Curing Cabin Fever

In my opinion, when dancers are on a break, it usually takes about two days without exercise for us to get a little "stir crazy". Since dancers are used to a routine of taking ballet class every day for an hour or an hour and a half, it is a shock to completely stop taking class. There are two schools of thought on recovering from a hard season. Some dancers believe that they should continue to take class every day so they can stay in shape. And I believe that it is best to take time off. 

I believe that spending time on the couch and vegging out for a couple of days is really nice and necessary for healing, but there comes a point soon after a couple of days of doing nothing where I need to get my body moving again. There is only a certain amount of time I can spend in my apartment before I start to get cabin fever. 

Taking ballet class is essential for dancers when they are getting back in shape. However, there are many other ways to stay in shape without out taking class every day of your layoff. It is important to give your body time away from ballet so your body can heal any lingering injuries. I think it is best to take a week off  of ballet class completely. After a week or so you can start to come back to ballet class slowly by taking one or two classes a week without over exerting yourself in these first classes back. Taking class slow and easy when you are starting back will allow your body to adjust from being on the couch to being back in the studio. 

I believe that the transition from being off and being back is easier if you continue to keep your body moving. During the time off before coming back to ballet class, you can keep in shape by doing other forms of exercise. Since it is important for dancers to have good stamina, (so they can successfully get through a full ballet without looking tired) it is good to do exercises that get your heart rate going like Zumba or running on the elliptical. I also think it is important to do exercise that makes you feel good; for me I like to take yoga or a water aerobics class. It is nice to have a pool because you can do low impact exercises. Jumping up and down on one foot in the pool helps me practice landing from a jump when I'm in the ballet studio. 

I promise you will feel so much better when you get back to class if you continue to move during the layoff!