City of Ames, IA Healthy Living With Nancy Shaw, 13 Mar 2015

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From YouTube: Healthy Living with Nancy Shaw

Description

Belly Dancing is a fun, exciting way to get some exercise! On this episode, Nancy learns a little more about the class and some moves.

A

Hi I'm Nancy Shah, with healthy living today, our guest is Melinda Jenkins, more hi Melinda. Thank you.

B

For joining us, thank you for inviting me Melinda.

A

Is an experienced belly, dance instructor and our belly dance instructor here at Ames parks and recreation, we've been offering belly dance classes for many years, had games, parks and recreation and melinda has been teaching here. So we're excited to have you on our show and teach everybody about belly dancing so Melinda? What would a person expect to learn when they come to a belly, dance class? Well,.

B

I think Billy of belly dance is a series of muscle, isolations and so in your beginning, belly dance class you're going to learn just individual muscle, isolations and then start to layer, those muscle isolations, on top of each other, to kind of get the look in the.

A

Real show picture.

B

Of the belly dance so.

A

What kind of participant, what kind of person takes belly dance classes? Anyone.

B

Can take belly dance I if you have a love of dance or a love of movement and are looking for something different that if this might be a class for you, it's just I ace point. I, hope everyone has fun. Yes,.

A

And it is very fun the people that have taken it, love it and their usually addicted and they sign up session obsession. What are the exercise benefits? I know people love it for what it can do for your body in the in the world of exercise. So so.

B

If you're, just taking like the beginner class, should probably get be more since its muscle, isolations you'll, get more muscle, 20 be more muscle tone if you would move on to the intermediate class. That would be more cardio because you'll be moving around a lot more right.

A

And there is a lot of movement correct there.

B

Is a lot of movement so and I try to make sure that you can do movement while you're moving actually around the room so well.

A

We offer beginner and intermediate classes here at Ames parks and recreation. So what would a beginner when they start what types of things would they start with? Are they really easy to follow? Is it complicated movements.

B

Are depends on who the person is, but various movements could be easy for one person and hard for another and it just kind of varies, but I start off with just single muscle isolations, and we move on from there as the class how the class moves so well.

A

Melinda, would you like to show us certainly of the moves that a person would learn in a beginning, belly, dance class? Yes, you.

B

Need me, I will teach you all right, okay, so we're going to start off and we're going to learn a move called the snake, arms and so you're going to start off I'm going to demo it for you. So I can kind of get an idea of what you're going to do and then I will break it down.

B

Oh yeah, so you're sneak arms are these s-shaped arms and to break it down we're going to start off one arm at a time and you're going to bring your arm up like you're, holding a beach ball under it you're going to drop the beach ball and drag your hand on the wall, and then you just do that with the other arm, bring it up and drag your hand on the wall, and if you want to combine those movements as the one arm goes down, the other arm comes up.

B

Just like that, you.

A

Can really feel the muscles working in your arms as you do this as well. It's.

B

It can be an excellent arm workout. Oh yes and then another movement you can do. That is something probably people think about for belly. Dance would be your hip shimmy, okay,.

A

B

Show you how we work on that.

A

We get some music to our shimmy. That would be fantastic, alright,.

B

So I'm going to have you stand with your feet, parallel yep and your knees bent, because that's going to give you more movement in your hips and so you're just going to move your hip up one hip up and then you're going to move the other hip up. So you just start off moving it slow and when this pace feels comfortable, you can move a little bit faster.

B

Just like that, and when this paste feels comfortable, you can take it even faster and go. You keep increasing your pace as you feel comfortable until you get to your shimmy everything's working there, everything is working there.

A

What about your arms, when you do that? What is the typical position with your arms, but you should, for.

B

Typical, you could have your arms out and that will get your arms a nice little workout right there or you could frame your hips and people dry. Your eyes down to the movement of your hips. Okay, I'll show you one more move. Okay, and this is called a basic figure 8, and this would be this is going to form it's called a figure 8 because it forms I figure 8, actually with your hips, while you're doing it.

B

So again, we're going to start with your knees, bent and I'm going to have you lift your left hip up and you can lift your left heel up to do that, you're, a slight all your weight over into your right hip and then place that left heel down now you're going to lift your right hip up slide all your weight over to your left and place that right heel down. So you a lift slide your weight over and place your foot lift slide over place, lift slide over that.

A

Was a little harder in that? Yes, but.

B

You're doing great lift slide place. That's it.

B

So this gives you kind of a flowy movement. Oh.

A

You have your hips.

A

You have to think a little harder on.

A

You can again you can, whereas I'm taking it from the exercise side, but you can really feel that through your core and your hips and it.

B

Really gives you a nice more workout.

B

And so those are just some of the movements that you would learn in a beginning.

A

Class, that's very very fun! What about clothing? What what most people wear to a belly dance just.

B

Something that you're comfortable and you can move in I will wear clothes that you can see. My movements in but whoever's taking the class just has to feel comfortable and what they're wearing okay.

A

Well, very good: well, we offer our beginner and intermediate classes here at parks and recreation on wednesday nights at six, thirty and seven thirty, so we would love to have more participation in those classes. We get great followings and people love the belly, dance classes, I.

B

Think it's a lot of fun so.

A

And with your expertise, they love learning with you. So so thank you very much for joining us today and teaching us a little bit about belly dancing if you would like more information on our belly, dance classes or any of our fitness classes here at parks and recreation, you may check us out online at Ames park, rec, org or, of course, give me a call at 239, 53, 53 again melinda. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me and I'm nancy shaw with healthy living and remember it's never too late to get fit.