Realistically, if you’re a young person in your 20s (for example), you won’t actually “get out of shape” and lose muscle this quickly. Research suggests you’ll start to lose muscle 3–4 weeks after you are “inactive.” It’s also suggested that you can get back to your peak fitness level more quickly after a period of inactivity than when you originally started. 

Your body has the capacity to maintain a high level of fitness. The problem is your brain. You need to train your mind for resilience as well. 

Time off doesn’t have to stress you out

Being realistic with yourself about what you need is going to help you enjoy time off without stress. If you’re coming out of a season where you felt great physically and mentally, you might be motivated to simply keep up with your training and activity levels.

If the season wasn’t your best, you may need a longer period of true rest or time away from dance to recover mentally. This is something to give yourself permission to take, especially now that you know you won’t be instantly losing tons of strength. 

Use your time away from dance productively

Establishing goals for a level of productivity is going to help you feel good about the time off. It can mitigate any guilt you might create in your mind if you accomplish some things you find fulfilling.

Before you jump into action, give yourself time to truly reflect on what went well in your season and what you’d like to improve. This way you’ll be able to set goals and intentions around what you’d like to see shift in your next dancing season.

The truth might be that you want to fully disengage from dance for a period of time. If that’s the case, how will you find movement that’s enjoyable and motivating? 

• Try a new workout class
• Sign up to work with a personal trainer for dancers
• Consider health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching for direction, support, and accountability: book your coaching consultation here
• Get active with friends or family
• Plan for activities that involve movement that makes you feel good, like amusement park visits, museum trips, hikes, or swimming

As the season gets closer: 5 ways to feel more ready

When it comes closer to your next dancing season, work to feel prepared both mentally and physically.

• Get back into the studio.

If you’re still feeling resistance, find a friend to go with you. Maybe re-enter with a class that’s outside of your genre of focus. Keep it low stakes. No pressure to do 5 pirouettes on day one. Instead, give yourself permission to take baby steps towards your full dancing potential. 

You might begin by just taking barre or putting your pointe shoes on for 10 minutes at the end of class. Really think about what you can handle and how you can find inspiration as you get back into it slowly.

• Stay aware of stress surrounding your food choices.

Stressing out about what is the “right” thing to be eating or what amounts of food are “perfect” is counterproductive. It will only lead you down a path towards guilt and overthinking.

Instead, connect to what feels good about your food choices. Focus on foods and meals that provide your body with energy and easy digestion. The more you connect to mindful eating, the better you’ll get at meeting your body’s needs with ease. 

• Create a schedule that’s flexible but intentional. 

During the season, most dancers have very regimented schedules. Your rehearsal schedule is dictated to you, and you might have outside work hours that are set or consistent. 

Give yourself the flexibility in summer to make space for some spontaneity and extra time with friends or family. If someone invites you to go to the beach, you don’t want your workout plans to get in the way.

• Find support to create goals.

If your goal is to go back into your season feeling stronger and more prepared than when you started last season, the best way to accomplish that is to work backwards from the goal. 

It can’t just be about physical preparation. Keep in mind we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in shorter periods of time (days or weeks) and underestimate what we can accomplish with more time (months or years). 

If you’re struggling to find clarity on your goals or achieve them, coaching could provide the support and accountability you need to make your goals a sustainable reality. 

• Check in with your mindset. 

Your internal narrative and self-awareness have a huge impact on how you feel in your body. When dancers accept that some body change is normal and to be expected during time off, they’re much gentler with themselves. With this approach, you’re able to take the changes (which are usually small) in stride, which facilitates a much healthier approach as you get back into your dancing season. 

By avoiding extremes, the fluctuations come and go with ease. In terms of mental approach, if you let yourself let go of the attachment to always being “in shape,” you’ll have much greater odds of actually staying in shape. 

Remember, your perspective on your body is built in your mind…

As a dancer, you may have heard: your body is your instrument. And it is, but it’s also so much more. Your body is your home. It’s the place you’ll spend your entire life. 

When you find you’re feeling overly concerned about “being in shape,” it can be helpful to come back to the intention of caring for yourself. Above all else, you want to nourish and care for your body so you’ll feel your best from the inside out. 

For dancers, in a world that’s so aesthetically focused, it can be hard to come back to that intention on your own. If you’re struggling to put your well-being first, reach out. Start your coaching journey by scheduling a complimentary coaching consultation call here.

The post Get Back in Dancing Shape appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Prefer to listen to a podcast episode on this topic? Click below.

There’s a lot of aesthetic pressure in dance. It’s important to talk about it realistically without sugar coating or ignoring the fact that it exists. Even amid the aesthetic pressure, dancers need to move forward through their teens and early 20s with the expectation that their body will change.

Instead, the aesthetic pressure can set up the false goal or expectation that a dancer should try to maintain their pre-pubescent body. Not only is this aim harmful physically and, in the extreme can lead to stunted growth, there’s also great mental harm and anguish caused by this goal.

The facts: your body should change

Especially during the teenage years, people’s bodies naturally change. This isn’t any different for dancers. Being highly active does not mean you should see no physical evolution. Dancers will often add additional weight as muscle, but in order to actually have a first period, body fat is necessary. Some studies even indicate a required 17% body fat threshold to achieve this. 

Puberty in dance

For some reason, a lot of ballet educators seem to have forgotten that puberty is a reality of life. It’s a reality that can’t be avoided by ballet dancers, and therefore, educators have to stop praising the long “ballerina bodies” of pre-pubescent 11-year-olds.

