Occasionally, it’s a good idea just to check where we stand, literally, in our bodies– how solid is our “good” posture, and how does our body compensate when we throw in strange elements, like high heels?
We might be diligent about maintaining what we think is good posture, only to later find out we weren’t using our bodies efficiently to support that posture. A good test is to see how our core responds when we shift our center of gravity. If it is strong, our posture will not be phased, but if it is weak, our body will compensate by contorting.
In tango, a relaxed yet stable walk is very important. It turns out that the same walk in our everyday life can help us be more engaged in the world around us. Feeling our strength in the ground and relaxing through our steps while standing tall feels really good! We can feel much more aware of our selves and the world around us. Relaxing into the walk can be difficult, but luckily we have the ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’ to help us! This is a very silly walk, so maybe you just want to do it at home, unless you don’t mind looking silly, in which case feel free to do this walk wherever you like.
This is a greatly expanded version of an exercise that we gave as prerequisite homework for our recent classes. Learning how to fine tune your posture is key to creating posture awareness which is very important in tango and in life. This also ties in nicely with a request for an awareness challenge from a friend in Turkey. Our friend had observed that after a shoulder adjustment, his hips and sacrum would sometimes respond in an unhealthy way. While this is far more than an awareness challenge, it does provide more comprehensive posture exercises to help bring awareness to the possible interactions that may occur as we adjust different aspects of our posture.
This is also one of the primary exercises I did many times a day when I felt my job situation deteriorating last summer. A timer on my computer told me to stand once an hour and this exercise is the minimum of what I did then and every other time I stood up from my desk. Doing this exercise many times a day can do wonders to correct the bad posture caused by stress, sitting too long, or time spent hunched over a desk or computer. Even better, do this exercise combined with a few stretches or even some exercise. Maybe a few sun salutations, some Bulgarian squats, or some push ups. Try it– your body will feel better and so will your mind!
Due to popular demand, Eric and Susannah are excited to announce another immersive foundations tango class!
This class will follow a different format from the last, with a stronger emphasis on connection and subtle movement, while diving deeper into visualizing proper posture and movement. We will be incorporating parts of our Tangobreath vinyasa in class to create awareness and Provide practice techniques that will go well beyond class time.
This 4-hour class continues our exploration of essential technique in Argentine tango to prepare you to attend milongas (social dances) and practicas in a much shorter time than a more traditional series. We will also be inviting experienced dancers in our community to participate, so that you will have the opportunity to work with individuals who can give you personalized and knowledgeable feedback during the class.
Saturday, October 6th
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
The West Asheville Vineyard, 717 Haywood Road
$40.00 pre-registration
DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING: Friday, September 28th
We need to have a minimum number of participants to offer this class, so we encourage you to pre-register or contact us soon, if you are interested! We will also be providing more pre-class study material and exercises, so be sure to let us know you are coming!
Additional IMPORTANT information:
We structure our classes in unique ways in order to delve into deep studies and explorations of our bodies and the material. Since we want you to get the best experience and assimilate the most from this intense class, we will have some required exercises and material before the lesson. We will provide all of this material to you a week or more in advance.
Visualization enables the best movement and posture possible
TangoBreath has made us very conscious of how we describe the Argentine tango movements we are guiding. It is crucial to be concise in our presentation – the evolution of which is well understood by our attendees. How we think, and what we think, has a profound affect on the way we move. We are fortunate that discussions and feedback following TangoBreath are revealing new ways of verbally describing tango movements and various visualizations that individuals have used to conceptualize – and physically embed – the core technique of Argentine tango. Likewise, in our own practice, we have come to find our own ways of visualizing and comprehending movement.
How solid is your "good" posture?
Occasionally, it's a good idea just to check where we stand, literally, in our bodies-- how solid is our "good" posture, and how does our body compensate when we throw in strange elements, like high heels?
We might be diligent about maintaining what we think is good posture, only to later find out we w
