mikawendy
07-05-2004, 12:39 PM
Originally posted by Cinderella
Mikawendy or Evie - could you elaborate on this? This is EXACTLY what I need to be able to do -- turn out from the hip. Since I am 47 years old, I am understandably cautious about doing things that might be hurting my knees instead. I want to learn bauers and spread eagles. What do you recommend to develop turnout from the hip?
Cinderella--
Here's what I'd suggest based on my experience with ballet. I can't yet do a decent (uncurvy) bauer or a spread eagle.
My ballet teacher gave a great exercise for turnout in second position. Stand facing a barre, a sturdy chair, or the wall so that you can hang on for balance. Stand in second position, with YOUR current turnout (so that your knees are over your ankles and aren't wrenching to get extra, false turnout). Your weight should be evenly distributed over your foot (the foot shouldn't be rolling over to the instep or to the outer border of your foot). Concentrate on having a neutral pelvis (not tucked, not with swayback) and engaging your stomach muscles. For two counts, do a deep demi plie. For two counts come up halfway. For two counts go back down to that deep demi plie. For two counts come all the way up. Repeat 2-4 times. Some people like to inhale on the going down parts and exhale on the coming up parts.
To make the exercise more challenging, you can stand in a wider second position, you can go deeper into the plie (but never so that your knee has less than a 90 degree angle), and you can slow down the counts.
I also have seen physical therapists give a side-lying exercise for turnout called "clams". It uses a theraband tied in a large loop. You lie on one side with the knees bent and the ankles in line with your back and butt. THe theraband loop goes around your thighs near the knees and the upper leg opens and closes at the knee (it's sort of the reverse of the "Thighmaster" exercise only lying down), with the ankles/feet not lifting off of the floor. I usually do two sets of 15. I don't have a theraband that's long enough and the right "stretchiness," so I use a velcro ankle weight around my thigh instead--but that's a little cumbersome.
After any intense turnout exercises, I like to stretch my piriformis muscles (external hip rotators) because otherwise I tend to get too tight there. I lie on my back, draw one knee up toward my chest so that my thigh is making a 90 degree angle with my body. I place my other ankle on my thigh just above my knee, grip behind the thigh of the first leg, and pull gently and slowly toward my body and hold for 15-30 seconds. You'll feel a stretch in the butt area of the leg whose ankle is resting on the thigh. (The piriformis attaches in two places, so it has two "bundles" of muscle fibers--you can feel a different stretch by also drawing the knee of the stretching leg across the body toward the opposite shoulder a little bit.)
If any of this sounds confusing, let me know, and I'll try to explain it better.
Mikawendy or Evie - could you elaborate on this? This is EXACTLY what I need to be able to do -- turn out from the hip. Since I am 47 years old, I am understandably cautious about doing things that might be hurting my knees instead. I want to learn bauers and spread eagles. What do you recommend to develop turnout from the hip?
Cinderella--
Here's what I'd suggest based on my experience with ballet. I can't yet do a decent (uncurvy) bauer or a spread eagle.
My ballet teacher gave a great exercise for turnout in second position. Stand facing a barre, a sturdy chair, or the wall so that you can hang on for balance. Stand in second position, with YOUR current turnout (so that your knees are over your ankles and aren't wrenching to get extra, false turnout). Your weight should be evenly distributed over your foot (the foot shouldn't be rolling over to the instep or to the outer border of your foot). Concentrate on having a neutral pelvis (not tucked, not with swayback) and engaging your stomach muscles. For two counts, do a deep demi plie. For two counts come up halfway. For two counts go back down to that deep demi plie. For two counts come all the way up. Repeat 2-4 times. Some people like to inhale on the going down parts and exhale on the coming up parts.
To make the exercise more challenging, you can stand in a wider second position, you can go deeper into the plie (but never so that your knee has less than a 90 degree angle), and you can slow down the counts.
I also have seen physical therapists give a side-lying exercise for turnout called "clams". It uses a theraband tied in a large loop. You lie on one side with the knees bent and the ankles in line with your back and butt. THe theraband loop goes around your thighs near the knees and the upper leg opens and closes at the knee (it's sort of the reverse of the "Thighmaster" exercise only lying down), with the ankles/feet not lifting off of the floor. I usually do two sets of 15. I don't have a theraband that's long enough and the right "stretchiness," so I use a velcro ankle weight around my thigh instead--but that's a little cumbersome.
After any intense turnout exercises, I like to stretch my piriformis muscles (external hip rotators) because otherwise I tend to get too tight there. I lie on my back, draw one knee up toward my chest so that my thigh is making a 90 degree angle with my body. I place my other ankle on my thigh just above my knee, grip behind the thigh of the first leg, and pull gently and slowly toward my body and hold for 15-30 seconds. You'll feel a stretch in the butt area of the leg whose ankle is resting on the thigh. (The piriformis attaches in two places, so it has two "bundles" of muscle fibers--you can feel a different stretch by also drawing the knee of the stretching leg across the body toward the opposite shoulder a little bit.)
If any of this sounds confusing, let me know, and I'll try to explain it better.