Many clients of mine have expressed that their body issues started as they went through puberty. They often recall: Before then I felt that my body was the ideal for ballet. Sometimes these dancers receive feedback from teachers as their bodies change, and that makes them feel like something is wrong. If a teacher criticizes a dancer’s body as they’re gaining necessary weight, this can have a lasting mental impact.

Unfortunately, even if someone supports a dancer through their physical changes, the dancer may still conclude on their own that these changes are bad and that they should do something to halt or stop them.

Take a moment to recall for yourself if your body image or self-concept shifted through puberty. It’s powerful to realize when something has impacted your mindset. Rather than viewing weight gain or body change as negative, what positives can you see about it? Perhaps your “larger” thighs are also stronger and better adept at jumping. Maybe your increased muscle size and tone is actually improving your lines.

My own experience with weight and puberty in ballet

Before I had my final growth spurt, I went away to a summer intensive and gained weight. Going into the summer I was 5’2” and over the course of the next year I would grow to be almost 5’5”. It’s very normal to gain weight before you gain height. Girls often gain weight in thighs, breasts, and hips through puberty — and especially ahead of a growth spurt.

When I returned to my home studio after the summer away, my teacher tapped my thigh and remarked: That wasn’t there before. I had gained weight, and my thighs and butt were the main places it settled. It was muscle, but she clearly wasn’t happy with their larger size. This gave me an instant feeling of shame. I felt as if I had done something wrong. I went from being very thin to having some fat. 

No one should have made me feel that anything was wrong with this physical change. It’s normal. It’s healthy. It should happen. My body was supposed to change.

Your body is also supposed to change. 

Body changes through layoffs and changing dance schedules

In a dance career there is often a lot of inconsistency in training and schedules. You might have a 28-week contract with occasional 1-or-2-week layoffs. Then, of course you’ll have a longer period of time off over the summer.

Through all of that time away from the studio, the possibility of body change can be anxiety inducing. A longer summer layoff can also, realistically, lead to some body change. When you’re in a balanced place with your food relationship and body image, the layoff changes may be slight. If you feel less secure in those areas, you may experience more extreme physical shifts. 

Aiming towards a balanced approach to food and your body is going to support you to feel empowered through time off. It will allow you to accept the normal physical fluctuations and to understand that it makes sense that you’d be at your fittest when you’re in your busiest dancing seasons. 

What happens to your body when you retire

A dancer’s schedule is more active than an average person. It’s significantly more active than someone working a 9-5 and still more rigorous than someone working a job where they’re on their feet the whole time.

A lot of dancers go from dancing essentially from 9-5 to barely dancing at all in retirement. Sometimes you really need that time away from dance and have no desire to step into a studio for a while. You may really need it, but accepting the physical changes and the possibility of significant weight gain that come with it can still be hard.

Retirement is a massive shift in one’s life and identity. It’s the kind of change that would benefit from support, whether that comes from a licensed therapist or other support person. 

Embracing change and cultivating self-love

You don’t have to view your body’s changes through a negative lens. Ask yourself consistently: what’s good about these physical changes? How are you actually being served by having some additional fat on your body? What is there to love about yourself, internally and externally, through these changes?

One of the biggest factors that will help you accept and even celebrate your body’s changes is cultivating a strong sense of self-love. Functioning from a self-loving place allows you to show up more fully and freely in your life and dancing. Developing self-love is a process that’s connected to caring for yourself and accepting your faults, mistakes, and perceived imperfections.  

Support accepting body change

Whether you’re going through puberty or well beyond it, it’s possible you’d benefit from support to accept the physical changes you’re experiencing. Maybe you need help balancing your food relationship and body image in order to feel more at ease in your approach to your body. Perhaps, it’s a self-concept challenge and you need to see that you’re allowed to and supposed to change physically. 

Health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching could be exactly what you need to feel your best in your body. If you’re feeling distracted by what you see in the mirror or your confidence has eroded as your body has developed, set up a complimentary coaching consultation here. Connecting with someone who has been in your shoes and who fully understands the pressures of the ballet world could make all the difference.

The post Dear Dancer: Your Body Is Supposed to Change appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

The best way to build trust is to gather evidence that your body is worth trusting. Dancers tend to tell themselves the opposite: “I can’t trust my body.” You might have convinced yourself that if you deviate from some controlled eating plan, your body will change drastically overnight or within a couple of weeks.

What’s true is that your body is a very efficient machine. The muscle tone that dance develops helps your body to run even more efficiently, and even in times of rest or lower activity, your basal metabolic rate (or resting metabolic rate) is likely much higher than you assume. 

To support your body to run efficiently, support your well-being.

There are some very basic ways you can support your body to run at its peak —things that unfortunately a lot of dancers neglect. 

First, eat enough. If you’re not sure what’s “enough,” check out this post. To eat enough you should be eating consistently and proactively. Don’t let more than 2–4 (max 5) hours pass between meals or snacks. 

Rest and recovery is also going to support your body to run more efficiently. When you rest, your body can manage stress and then put its effort into aiding metabolism. It’s also essential to not overwork or over-exercise. When your sleep is compromised, your metabolism suffers. 

It takes a lot to change your body.

I remember worrying that I’d experience relatively instant weight gain if I wasn’t dancing 6–8 hours a day. I imagined myself expanding to a much larger version of myself…one that was even more undesirable than the body I was in (based on my own self-judgment and perspective at that time).

At that time I was at a weight that was already very low, but my early experiences with body image feedback led me to believe I could never be small enough. The reality that I only began to trust once I stopped dancing is that with a balanced approach to food, very little will change physically even if you stop exercising altogether for a period of time.

