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INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTISE
ESSAY - Alfie Howard

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i learnt about bones and joints within my practise at university and from this learnt knowledge on what was hurting when i felt pain and knowing muscles and joints better enabled me fix it quicker. This also educated me on wether i needed the help for recovery from physiotherapists, etc.

Anon, (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.healthpages.org/anatomy-function/musculoskeletal-system-bones-joints-cartilage-ligaments/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].
Anon, (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.cheatography.com/davidpol/cheat-sheets/human-body-skeleton/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].

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INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTISE
Alfie Howard
Student Number - 1803817
Word Count - 2749
Date of Submission - 14/12/2018
Module Tutor- Garry Clarke

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Users.rowan.edu. (2018). dance_instructionalstrategies. [online] Available at: http://users.rowan.edu/~conet/rhythms/Resources/dance_instructionalstrategies.html [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018]. This site educated a viewer on different teaching methods and different approaches to the bettering of a student. It can highlight things that might personally better someone individually adding them into their training life and definitely bettering their career longevity.

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Balletboard®. (2018). A Healthy Meal Plan for Dancers | BalletBoard.com. [online] Available at: https://balletboard.com/healthy-meal-plan-for-dancers/ [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].
This image is from a website that educated me on what a diets intake should be and what it should consist of in order to fuel me throughout my days of intense training.

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Blog.paleohacks.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://blog.paleohacks.com/yoga-blocks-tight-muscles/# [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].
This source educated me on how to use blocks to benefit my stretching as opposed to hindering my facility. i try to do many of these in my day to day life just to maintain a good upkeep of strength as-well as flexibility in my body and enhance my career longevity

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Whether you're new to yoga or trying to ease your way back in, blocks are great tools to use to help you get into poses safely.
Yoga props like blocks are incredibly useful for helping to build strength, flexibility, and improve your alignment. Every single yogi, from someone who has just begun to someone who has been practicing for 25 years, can use them to enhance their practice! The beauty of yoga blocks is in their simplicity and versatility: they can give support to tight hips and even help you find balance in tricky poses.

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In this article, we will breakdown 10 common yoga poses and show you why they are even better with blocks!
Downward Dog

With Blocks

With a normal downward facing dog, we often find ourselves overextending the shoulders as we try to lengthen the spine and hamstrings. It is important in this pose to find an external rotation of the shoulders and for most, this is challenging to do while maintaining a strong connection to the floor with your hands. When you add blocks underneath your hands, you have to really press through your palms to keep from sliding forward. This teaches you how to keep a lift through your triceps and shoulders, leading to increased strength in the triceps, stability in the shoulder girdle, and length in your spine.

Standing Forward Fold

With Blocks

Adding blocks to this pose not only feels amazing but has major benefits for your lower back and your digestive system. By placing blocks over the thighs and supporting the hip bones in your forward fold, you reduce strain in the low back that often comes with a regular forward fold. As the blocks support your abdomen, the lower back has a chance to release. Also, the blocks massage the ascending and descending colon, thus helping to aid in digestive health.

Triangle

With Blocks

Triangle pose is a tough one. Even if you are an experienced yogi, chances are that holding this pose for more than 5 breaths can be very challenging. Using a block is a life changer for this pose. By adding a block underneath your bottom hand, you can better stack your hips and open your chest, stabilizing the core and opening your hips and hamstrings more than you would be able to do without the block.

Revolved Triangle

With Blocks

This pose requires an immense amount of hamstring and hip flexibility and core strength. Adding a block allows you to lift your chest and find a flat back so that you can get the full benefits of the twist while maintaining stability in the spine and lower back.

Child's Pose

With Blocks

Placing blocks underneath the palms helps to open up the front of the shoulders, chest, lats, and triceps. Whether you are advanced or new to your yoga practice, this stretch does wonders for opening tight chests, backs, and shoulders.

Fish Pose

With Blocks

This more supported variation of fish pose helps you to stay in the posture longer, increasing the benefits of the release in the front of the neck muscles. It also gives you an increased opening of the chest and shoulders. Bonus: It can be very relaxing!

Bridge Pose

With Blocks

This supported, more restorative variation allows for an added release of the hip flexors and abdominal muscles. With the added support, you can hold this variation much longer, resulting in increased benefits.

Tip: If it feels uncomfortable on your lower back, make sure the block is on the lowest setting and then try adjusting the block closer to your glutes. It can take practice to get this in the right position.

Supta Baddha Konasana

With Blocks

This restorative pose is great for opening up the hips and the inner thighs. For most though, without the added support of blocks, holding this pose for an extended period of time isn't comfortable and you can even risk overstretching. Using the blocks to support your thighs will allow you to hold this pose safely and comfortably for much longer.

Malasana

With Blocks

Malasana is a challenging pose for most. Tight hips, lower back, calves, and chest can make this pose seem impossible. By placing a block beneath the sitting bones, you receive added support that allows for a deeper opening of the hips and lower back.

Chair Pose

With Blocks

Chair pose can put a lot of strain on the knees, especially if you have pre-existing knee pain or if you forget the important part of keeping the weight back in your heels. Using a block beneath the heels releases tension on the knees providing a safer and equally effective chair pose.
(Your Next Workout: This Simple Workout Uses Light Weights to Boost Your Metabolism)

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10 Ways to Use Yoga Blocks to Release Tight Muscles

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Whether you're new to yoga or trying to ease your way back in, blocks are great tools to use to help you get into poses safely. Yoga props like blocks are incredibly useful for helping to build strength, flexibility, and improve your alignment.

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My own personal little workout routine which i do every night after uni and sometimes in the morning before also. From doing this everyday my core is much stronger aswell as my general physique which is bettering me and my training greatly.

