After a long day of dancing, it is crucial to take good care of your body so you can continue working hard. A good and consistent cool-down routine after dancing can help prevent injury and muscle soreness.
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is a great technique to relax sore muscles and relieve the tightness that causes you to feel sore after dance. Looking for places where you feel tension, foam roll your hamstrings, quads, glutes, calves, back, and shoulders. Use a ball for rolling out smaller areas like your feet.
Spend one to two minutes on each muscle, paying attention to how your muscles respond. Increased pain or muscle tension are good indicators to reduce pressure. You may be rolling too hard! Make sure you roll your muscles and never your bones or joints.
Simple Stretches
Light static stretches help to ensure you are keeping your flexibility, return your muscles to their resting state, and give you a minute to breathe. Stretch your hamstrings, calves, shoulders, back, and neck. So, lay out a yoga mat or just go somewhere where you can sit comfortably. Rolling out your neck, flexing your feet, stretching your heels are a great follow-up to full-body stretches.Â
Control your breathing
An important part of being a dancer (or even just a human being), is to make sure we control our breathing. This is even more important after dancing for a long time and getting out of breath from all the leaps, turns, and tricks. Take a few minutes to focus on your breathing. Take big, deep breaths in and out. This will slow your heart rate, give oxygen to your muscles, and allow an overall more calm state of mind for the rest of the day.
Having a reliable cool-down routine to do after dance is essential! It allows you to catch your breath and relax your body for a few minutes before leaving class or rehearsal. You can cooldown even if you don’t have a lot of time after dance! 10 minutes of cooldown make a big difference in your overall wellbeing.