When I stopped dancing, at first I was quite active but then I went through a period of time where I didn’t do any organized exercise. I walked a lot, but that was it. I was finally in a really positive time in my life, and my relationship to food was better than it had been for over a decade. 

Eating was easy, I wasn’t overthinking it, and I wasn’t stressing about my lack of exercise.

You know what happened to my body and weight? Nothing.

It stayed pretty much the same. It’s likely my body composition changed…you’re not going to maintain high muscle mass without organized exercise (unless you’re genetically inclined), but otherwise nothing drastic shifted. 

If your life or lifestyle changes, some change is normal.

The most important factor that supported weight maintenance was my attention to my overall well-being. I was going through my first health coaching program and was committed to caring for myself the way I would eventually encourage my clients to care for themselves. 

If you go from dancing 6 days a week to not at all, some change should be expected. You may gain some weight. Your body composition will likely shift. If you lead with self-care, the changes are likely to be subtle and more noticeable to you than anyone else. Body change isn’t bad and for some it’s healthy and needed.

If your body changes drastically…

If food consumption changes drastically, your body can change quickly. But it will not be a healthy transformation, and as a dancer, it’s possible you can severely injure yourself if you take extreme measures.

However, if your food choices have stayed relatively stable, and exercise hasn’t changed significantly but your body changes drastically, it’s time to see a doctor. A significant physical change may be a symptom of a number of serious health issues. 

How to start working with your body and building trust.

Imagine you’re your own best friend. How would you care for that person? What fuel would you provide them with? What protective measure would you take to ensure they’re at their optimal health?

The care we’re willing to give to others often goes above and beyond what we’re willing to do for ourselves. That’s something worth rethinking. If you’re unsure where to start, start here…

Schedule a free coaching consultation to learn how I can support you to prioritize your well-being so you can start trusting your body and performing at your peak. 

Resources:

• NIH Sleep and Metabolism
• What causes rapid weight gain?

The post Evidence that you can trust your body. appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Many dancers see their bodies as the main problem. If only your body were different, you’d be getting jobs, offers, company class invites.

That line of thinking isn’t supportive. It doesn’t allow you to focus on your dancing abilities and strengths as an artist. It also can create a mentality where you’re constantly tearing yourself apart and blaming your body for each opportunity that doesn’t pan out. 

Start to build awareness around your body perspective.

How do you feel in your body right now? For how long have you felt this way? If you’re someone who has been struggling with negative body image for many years, it’s going to take time to stop blaming your body shape, size, or look for the challenges that come up in dance. 

How would you feel if your body wasn’t to blame? Then what? I’ll often ask dancers these questions and the response is usually something along the lines of, “Well, then it would be about my dancing.” That’s a reality that you can look at with sadness and disappointment or one you can look at as inspiration and possibility.

Instead of fixating on your body or what you perceive to be “wrong” with it, you can instead focus on improving and growing as a dancer and artist. Let that empower you to show up and do the work and get to a place where you feel incredibly confident in your dancing by the time you’re auditioning. Then, you’ll know you’ve truly done all you can while still prioritizing your health. 

Making changes to feel better in your body for auditions (and life).

In your teen, growing years, you should be focused on eating adequately. You need plenty of fuel to grow and thrive. It’s not a time to make any big changes to your food plan. It’s a time to eat consistently and to incorporate variety.

Many of those concepts always hold true, but when you’re done growing and you’re in a professional environment, it is possible to make food adjustments from a healthy, body-goal-oriented place with the intention of feeling your best and fueling from a place of self-care.

Before you can change or adjust anything, you have to feel confident that you have a healthy and positive food relationship. For more on food relationship, read this post.

It’s very possible that you’d benefit from support in order to make healthy, sustainable changes through the audition process. Consider a coaching program that can provide a holistic approach to your body goals for auditions. Elite Best Body Coaching might be the commitment that finally allows you to feel your best in your body for dance. If you’re wondering if it’s right for you, set up a complimentary coaching consultation here.

Some questions to ask yourself as you assess your fuel plan for dance:

1. Are you fueling yourself in ways that serve your needs?
2. Are you eating from a place of balance and nourishment?
3. Is your food relationship balanced and happy?

Crash-dieting before audition season.

I’ve been there, I’ve done it, I know how tempting it can be. The name says it all. If you crash-diet, even if you think you’re reaching some aesthetic goal, there will be a crash. That might be an injury, low energy or fainting, and ultimately lacking power in your dancing.

When you show up for an audition you want to be a powerful dancer. Not one who looks frail and weak. If you put yourself in a restrictive state, you might not notice the damage you’re doing until it’s too late. You might not notice until you sustain an injury.

Check out this article I wrote for Pointe Magazine: 5 Tips for Achieving Your Healthiest Body in Time for Company Auditions.

Support a more positive self-image as auditions approach.

Something I encourage every dancer to do before audition season kicks off is to write a list of 50 things. This list should detail all the things you have to offer to a company as a dancer and a person. Some things on the list will be technical: I’m a good turner. Others might be about who you are as a person: I’m a supportive colleague and friend in the studio.

Before every audition, you’ll come back to your list of 50 things and remind yourself that you are a valuable asset to any dance company. 

If you want to have a low-stress, more successful audition season, save your spot for the FREE Audition Success Workshop here: 

The post Auditions and Your Body appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

In this post, I talk about my experience with aesthetic pressure over the course of my dance career so far, as well as how to exist in an industry that perpetuates the message that unless you look a certain way, there is no space for you.  

My early experience.

I grew up in a small Midwestern town in Minnesota and started dancing at age 3.  I trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and tap through my middle and high school years, and attended a few intensives at well-known professional schools through my high school years. 