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An example of food prep i make myself for a week of training. All consisting of correct nutrients to keep me energised through lessons.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4299735/
pearcey, G., Bradbury-Squires, D., Kawamoto, J., Drinkwater, E., Behm, D. and Button, D. (2018). Foam Rolling for Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Recovery of Dynamic Performance Measures.
This picture shows an experiment of using a foam roller and the good effects it has on muscle fatigue and the recovery of muscle fatigue.

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This video explains the change in fitness for a dancer over the years. throughout the video you will notice it gradually get more and more intense obviously due to the popularity and uprise in the dance industry nowadays.

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YouTube. (2018). Strengthen Your Core in 5 Minutes. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVwH-JsiwNI [Accessed 13 Dec. 2018].
little videos like this helped me create what i see as being my perfect abs workout. Ive watched multiple and have stolen exercises aswell as using ones i do i university.

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Baggs, C. (2018). Meal Prep for Dancers | Aries In Flight | A Holistic Dance Journey. [online] Aries In Flight. Available at: http://ariesinflight.com/meal-prep-for-dancers/ [Accessed 13 Dec. 2018].This website gave me inspiration to create my own meal preparations and the types of things that would better my enegy levels and keep me fuelled to enhance my career longevity

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Meal Prep for Dancers

Dancers all have crazy schedules. Between auditioning, rehearsing, taking class, and working to be able to pay rent, we rarely have time to eat an actual meal. Usually it is just grab and go or we end up eating granola bars for each meal. For as busy as we are, we still have to take care of our bodies and fuel it properly. I have always found that prepping my meals not only saves me money, but ensures that I am eating actual meals. I usually do my prepping on Sunday evenings after rehearsal and have plenty of Tupperware on hand. Here are some of my quick tips for easy meal planning.
Mason Jar Salads:
You have probably seen mason jar salads on everyone's Pinterest boards or sharing the different recipes you can make. They are really simple and when made the right way can make for delicious, fresh tasting salads! You want to start with a clean mason jar that you can get for cheap on Amazon or in any craft store. Then you want to add your dressing and any wet ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. on the bottom. On top of that add moisture resistant veggies, such as carrots. If you want to add some protein, such as chicken or steak that would go in your next layer. Then you can add any grains, such as quinoa, and the greens of your choice as your last layer. Once you are ready to eat it you just pull it out of your refrigerator, shake, and go! These are really great to throw into your audition bag for lunch or bring along with you on long rehearsal or show days.
Banana Oat Energy Bites
A great and easy snack or breakfast!! These bites require no baking and take less than 10 minutes to make! Made with rolled oats, bananas, your choice of nut butter, chocolate chips, and honey they satisfy every craving and will leave you wanting to make them each week! Go to http://tiphero.com/banana-oat-energy-bites/?utm_content=buffer42869&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer for the full recipe!
Overnight Oats
Another quick and easy breakfast that takes under 10 minutes to prep and is portable! You grab those awesome mason jars again, put your oats on the bottom, layer your choice of yogurt on top, choose your favorite fruit for the next layer (I love raspberries and strawberries), top that with your choice of milk such as almond or cashew, shake, and store in the refrigerator overnight! These work great for dancers who have an early shift at work or hate having to make breakfast before those 5am open call signups when audition season is in full swing. These oats are sure to leave you full, satisfied, & wanting breakfast every morning. It is the most important meal of the day! Go to http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/01/18/how-to-make-overnight-oats-recipes/ for different ideas!
Quick Dinners
When it comes to eating throughout the week dinner is definitely the hardest for me to get to. To combat this, I try to prep a few essential food items for dinner on Sunday evenings after rehearsal. My boyfriend will fire up the grill and grill chicken cutlets for the week or make them on the stove in a pan. I will boil quinoa to add to salads or to just have as a side with the chicken. I also take sweet potatoes and steam them in a steam bag or mash them up in a bowl. Usually, I make vegetables the day of by steaming them or I'll boil them on Sunday's and store them in the fridge. Having these items on hand in my refrigerator guarantees that no matter what time I get home at night, I have a meal that will take me less than 5 minutes to warm up. It's not fast food, it's healthy, and by doing this I am saving myself about $50 a week because I am not going out for dinner after teaching, rehearsals, etc.

Meal prepping doesn't have to be hard and can lead to you saving time, money, and your health because you will know what you are eating. It usually takes me about an hour or so on Sundays, and my boyfriend helps with cooking the chicken. This means you have to go food shopping but that won't take you long, I promise, and like I said it will save you money so you can take that extra class at Peridance next week. You can also go to my Pinterest for more recipes that you can prep and save for the week, https://www.pinterest.com/megkolakowski/. Now go grab those mason jars and happy meal prepping!!

Meagan Kolakowski is a company member of Aries In Flight. You can connect with her online at: www.meagankolakowski.com

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Meal Prep for Dancers | Aries In Flight | A Holistic Dance Journey

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Dancers all have crazy schedules. Between auditioning, rehearsing, taking class, and working to be able to pay rent, we rarely have time to eat an actual meal. Usually it is just grab and go or we end up eating granola bars for each meal.

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Anon, (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.nashvilleballet.com/young-men/ [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].

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Anon, (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.nashvilleballet.com/young-men/ [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].

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this picture is to highlight correct dance uniform. the link given below is a site that explains the importance of correct dance wear and the potential effects of incorrect dance wear. such as injury which means having time of training which dancers cant afford.
Stopsportsinjuries.org. (2018). Dance Injuries | Dance Injury Prevention & Treatment. [online] Available at: https://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Dance_Injury_Prevention.aspx [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].

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A diagram to highlight the female athlete triad and the effects. Due mostly from lack of energy due to not eating the correct foods needed to fuel a dancers day to day life.

Anon, (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Female_Athlete_Triad [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].