I used to dance, now I flow...

I know many people like me practiced a sport or art at a younger age, quite intensely, and kind of stopped after many years. As growing adults life happened, studies, travels, whatever came in...and then maybe 15 years later, you're like, wow I can't believe this used to be such a big part of my life and suddenly, it was gone?!

I want to share a little bit about how my younger years as a dancer affected my yoga practice and teaching today, and how it is important to acknowledge it, and you'll see what i mean further down.

A little background on what I actually did

When I was 4 years old I joined a ballet class which apparently I enjoyed a lot, at 9 I joined the Conservatoire of Toulouse (national academy of region) from an audition and there I was joining a school with musicians and dancers where some little parts of the curriculum were removed to leave more time for dance classes. We were 2 small classes per level so it was pretty special. At 16 I went on to regular High school and went to dance class every night ( I wasn't sure at that point I wanted to make it a career so I wanted a regular high school).

My first years were majored in Classical Ballet and the last 4 I decided to change to contemporary, I felt i wanted more freedom in movement and was getting a bit bored of ballet. Also my friends who had done the swap seemed to be having so much fun! I still had a bit of ballet and there was always some jazz too. I could talk about these years for hours but let's move on...

1- Learning about the body anatomy

I feel this is very helpful today for me as a yoga teacher, even though I feel i never know enough and have some extra training in mind I want to do next since the knowledge is always growing with new studies etc...there are so many things that some yoga teacher trainings still teach that we now know are no longer accurate, like anatomical and limiting "protecting" cues.

Luckily some new wave experts like Celeste Pereira and Adell Bridges that keep on learning, teach about old myths, neuroscience etc...SO inspiring and interesting i recommend checking them out on socials.

I don't know how many times my dance teachers got "Oscar" the skeleton model out to nerd about joints, muscle groups, connections in the body to understand how and what muscles to engage in certain poses...when I think about it now i think yep, they knew their stuff.

So even though by my yoga training I had forgotten and had to relearn lots of muscle names (and in english), it never sounded chinese and I had a descent awareness and sensibility to it already.

2 - Connecting to the body sensations

Feeling where the movement starts, where it ends, connects to the next, feeling that sensation of full body expansion, working and controlling the whole body at once, where you look,... all that while doing a sequence you learned 2 seconds ago...it certainly helped to develop body awareness!

And i think it is important to mention (because i say it in class a lot), that repetition makes all that possible! It's because you have done 1000 pliés with different arm movements that you don't even think about it when later doing a full sequence.

Well in Yoga some poses at first feel IMPOSSIBLE ( i hear that a lot too 😅), but by trying it lots of times, things click and eventually become easier, make sense, and before you know it you're incorporating them in all your flows!

Over those dancing years I have learned to understand the sensations in all the different parts of my body, knowing when something feels right, not right, hard but I can push, tight but I can stretch more...etc, so yes I still use that everyday and even if I wasn't doing yoga I think it is still a powerful skill to have, body awareness, one that can be learned even later in life. Your body is your tool, your temple (if we're being super yogis😅), so in anything we do, a hike, a walk, a swim, dancing, giving birth,...it is great if we can feel in control, aware, and present with it.

3 - Finding enjoyment in movement

In the end dancing was not what i wanted as a career but i did find pleasure in dancing. There is the sensation of doing a sequence right sure, or succeeding in a double pirouette, but there is also the pleasure of enjoying the movement, feeling whole, engaged completely in your body to create something that comes from the heart, on top of technique.

There is the enjoyment of that sync with the music too and it became important in my yoga practice aswell. I just like that pairing, the music can transform the movement, the intensity, pace, and it can give a boost when you could have taken it a little easy...like if beyoncé comes on, I am not in child pose ya know...😎

In my yoga flows i enjoy creating a playlist each month for classes but I also use it to practice myself, it gives me that extra boost and connect to movement in a different way. I think it adds to the creative side, almost dancing, you flow with the music. I was listening to an interview of the guys from Awaré, I use them a lot, love their music and they talk about how they want to bring listeners into feeling something, whatever it is. It could be a transe, a moment of introspection and depth with themselves, a feeling of joy...So as music can create that, definitely so can the body, it is our instrument. And the two together well... ❤️

4 - Challenging yourself to grow

In dance school there was for sure that element! It was important to grow each year to get to the next level, we had to prepare a sequence that was chosen according to the level we should be at by the end of that year, and we had to nail it.