When I was 16, I went on my first diet in an attempt to improve my dancing. This led me down a 5–6 year struggle with disordered eating, body image struggles, and low self-esteem.  I had convinced myself that becoming smaller is what I needed to do to succeed at my art, and I wanted it so badly that I did it happily.  

My dream was to be in a ballet company, but I later came to realize that though I loved ballet, there were many factors that would prevent me from ever achieving that end.  Mainly, my body.  Though I tried to fight it through dieting, restricting my eating, and excessively working out, I learned this the hard way through attending summer intensives and seeing a clear difference between the girls who were favored, and those who were not.  

Though I would regularly get noticed for my performance abilities, artistry, and sound technique, I couldn’t compete with thinness, turnout, hyper-extended knees, and high-arched feet.   I had good feet but not great feet.  I had straight knees, but not hyper-extended knees.  And though my size 4 body fits in fine with the non-dancing population, it soon became clear that I was far too “big” for the ballet world.

Challenges in college.

I attended college at a wonderful dance program in the Midwest to pursue a BFA in Dance and a Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship. I kept up with intense ballet training but delved into contemporary dance in a way I had been unfamiliar with. It was amazing, and I soon knew that contemporary dance was the path for me.  

Contemporary dance was so much more inviting to me, and I found more opportunity to express my then chaotic emotions, which was comforting.  However, I was still deep in the throes of disordered eating, trying desperately to maintain a weight that was far too low for my body through extremely restrictive food rules (and eventually bingeing).  My lean figure was embraced at school. It felt good, but in the back of my mind, I was always concerned about what would happen if my body changed.

Eventually, that’s what happened.  My body and mind eventually couldn’t take my restrictive eating habits anymore.  This impacted my health and I started to strain muscles easier (something I had never experienced), and a grade 1 ankle sprain I got from running in the grass with my friends took three and a half months to heal — far longer than it should have according to my doctor.  

I had developed a severe habit of bingeing and restricting, and I even started skipping some of my dance classes because I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror.  I often wondered to myself, Is it supposed to be this hard?

Finding support.

After applying for a scholarship for the Dancer’s Best Body Program, I connected with Jess and committed to changing my ways.  I put my dreams and worries in dance on hold because I knew I needed help with my health.  

Long story short, it changed my life.  I can happily say that I am about three and a half years past my eating struggles. I have built a resilient body image for myself, I am the strongest I’ve ever been…and I am a working professional dancer in a major city.  

When you try to pursue an elite career and are bombarded with messaging that teaches you that only the “fittest” can survive, the desire to control your body becomes an addiction.  Control your body, control your career.  

Keep your body small, you’ll get favorable casting.  Keep your body slim and toned, you’ll be noticed more…you’ll be beautiful.  And even though certain college dance settings and the contemporary dance genre can be more accepting than ballet, it would be silly to refuse to address that there is indeed still bias at the front of the room.

As a teacher myself, though I don’t have any body preferences, when I see a more traditional-looking balletic figure, I STILL think to myself, They are so lucky.  I work daily to ensure that my classroom environment is one where how your body looks is the LEAST important thing. 

In my journey, there were many instances that occurred where I felt so horrible about my body, my dancing, and my life, that I almost walked away altogether.  I was sick of feeling self-conscious, I was ashamed that I had put so much time and effort into something that I felt like I was failing at, and the thought of auditioning brought on a lot of anxiety and feelings of comparison.  

I often wondered how I could consider pursuing a professional career when I couldn’t even survive fitting the mold that I thought was required by my dream career? 

How DO we exist in an industry with such outrageous aesthetic pressure and such deeply ingrained biases about body types?

To me, this is where the rubber meets the road. You have to seriously consider how much you love dancing and what you’re willing to do to keep it in your life.  

Change the narrative of what constitutes success and being “good enough.”  

This is still a daily practice for me. I decide if I am good enough, not anybody else. In my career, I have understudied and I have watched other dancers understudy countless roles.  Though sometimes there is a difference in performance between first cast and second cast, sometimes, the only difference is a “look.” 

Although it can be hard to swallow being seen differently and not being first choice for whatever reason, at the end of the day, what matters is believing and knowing that you are capable of stepping into lead roles, regardless of what you look like.  I try to remind myself that I am doing my best.  One of my favorite affirmations for this is “I trust that opportunities that are meant for me will not pass me by.”

Let your imperfections fuel you to differentiate yourself in other ways.  

How am I relating to the rep I’m performing? How do I tell a story with my movement? What do I add to my company or cast beyond my body?  A huge part of success and resilience in dance is about the way you work, not the way you look.  

If you can become a master of your own body and be efficient and malleable while also capitalizing on your personality and uniqueness, you will go further than someone who just has an “ideal” body.  Remove your body from the equation and look at how you do things.  Dance is hard.  You need grit, patience, and a lot of resilience.  Hone in on those unique skills that only you can bring to the table.  

Take care of yourself and put yourself first. I have learned that if I feel my best, then I’ll dance my best.  I am no longer interested in changing my body for dance, because that does not serve my dancing.  If I am fueling myself properly and in a way that makes me perform well and have joy, then at the end of the day, that’s enough.  

There is only so much you can do to change your body before it hurts more than it helps.  

Though that is a hard truth to accept, you need to accept it in order to preserve your mental and physical health.  Whenever I get tempted to restrict or feel pressure to change my body, I remind myself that even at my very thinnest, I was miserable. 

It was only after gaining weight that I realized how much my body and dancing were suffering by trying to fit the mold.  I can be a great dancer without suffering, and I should not suffer to be a great dancer.  

