All dancers know that feeling of trying to recover after coming home from a long day of dance, and summer training allows for more practice throughout the day. That means when you are done training you are going to be tired, hungry, sore, and ready to cool down. Relaxing your mind and body can be difficult after a high-energy dance practice. These are five of our favorite ways to relax after dance.
Take a Long Bath
A bath is always a nice way to relax your muscles after dance. The warm water can feel nice as well as anything else you add into the bath. Add Epsom salts, bath salts, bath bombs, or bubbles. This is all about treating yourself to relaxed muscles and good smells! To relax your mind, put on a chill playlist or a movie and light a candle.
Make a Smoothie
After dance practice, it is important to fuel your body up again. It is normal to be hot after hours of moving your body, so what could be better than a smoothie? Blend your favorite fruits with yogurt and milk. Not only will it feel cool and refreshing, but you can add things that benefit you in the long run too. Things such as protein powder, vitamins, and even fruit have plenty of health benefits.
Icing and Heating Your Muscles
Your muscles are bound to be sore and tired from all the tricks, turns, and jumps you do. A good way to make them feel a bit better is to ice them or heat them. If you want something cooling, gel ice packs or ice baths are simple options. If you are looking for something warm, heating pads, rice packs, or a warm steamy bath are also easy ways to get heat on those tired muscles.
Yoga and Stretching
If your body is feeling tense or stiff, this is a way to stay comfortable after practice. It also works if you feel your mind might need to relax as well. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube of yoga poses and stretching ideas for whichever muscles you want. When you are done, roll them out with a foam roller to make sure they are fully stretched.
Get a Massage
This isn’t your everyday post-dance routine, but if you are experiencing repetitive muscle soreness (or just want to treat yourself!) then booking a massage to really give your muscles the spa treatment might be the perfect way to keep your body and mind in their best shape.
