might benefit from D).

Your body has the ability to use vitamins and store vitamins so if we do a poor job of healthfully fueling ourselves one day, it won’t likely lead to a deficiency. The best way to know for sure if you’re deficient in something is to request a blood test from your doctor.

When you consider supplements, remember that they’re not the be all and end all. Look for research and studies that actually back up the benefits or risks of different supplements.

Dancer’s should steer clear of most energy enhancing supplements. These are usually full of caffeine from varying sources. They can be addictive and the benefits are questionable.

In this video, I share a couple of eye opening studies in the world of supplements that might help you to make more informed decisions around whether to use supplements yourself.

Conclusion:

Focus on your food choices first.

Don’t start using supplements just because your friends use them or because you see them as a magic bullet.

Consult with a doctor and maybe request a blood test to determine if you’re actually deficient in anything. If you are, try to fill in those deficiencies with food first.

Find what works for you – we’re all different. Explore, experiment, refine.

The post Supplements for Dancers appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing Apolla Performance products on The Whole Dancer blog before – you can check out our last review here! Well, since then Apolla has come out with some incredible new products that we got to test out here at The Whole Dancer.

The K-Warmer

Last year, Apolla Performance released the K-Warmer (Kinesio Warmer)  their fresh take on leg warmers. These leg warmers are different than any other leg warmers on the market, not only do they warm your legs, but they also offer compression. They took the compression technology that goes into their shocks and applied it to the K-Warmer.

The K-Warmer measures at 29 inches total with 21 inches of leg compression, 4 inches of fabric around the ankle, and 4 inches of stretchy fabric for the top of the thigh (that isn’t compression). As someone who is 5’6”, the K-Warmer came up to almost the top of my thigh, but I did not have the ankle part over my heel. When I did have it over my heel it came to mid thigh.

Because of the compression technology, the K-Warmers fit and feel more like a compression sleeve than a legwarmer. That being said, when I wore them for class and then took them off during barre, my regular tights almost came off with the legwarmers. For this reason, I do not think they would be best for wearing backstage in between pieces when you need to quickly add or remove layers.

They do keep your legs very warm. I wore my K-Warmers over capris length leggings in 30-degree (Fahrenheit) weather, and the cold never seeped through them. While wearing them during class, my legs were very warm by the second tendu combination.

The K-Warmer is the perfect leg wear for muscle recovery. I wore my K-Warmers for the first time two days after I ran my first 5K. At that point my muscles were VERY sore. Wearing my K-Warmers definitely gave my muscles relief and helped me get through my cross training at the gym that day.

The K-Warmer is the ideal leg wear that optimizes muscle health and recovery during your warm-up, cool down, cross training, and everything in between.

The Joule

The Joule is another newer product from Apolla and it looks a lot like a standard ankle brace. Unlike a standard ankle brace – it’s supportive but not restrictive. As someone who experienced “chronic” ankle sprains throughout my dance training and career, I wore a lot of ankle braces.

Most of the time they limited my mobility so much that I couldn’t fully point my feet and I didn’t feel like I was able to keep wearing it as I moved towards recovery. The Joule however would have been great support as my ankles recovered and regained strength. They provide similar support to taping but without the hassle.

By wearing the Joule you are able to actually combat inflammation while you’re dancing. So if you’re prone to flare ups – it works wonders. In addition to the actual compression it provides, the Joule offers arch support as well.

According to Apolla, “When you don’t have support in your arch, the force of dancing yanks on the plantar fascia at the insertion points and causes inflammation. To keep strong arches, it is good to give them support in class and after during recovery.”

Did I mention you can wear them under ballet shoes and they offer a multitude of colors – various skin tones and even ballet pink so they can be worn more discretely than a brace as well.

I’ve worn my Joule’s to take class and to teach as well. You can even wear them when you’re traveling to provide some compression to once again reduce unwanted inflammation. They’re machine washable and totally versatile. I consider the Joule to be a dancer necessity. Even if you don’t have ankle issues per-se you would benefit from wearing these during or just after class to help your feet and ankle’s recover!

Head over to Apolla Performance and check out the Joule and K-Warmer. Have you tried either of these products? We’d love to hear your take! Share in the comments below.

K-Warmer Review by The Whole Dancer Content Assistant – Jessie and Joule Review by The Whole Dancer Founder, Jess.

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“Send you knees over your toes in plie.”