Decide for yourself what you believe is important when it comes to dance.  Does important work = fitting a mold? Or, does important work involve being in a healthy environment and having a joyful experience?  The product you are a part of is totally important, but if that product (show, company job, presentation) is based around being thin or any unhealthy standard, then I’m not sure how valuable it really is.  

How do your own values when it comes to aesthetics measure up to those of the environment you are in?  If you are receiving messages that are leading you to believe that your body is the problem, it’s time to seriously assess whether or not this is a good place for you.  

Consider being open to finding spaces that appreciate you, even if they aren’t your first choice.  

Put your passion for dancing first. This might look like finding spaces that accept you for you.  It also might mean accepting the fact that your career might not pan out the way you wanted. “If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, not the goal.”  

Another possibility would be to start making your own work, or simply designing a schedule that allows you to take your favorite classes and enjoy dancing.  This can be a powerful way to rediscover what it feels like to dance for you and not them.

If you find yourself thinking, I only want a dance career if it means I get to perform, and that scares you, it’s okay.  A lot of times as dancers, we spend so much time trying to master our craft that the thought of quitting (even if it’s for the best) feels like failure in itself.  There is this weird feeling of loyalty to the craft that says, “If you don’t make something of yourself, you wasted your time.”  

This simply isn’t true.  There are so many benefits to dancing that don’t involve dancing itself, and there is no shame in deciding that this path isn’t for you.  It will always be a part of you, and the lessons and challenges that you grew from are experiences that hopefully enriched your character and shaped you into the wonderful person you are today.  That is not failure.  

I don’t (and never did) have a stereotypical “dancer body,” but what I do have is a joyful dance career.  As more dancers express frustrations and stories around their experiences with the aesthetic pressures of the dance world and begin to pursue different avenues involving dance and performance, more opportunities and possibilities are created for all of us who feel that we don’t fit the mold, and the dance world (ever so slowly) changes.  

When I learned to embrace both the fact that I don’t fit the mold and the winding and chaotic path that is my dance journey, I began to find more excitement, creativity, and new possibilities amid all of the question marks floating around in my brain. It is so possible to find success outside of the mold. I just had to adjust my expectations and methods of getting there.  

Though it may not feel like it now, your unique journey is a beautiful one. Trust that the opportunities that are meant for you will not pass you by.

For Eating Disorder Resources visit: https://emilyprogram.com

The post Aesthetics in Dance: How Do We Exist When We Don’t Fit the Mold? appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

It takes a lot of effort to shift your mindset in a culture that still is quite toxic in many ways. Dancers, you have to be aware of how your words about yourself impact those around you. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard a friend say something negative about herself and then thought, Well, if she thinks that about herself, she must think I’m huge (fat, terrible, etc.).

If you’re doing the work to develop self-love and improve body image but you’re constantly surrounded by people saying awful things about themselves, it’s not going to help. This post is for whichever side of that coin you land on. Whether you’re talking negatively about yourself or you’re doing the work to better support yourself, read on. 

If you’re the dancer who’s talking badly about yourself…

The first step is to stop. If you find it doesn’t feel possible to stop immediately, as if the negative comments you make about yourself are on auto-pilot, then building awareness is the first step. Notice when you make those comments and what’s going on at the moment.

Next, ask yourself why you feel compelled to say those things out loud. Are you seeking validation or reassurance? Is it possible you are looking for connection or support? Do you really feel that badly about yourself?

Once you have some answers to those questions, reach out to a counselor, therapist, or coach for support. You might need an outlet where you’re allowed to be open and honest about how you feel about yourself. A support person can provide that space. 

Speak out against the negative self-talk.

If you’re a dancer doing the work to improve your self-image but it feels like all the dancers around you are stuck in a negative loop, compassionately point it out to them. In private, you might say something like, “I’ve noticed you seem pretty down on yourself and your body. Is everything OK?”

It’s possible their body is just something they’re blaming for other things that aren’t going well. If they’re not being cast in the roles they desire, not finding success in auditions, or worried about the uncertainty of their future in dance, the body can become a scapegoat. It’s also possible they truly feel their body is too big, wrong, or undesirable in dance for some reason.

If they express any of those concerns to you, convey to them their intrinsic value and encourage them to seek support. At the same time, you can be open and honest and let them know how their negative self-talk impacts you. 

Building self-belief.

Whether you’re the body basher or the one being impacted by the negative self-talk of others, it’s essential to start building your self-belief. One of the top ways I support dancers to do that is to begin caring for yourself in intentional ways.

Care for your body every day and especially after a long day of dancing. Take a bath or even just a hot shower with lavender essential oils diffusing. Try a hot towel scrub for relaxation and improved circulation. Look for ways to care for your body and consider your thoughts as you do it.

All of this will help you to build body image resilience. Improving body image is an ongoing process for most. It’s not suddenly perfect one day. It takes time to develop that belief. Self-love allows you to see that you are intrinsically valuable as a human AND dancer at any shape or size.

Don’t make their words about you.

When you hear someone say, “Oh my god, my thighs are huge,” it doesn’t mean that person thinks your thighs are bigger or worse than theirs in some way. Even if you perceive your thighs to be bigger than theirs. The comment they’re making is purely about them and their own fears, pain, anxieties, or insecurities.

Recognize that you’re on your own path and journey and they’re on theirs. You can encourage, support, and empathize, but you don’t have to stick around or validate as they bash themselves. Protect yourself with a positive mental headspace. Only when you prioritize your mindset around your body will you be able to reach your full potential in dance.
In need of support? Schedule a complimentary coaching call here.

