Basics of what we do in the office

DanceCore primarily teaches the untouchables, "innate use of core" and such, including getting your personal structural deviations reduced to allow efficient and free movement.

We base our teaching in kinesiology, anatomy, movement analysis, and several posture and relaxation techniques such as Pilates, Alexander Method, Feldenkrais, and Structural. With this background we also teach movement training to other forms of dance, athletes, singers, actors, or anyone that moves. The instruction is based on principles of movement that create the foundation of stability, flexibility, strength and quickness.

Tensegrity

Tensegrity image used with permission

Your body is fully connected with this fascia running from bone to muscle and back again.  The fascia has no beginning or end, (and in my opinion takes up more space than muscle), which translates to the body being fully connected.  When one portion of your fascia gets tight and misaligned it will pull the rest of the body.  If it is not adjusted fairly quickly it has a dominoe affect in pulling other body parts out of alignment.  This results in stiffness, misalignment, and eventually pain.  (Note that because the sphere is resting on the table the shape is slightly compressed.)

Viewing clothes

For men we require mid-thigh compression shorts/biker shorts.  For women we require a colored sports bra and either fitted swim bottoms or mid-thigh biker shorts.  We do this to make access to muscles simpler for the therapis and our clients have felt that it feels like a safer environment than sheets.  

Cleaning scary stuff off tables and being green

We have found cleaning supplies without chlorine bleach that kill H1N1, E-coli, Mrsa, bacteria, virus', and fungus.  We use eco-friendly laundry detergents that are scent free in order to protect clients with sensitive skin.  When working on feet and armpits we have a hand sanitizer that does contain alcohol to prevent the spread of bacteria to other parts of your body.

At DanceCore we combine Structural, energy release, and core training in order to make bodywork as painless and longlasting as possible.  It is common to have SER's (Somato Emotional Releases) as you allow your muscle fibers to lengthen and your fascia to be heated and moved.  

Our goal is similar to chasing a rabbit through a field.  We comb the whole field and therefore find all the rabbits instead of chasing the one we thought was the problem.

Click on image: hyperextended knees (Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology by Clippinger)

When to call a doctor

I go when I feel a SHARP pain or I just don't get better. Sharp pain suggests that you didn't just pull something. It suggests torn soft tissue or broken bones. Not fun. That is what doctors can do for you. They are also the only ones that can give you a prescription and help you with major sicknesses like pneumonia and strep throat.

So if you wonder if it's bad enough to brave the doctor ask yourself is this a sharp pain or a dull ache?  Is it going away or is it getting worse?  If it's a muscle with a dull it's really not that hard to stretch or better still Ice (for 20 min or less - see hydro link).

(Naturally, I am not a doctor. So, you should consult your favorite medical expert and not take my advice as law. Be smart.)

There are many amazing practitioners I love to remind clients about:

Osteopaths & Chiropractors

Dieticians/Nutritionists

Physical Therapists/Occupational Therapists

Rapid Eye Therapists

Theta Healers

Acupressurists (I don't like needles so I prefer the pressure)

Reflexologists

NAET specialists 

Rolfers/Structural Integrators

Alexander certified instructors

Cranial Sacral Therapists

My personal favorite?  Licensed Massage Therapists who do a combination of many things and can modify their bodywork according to each client.

Most of you know that I don't have an affinity to doctors.

You probably ask why? I went to doctors for years and they said that my foot problem could be taken care of by stopping what I love...dance. My doctors tried to figure out if I was anemic, low in Vitamin B12, or simply allergic to the dirt in the air. One doctor was too embarrassed to tell me what my symptoms would be if I were Lactose intolerant, (I probably projected my own embarrassment on him and he was trying to be senstive), so I was guessing for 7 years.

Well, my Dance therapist, Ronald Nuttal at BYU, is the one who figured out I probably have hypoglycemia. Afterward, I spoke to a doctor, explained my symptoms, then received a "he's probably right but it's very difficult and expensive to truly diagnose."  I'm glad.  I don't want a diagnosis; I want a prognosis of how to deal with my tendency to high insulin levels.

I am the one who figured out that I am allergic to Soy, (not milk, although many cows eat soy meal which means fatty milk bothers me some), raw onions, Brazil nut protein, and Peanuts (after I birthed my first child). So he was right the intolerance was making me sick. He was just wrong about the allergy.  

I have since learned how to work with acupressure and remove my allergies.  Before this they were very real and very dangerous to my very existence.  Be careful with allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Ron also explained how to treat my Tendonitis and Fasciatis that had made it so I couldn't walk for two weeks. Now I simply have to treat occassional Fasciatis. My "Tendonitis" is completely gone.

90% of injuries are preventable by stretching? Yup. That's what Ron taught us in a Conditioning course at BYU. I learned how to address and fix injuries not from doctors, but from my dance trainers and professors; however, I am grateful for what I have learned from some doctors.