“Hips stacked on top of your knees, stacked on top of your toes.”

“Don’t let your knees roll in.”

How often have you heard teachers say these phrases (or something similar) during class regarding lower leg alignment? All the time. Teachers spend so much time teaching their students the importance of proper alignment, not just for proper classical ballet technique, but to prevent injury.

For classical ballet, or any dance for that matter, knees must track over the toes while in plie. Your feet cannot be more rotated that your knees.

“Weakness in the hip and lower abs show in the lower leg,” says Sarah Edery-Altas, DPT at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital in New York City. This weakness is found in dancers who force their turnout from their ankles instead of the initiating turnout from the rotator muscles (Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Maximus) in the hip.

Since this is common issue in the ballet world, I talked to Edery-Altas to ask her how she helps dancers rehab from lower leg injuries and how to improve leg alignment.

Of the patients that Edery-Altas sees at the Harkness Center, a majority of the injuries she sees are the lower extremities. Of the majority, half of them are knee and ankle issues. Many of the chronic injuries she sees are from improper alignment.

“Many dancers have difficulty with 20-25 repetitions of releve on a single leg, which is an objective measure that is expected in order for a dancer to return in full to dance,” says Edery-Altas. “In addition to those weaker stability and rotational muscles (gluteus maximus and medius, deep external rotators, posterior tibialis, and foot intrinsics) many times the planarflexors tend to lack the strength required for the load many dancers are asking of themselves.”

When Edery-Altas starts working with new patients, often she starts with hip exercises. “The hip controls the foot and the foot informs the hip what is happening.”

She likes to start with a Sarhmann Progression exercise that she calls: hip drop and recover with ball on wall.

1. Start perpendicular to the wall with the exercise ball pressing into the hip closest to the wall. The leg closest to the wall is extended in front, just off the floor.
2. Drop the hip closest to the wall down as far as you can go.
3. Pressing into the floor with the standing foot and lengthening the trunk of your body, relevel pelvis back to the original position.
4. Do three sets of 10.
5. As you advance, you may add releve to the exercise.

This exercise reteaches dancers how to use the tripod of the foot: putting equal pressure on the medial(towards the midline) and lateral (away from the midline or on the outer side of the body) sides of the ball of the foot and the heel. Putting equal pressure on the tripod of the foot prevents from rolling in.

“You can see through bunions that the foot takes so much force and shows the weakness of the foot. [You can see] Where the load is going with [while wearing] pointe shoes or LaDucas,” say Edery-Altas.

Sarah also has patients work on foot doming to make sure foot alignment is correct. “When you cheat your turnout from the feet, you pronate or roll in to maintain an arch. Foot doming teaches dancers to use the short toe flexors tendons instead of overusing the long toe flexors such as the FHL [Flexor Halitus Longus, the tendon that controls the flexion of the big toe.].”

To strengthen your legs for better knee and ankle alignment, Edery-Altas gives deep external rotator exercises using turnout disks.

1. Stand on the disks (one foot on each disk) in parallel
2. Initiating from the hips, rotate your legs to first position
3. Return to parallel

Repeat with variations of plie:

1. staying in the plie the entire time
2. plie in parallel, turnout, straighten legs, plie, return to parallel
3. Once you’ve become strong enough, you can do all these exercises with one leg.

If you do not have access to turnout disks, you can do the exercises lying on your back with your feet in the air.

Clamshells are another exercise given to strengthen the rotator muscles. Edery-Altas has patients focus on keeping the heels together during the exercise. The exercises can be done with the legs at different lengths- one set with a longer knee bend and one set with a shorter knee bend. This allows you to work different muscles in the glutes.

Sarah includes squats in the progression of improving lower leg alignment and increasing strength as the patient advances. She likes to give squats because they directly correlate to jumping class or rehearsal. Single leg squats translate into single leg jumps in petite and grand allegro. “You want to relax the foot in plie to absorb force and then dome the foot to push off [in a jump or squat].”

The big thing Edery-Altas stresses when either recovering from an injury or building strength: “Focus on progressing slowly and smartly.” Later adding, “Focus on working on your deep limitations instead of practicing something you’re already good at.”

About Sarah Edery-Altas

Dr. Edery-Altas received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in physical therapy from Columbia University. She is a former professional ballet dancer, who danced as a member of both the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Boston Ballet.

The post Knee and Ankle Alignment in Ballet appeared first on The Whole Dancer.