The post Dear Dancer: you have to stop doing this. appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Building awareness is essential if you’d like to move through your body image stresses and find a resilient body image. When you achieve body image resilience, it doesn’t mean you’ll never worry about your body. However, when those concerns surface, you’ll better be able to move through them and redirect your focus back to your dancing.

Body image stress in past training environments.

Sometimes dancers don’t realize the damage of a toxic training environment or teacher. You might think that if you’re in a troubling environment, once you leave you’ll be fine. But those experiences tend to stay with you, and it’s really important to process and evaluate the impact.

It’s possible you’ve trained in schools or danced in companies where body feedback was dispensed in group settings and with total nonchalance. It starts to feel strangely normal to be critiqued for the size of your body and not just the quality of your dancing.

This is not normal.

It’s not normal, and it can have a real, lasting impact on your self-image. Take stock of your past experiences. Consider rewriting your body story or seeking support. Your body image can improve but it will likely take time, attention, support, and effort. The body doesn’t have to distract you from what you’d like to achieve in dance.

Your body doesn’t have to be a distraction.

This can happen quite easily, so if you come to a place where you feel distracted by your body in dance, don’t fault yourself. When you’re in a negative place with body image, it’s easy to start hyper fixating on a specific body part or your body in general. I’ve definitely been there.

If you’re still in a challenging environment, it will be harder to make personal shifts, but it is possible. It requires body image resilience. Body image resilience acknowledges that, in all likelihood, you will encounter body comments, shaming, or feedback at some point. The way you deal with these can help you bounce back more quickly to a healthier mindset—becoming more resilient. This is not about believing that your body looks good but rather knowing that your body is good, however it looks.

Claim an empowered position on your body journey in dance.

Part of the challenge with body image in ballet is that you’re thinking about what they want, prefer, or like. You’ve likely removed yourself from the equation entirely and are set on pleasing the person at the front of the room.

Take your power back.

What does it mean to you to feel good in your body for dance? Consider how you feel at your healthiest, when you’re adequately fueling, and when you’re taking time to care for yourself outside of class. Perhaps you’ve not been taking care of yourself in these ways. Make an effort or reach out to a coach to get the help you need.

Find dancers of varying body types to follow and admire. Take a look at the dancers around you and make a concerted effort to see the beauty in the differences in each dancing body.

Many of the people at the front of the room are leading from a place of unconscious bias when it comes to viewing bodies in the studio. Many don’t even realize they’re passing on this pain and stress. Beyond that, they aren’t providing you with the support you need to feel your best in your body and to achieve your personal best body for dance.

A couple of questions for you to reflect on: 

What would it feel like to dance without your body being a distraction?

When you think back to when you were just a young dancer, where did your dancing joy come from?
Are you ready for the next step? Sign up for a complimentary coaching call here.

The post Healing from Body Image Distress in Dance appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Does it happen overnight? No. But with focus and attention, you can make major shifts in just a few months. When I work with dancers, we begin with a six-month program because I want the changes they facilitate to last. Usually by around month three or four, massive changes are happening.

Around that time, dancers notice notably improved sleep, food routines, relationships to food and their bodies, improved confidence in their dancing, clarity in their dance goals, and increased self-worth.

Here are the steps so you can start to work in the direction of positive body and mindset change on your own. If you’d like to dive in a bit deeper with me, sign up to receive the FREE 7-step best body guide where I break down this process and help you see how you can apply it now!

STEP 1: Learn the Basics of Healthy Eating to Optimize Performance.

You’ve got to have a healthy foundation. Learn about macronutrients (proteins, carbs, + fats) and micronutrients (vitamins + minerals) so you can easily put together complete and satisfying meals.

Do research for yourself — stick to learning nutritional science information and seek knowledge on fueling athletes. I specialize in working with dancers, and I use a holistic approach because dancers usually have deeply rooted stories about food and their bodies. To break through those stories, you need to look at all areas of your life.

Be aware that a lot of nutrition information is biased. Look for evidence-based research and studies conducted using athletes or dancers — data that isn’t trying to sell you something. And know that ultimately, what’s “healthy” for you is completely individual.

STEP 2: Practice Self-Care to Improve Body Image.

Taking good care of yourself through daily self-care practices is one of the best ways to cultivate self-love. You’re communicating to your body through your actions that you are worthy of time and attention.

When you look in the mirror, frame your self-descriptions in a positive way and always look for what’s good. Don’t criticize yourself harshly. Work on getting that little voice in your head to speak kindly to you. Research has shown that referring to yourself by your own name can help shift your self-talk to provide more support and emotional regulation.

STEP 3: Prioritize Meal Planning and Prep to Make Food Choices Easy.

Eating healthy, delicious meals is very possible, but it does typically take a little bit of planning and preparation. Find the healthy recipes you truly enjoy eating. Seek out options that are quick to cook or easy to heat up and make them ahead.

Have staple recipes that you make every week. Switch them up when you get bored. If you’re not excited to eat something, it will be less satisfying. You’ve got to find satisfaction from your food if you want to stay on the healthy track.

If your healthy recipes are bland and boring (they don’t have to be), you’ll be more likely to binge on unhealthy foods. To ensure satisfaction, also use a strategy I call TWD Functional 5 for a balanced plate at every meal.

Make sure you include protein, fat, starchy carbs, non-starchy carbs, and joyful tastes at each and every meal. This is something I’ll be elaborating on soon because I know you can find true satisfaction by providing both your nutrient needs and your food desires.

STEP 4: Discover the Eating Plan That Works to Serve Your Personal Needs and Preferences.

Not all foods work for all people. It’s important to experiment to figure out what works for you. Just because your friend has found success on a vegan or Paleo diet doesn’t mean you will.