The teachers would push us to achieve the exercises perfectly, we had corrections each non stop, cues to bend more, straighten more, jump higher...etc

I do know now that i analyse it and teach yoga classes, that guiding people to do things they can't do right away, safely of course, is essential for growth.

When I started yoga i could not do a chaturanga, crow pose took a while, headstand too, and now these feel like the basics when i look at the next things i would like to achieve, like handstand.

I learned in those younger years to be ok with struggling with something, that i had to do a challenging step hundreds of times if needed but i would eventually get it, because it had worked with all the other things i had learned until that point. So practice, practice, practice, with the guidance of somebody sharing various cues to help you figure it out, to observe you and what adjustments are needed, etc...

Each challenge takes us to the next, and that is growth. We move forward through stepping stones, we learn and we push the boundaries of what we think we can achieve.

That is true in ballet, sports, yoga and life. Isn't it a great life lesson?

One of the biggest things I have learned in yoga and self inquiry, is that through challenges we grow our resilience.

5 - Building resilience and taking criticism

I will finish by talking about how I realise that we learned to take in criticism at a very young age, and pretty often. There was no ego in dance class. And to me that felt normal, and my teachers weren't bad at all, i hear some schools like the opera might have taken it a little too far... Although my mum told me that when i was younger 6-7, i regularly wanted to quit because the teacher was mean 😅 I guess it took some time to get used to that hard talk as a child.

But by criticism i just mean on technique, to improve a movement, or if you weren't in it, being lazy, and you got caught, you were told to gather yourself and be there for reel. If you were half arsed, you could go. We were held accountable, it also taught us responsibility in a way. Nobody was forcing us to be there.

I liked being corrected and pushed, it meant my teacher cared, and i wanted to do it right! I remember the nail in the butt cheek to squeeze, or the hair pull at the top of the head to make me taller, the pressing me down from the top of the shoulders to bend deeper...if you did such a sport or similar practice you know what i mean. It might seem intense but it was exhilarating! At least that's what i take from it now.

When i was growing my yoga practice one teacher was very lovingly pushing us hard, but with a very sweet voice, walking around, and when you had given up on a pose he would stand next to you, smile and go "get back in there", and wait until you did, that felt familiar 🤣

To bring this back to my yoga practice and teaching, i would say that some people are uncomfortable with being unsuccessful in a pose or transition, because yes, in a group you might compare yourself, or be competitive with yourself, or even mad at the teacher for introducing this IMPOSSIBLE asana. Maybe they are not ready to be pushed, or that is not what they want from their yoga practice. And that is SO fine, there are teachers for everyone out there, that's the beauty! All sorts of studios, teachers, yoga styles,... When i want a loving replenishing practice i go for Yin yoga, I LOVE yin yoga 🤤

Now I don't PUSH push people, i just enjoy bringing some challenge, for growth 🙃 I give adjustment cues when i see it is welcome, i push when i see i can (and mostly verbally), i don't have the same hard talk as back in dance class that is for sure! 🤭

One thing I want to maintain in yoga class is freedom, freedom to choose what you want or don't want to do. It might be my role to push students to an extent, but I will only meet them where they are. It is a safe space to say no thanks, not today i am not feeling it, no i'm scared because of an old injury...etc

I never judge, and i never force obviously.

---

So here we are with the many things I realise I learned during my younger years dancing that make me who I am today and practice and teach yoga the way I do today.

For some people maybe those years left a bit of nostalgia from when it stopped (i have that too), or from a tough teacher, but it's important to acknowledge our past experiences.

In yoga I found a practice that is very complete and helped me grow in a way that I needed so badly to take control of my life, my wellbeing, and so much more but all that is for another post...but it truly reconnected me to moving my body in a creative way and that is incredible!

I hope you enjoyed this little share from me, if you read till the end you must connect to that story and I would love to hear what yours is. So do comment, direct message, email, whatever feels right!

And if you want to grow your practice with some challenge and assured growth, find me on my online channel Flow with Justine!😁 🔥 1 Live class each week + pre recorded classes +tutorials!

BONUS: You can get your FREE tutorial for CROW pose, bakasana, and join my Newsletter by clicking HERE!

Much love,

Justine