Yoga Dance Training - 5 Poses to Help Dance Training

Are you wanting to get stronger, more flexible, and maybe even improve your concentration and stamina while dancing? Then you’re in the right place! 

Hi, I’m Jazz - a dance teacher and (nearly) lifelong yogi who is here to help you enhance your dance training by practising these simple yet SO effective yoga poses. 

Did you know that yoga is absolutely fantastic for building strength and developing flexibility, and can also help to reduce the risk of injury by warming up your muscles and making your joints stronger? 

Holding yoga poses can also encourage a dancer to link breath and movement - implementing this in to your dance training will lead to having higher energy levels throughout a performance, and will also make executing challenging or fast dance sequences easier with much less breathlessness! 

These are the 5 yoga poses I use daily as a tool to improve my dance technique and focus, that you could use to also enhance yours… 

Pose 1: BOAT POSE 

Good for: developing a strong core, needed for balance and especially in pirouettes! 

Try it 

Start by sitting in a tuck shape with your arms parallel to the floor. Engage your core, aim to keep your back straight and chest lifted, and find the balance on your sit bone. If you feel balanced, lift one foot off the floor. If that’s okay, try the other foot too… Your thighs should be as close to your stomach as possible! Hold this pose for 5-10 breaths 

Make it harder: try extending both your legs, whilst keeping your chest lifted!

Pose 2: DOLPHIN POSE 

Good for: building upper body strength needed to hold your arms in place during training, and elongating your arms during a performance. 

Try it: Start on your hands and knees, with your knees under hips and hands under shoulders, engaging your core for a straight back. Lower down on to your forearms, making sure they stay in line with your shoulders (not too wide). Aim to keep your arms parallel, but your hands might shift inwards a little - and that’s okay! Press your palms into the floor. Engage your core even more, press your feet into the floor and lift your knees off while extending your legs. Press into the floor with your forearms to make space between your head and the floor (your head is aiming not to touch the floor). Hold this pose for 5-10 breaths 

Make it harder: walk your feet in slightly with legs extended, making sure your shoulders don’t move forward over your elbows! 

Pose 3: CHAIR POSE 

Good for: strengthening thigh, leg and knee muscles while lengthening the lower back and opening the shoulders

Try it: Glue your ankles and knees together (or if they can’t go together, keep them under your hips but make sure your knees stay going over toes too). Bend your legs while slowly swinging your arms above your head. Keep your heels on the floor and aim to lengthen your lower back by squeezing your core and stomach muscles. Aim to open your chest at the same time and look up behind your hands. Hold this pose for 5-10 breaths

Make it harder: can you do the same position but with your heels lifted, in a releve? 

Pose 4: BOUND ANGLE POSE 

Good for: opening up the hips for good turnout 

Try it: Place the soles of your feet together while your knees open sideways. Hold on to your ankles (try not to hold on to your feet as this can lead to sickling your ankles) and press your chest forward to make sure your back is as straight as possible. Hold this pose for 10 breaths 

Make it harder: press your elbows into your knees to encourage them to go to the floor. If they are near the floor, lower your chest forward with a flat back to get your chin as close to the floor as possible. 

Pose 5: KING ARTHUR POSE 

Good for: intensely stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors for splits, while strengthening the ankle and knee joints.

Try it: Set yourself up near a wall (with a mat on the floor to protect your knee). Prepare for a low lunge with your back knee very close to the wall. Lift your back foot so that it’s vertical up the wall, in line with your knee. If you can, press your hips forward (with your front knee in line with your front ankle) with your hands balancing on your front knee. Hold this pose for 5-10 breaths on each side 

Make it harder: lift your arms up above your head and look behind your hands for a mini back bend. 

Last tip: Yoga can also help calm your mind, and Yin Yoga is especially good at lowering your heart rate - if ever you’re feeling nervous before a dance performance, spending 10 minutes breathing through these stretches will have a great effect on your focus and nerves. 

Want to learn more? Follow me at @jazzhandstands Happy stretching!