It’s also very important from a mindset perspective to realize you don’t have to fit your eating style into a box. You can (and arguably should) shift your choices around food as needed.

Signs you might need to make some shifts: you’re breaking out a lot or more than usual, you’re feeling lethargic or wired, you’re gaining or losing weight inexplicably, you find yourself binge eating or emotional eating (these are emotional and mindset concerns, but your food choices can impact them or be impacted by them).

STEP 5: Cultivate Confidence in Food Choices, Your Body, and Dancing.

Each and every day, think about all your gifts. What positive light do you bring to the world as a person and dancer? How can you lift up those around you?

When you step into the studio and watch the other dancers, admire them for their strengths. The more you see the gifts of those around you, the more easily you’ll identify those gifts in yourself.

Building confidence is a process. You might think some people were just born confident, but most people have to work for it or they have to work to maintain it. The same is true for you. 

STEP 6: Explore Cross-Training Options for Improvements in Dance Performance.

Cross-training shouldn’t take hours a day, and it shouldn’t be exhausting. If you destroy yourself at the gym, you won’t be able to bring yourself fully into your dancing.

A lot of dancers are turning to weight training for good reason. It can benefit you even if you’re only spending 20-30 minutes in the gym a few days a week. 

The pilates reformer is an old staple for dancers with good reason. It used to be a really expensive cross-training endeavor, but with chain studios and group classes, you can find more affordable rates. 

Be open minded when it comes to cross-training, and just like food, your needs will differ from the dancer next to you. Let it be an experimentation process.

STEP 7: Release a Restrictive Mindset to Remove Guilt Around Food.

If you’ve gotten to a place where you simply aren’t eating enough or you think you must eat less to reach your body goals, it’s time to adjust.

Depending on how deeply you’ve gotten into restriction, you might need eating disorder counseling or support. Find a counselor or psychologist who works specifically with dancers.

If your mindset is only somewhat skewed at this point, adjust how you’re looking at food. Food is not “good” or “bad,” and you shouldn’t let your food choices impact how you feel about yourself. A health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach can help you establish a more balanced relationship to food and your body.

It’s not about self-control.

It’s about fueling yourself with enough food that is healthy and enjoyable so you can easily move towards your body goals.

If you’d like to learn the 7-step process to reaching your body goals in more depth, click here and grab my free Best Body Guide. That’s a great place to start!If you’re unsure of the support you need or the step in the process that needs your attention first, set up a complimentary coaching call. We can discuss your goals and challenges, and I’ll provide insights and actions so you’ll have a clear next, best step.

The post Your Best Body for Dance in 7-Steps appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

I thought that if I was skinnier, it would make me an instantly better dancer.

In my mind, skinny was the answer to all of my problems. It would help me get my next job, get cast in better roles, and my technique would instantly look better on a skinnier body.

Maybe you can relate to this romanticized view of “skinny.” It’s something I’ve heard over and over again from clients and dancers at varying stages of their careers. You’re brainwashed to believe that it’s a magic bullet of sorts. Just be smaller and you’ll be better. You’ll get the job. You’ll find “success,” and you’ll finally be happy and confident.

It’s time to take skinny off the pedestal. Changing your body at all costs without consideration for your health is a fast path to losing your love for dance, burning out, and potentially causing irreversible damage.

What happens when getting skinnier is your #1 goal in dance?

You might damage your relationship to food.

This possibility comes to dancers from all sides. Your peers might talk about restrictive eating patterns, your teachers might make off-handed comments about eating less, or you might watch TV or consume social media that sends the message you should eat less or a certain way.

Restrictive eating or borderline disordered eating can cause long-term damage to your relationship to food. It can make it harder to recognize hunger and fullness and create an environment of stress around meals or any food-centric gatherings.

You might cause harm to your body.

If you’re chronically underfueling, you’ll increase the likelihood of injury. Stress fractures are more likely if you’re not consuming enough food and are deficient in nutrients essential to bone health. The primary deficiencies we hear about are calcium and vitamin D as they’re closely connected to bone health, but there are other, lesser-known deficiencies to consider as well.

“These lesser known insufficiencies of magnesium, silicon, vitamin K, and boron are rarely explained to physicians although the more common insufficiencies of calcium, vitamin D and exercise are increasingly recognized as contributors to bone health. In addition to these essential nutrients, vitamin C, inositol and L-arginine have beneficial effects on bone health.”¹ 

Restrictive eating can also reduce the amount of “good bacteria” in your gut. This can make it harder for your body to digest food efficiently and can cause gas and bloating.

Your dancing might suffer.

If you don’t nourish your body, your dancing will suffer. It’s very easy to slip into a state of undernourishment when you dance for hours each day. Your body needs adequate fuel to recover from the physical stress and strain of dancing. Without adequate nutrition to support that recovery, you’re more likely to get injured, you’ll be weaker, and your immune system can suffer. 

If you’re forced out of the studio to heal from injury or recover from illness, you might face challenges in achieving the technical improvements you desire. It’s all connected. Even if a thinner body helped you get a job, you’ll struggle to keep it if you’re not supporting your body with adequate nutrition.

It’s essential that you shift your thinking to prioritize what’s really necessary to support your best dancing.

 Here are 7 ways to start the shift:

1. Put your health in position number ONE.

Before anything else, your health comes first. As a healthy dancer, you’ll have more energy, you’ll lower your risk for injury, and you’ll be able to sustain better moods. This will allow you to find more joy in your dancing.

2. Set intentions behind your body goals.

Acknowledge that being thinner is not going to make you an instantly better dancer. How would you like to feel in your body? How will that shifted way of feeling impact your dancing?

3. Work on increasing your confidence NOW.

Not only will this help you think of yourself in a more loving and supportive way, but that confidence will help you see that achieving your strongest and healthiest body is possible. A balanced path will help you get there.

4. Be realistic.

“Skinny” might not be in the cards for you. That’s OK. It doesn’t mean you can’t pursue dance, and it doesn’t count you out of the ballet world. You may not ever be as thin as the dancer standing next to you. We are all built differently, and what’s healthy for one person may be completely unhealthy for you.

5. Frame your goals in healthier ways.

Rather than saying, “I want/need to be thinner” or “I’d like to reach x weight by a certain date” say something like, “I want to attain the strongest, most beautiful version of my body that is going to support my dancing for a long and healthy career.”

6. Trust the process.

Throughout your life, your body shape and composition will be constantly evolving. You’ll discover a new way of eating that works wonders for you or certain mindset shifts will suddenly click.

7. Aim to be an expert on your body.

Restrictive eating is counterproductive. Copying how someone else eats is unlikely to lead to the desired result. What works best for you is unique to you. An easygoing attitude around food is going to allow you to experiment to figure out what works best for you.

A former participant in The Dancers’ Best Body Program put it beautifully when she said, “Having deep knowledge of my body and my dancing abilities will take me way farther than a ‘skinny look’ ever will.” Yup. Exactly this.

She went on to say, “I feel more energized, stronger, and like a better dancer, but I haven’t necessarily seen a massive change in my external appearance — yet I still look at this as a massive transformation and have gotten complimented from my teachers on it.”If you’re looking to get a jump start on shifting your approach to your body in dance, then take a look at The Dancers’ Best Body Program. One-on-one and self-study options are currently open, or you can sign up for the waitlist of the next group coaching round.

The post When Skinny Isn’t Possible appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

If you want to feel your best in your body, here’s the first thing you have to do…

You have to completely release any desire to change your body. This takes work — it isn’t an overnight thing. It’s essential that you accept yourself in this moment, exactly as you are, and acknowledge that it’s possible you’re already in your personal best body, you’re just not in a place of loving, accepting, and appreciating it.

In order to release the desire for external change, ask yourself the following questions:

1. When did the thoughts around wanting to change my body begin?

It’s possible you started thinking something had to change at a young age. For me, it was around 13 or 14, and it became pretty all-consuming from that point on. This is common for a lot of dancers at that age.

You might have a child’s body in mind when you think about what you want to look like. Whether you’re growing into adulthood or you’re already there, your body is supposed to change over time. It’s healthy, it’s normal, and it will yield your best dancing when you allow it to happen.

Turn your concern and thinking inward.

2. How do I want to feel in my dancing?

All too often, the desire for external change is connected to how you think you should look in order to dance your best. The truth is, how you look does not determine how well you dance. It doesn’t define your potential or ability to improve or succeed.

Do you want to feel strong? Happy? Joyful? How can you connect more to those feelings and approach your dancing with more intention?

Any time you’re feeling distracted by your reflection, come back to the internal feelings of the dancing. If you’re fully in your body, you’ll start to rediscover the joy regardless of what you see in the mirror. 

Notice the physical sensations of your muscles engaging. Connect to your breath and as thoughts come and go, just label them as “useful” or “not useful.” This is a meditation technique that can allow for a more intentional experience in your dancing. 

Release the need to please “them.”

3. Who am I trying to please by changing myself?

That need and desire for external validation is pervasive in ballet and dance. This starts young and is a strong need for someone else to tell you you’re good enough. 

If you think your body needs to change to achieve your goals in dance, whether you hope to get your first job, promotion, or a role, it’s time to take a step back. If you take all those goals away, how do you really feel in your body and dancing?

Consider your relationship to food and the impact it has on your body.

4. How am I relating to food?

Dancers, overwhelmingly, are undernourished, but it’s so normalized that you assume that’s how you’re supposed to eat to make it in dance. If you have ever attached a calorie count to your daily food consumption, it’s very likely you’re not eating enough to power your dancing and support your health. 

It might be time to start intentionally adding food to your daily meal plan. If you have any fear around this, start small and focus on macros you might have previously avoided.

The goal should be to feel confident and low-stress choosing the foods that will help you to feel and perform your best in a given moment. Give yourself permission to provide nourishment for your body. And give yourself permission to enjoy the tastes, textures, and experiences of your food.

5. How long have you been struggling with thinking your body was wrong or needed to change? 

Honestly, any amount of time feeling stuck in that head game is more than enough. It lasted nearly 15 years for me — that’s a big chunk of my life spent obsessing over food, hating my body, and feeling helpless, confused, and alone as I struggled to figure it all out. I’ve worked with retired dancers who were in the struggle even longer.

Decide you’re done with the struggle. Your body is not the problem and you don’t have to change your body for dance. Once you have the resolve, take action. Explore your support options and get in touch with the people who understand what you’re going through, who can help you move forward and take action.

Depending on your needs and support preferences, The Dancers’ Best Body Course and Group Coaching Program could provide the shift you need to move through your challenges with food and your body. For experiences of dancers, just like you, who have participated in past rounds of the program, read the testimonials page. By reading their words, you’ll see that this program is decidedly not about any major change in your body for dance. It’s about finding your confidence and power in your body for dance.

If your needs are outside of the scope of support I offer or what’s provided within the program, I’ll tell you honestly and can refer you to other practitioners who guide dancers through these challenges.

Not sure if this is right for you? Send me an email and share your story: jess@thewholedancer.com

The post 5 Questions to Ask if You Want to Change Your Body For Dance appeared first on The Whole Dancer.