Have you ever stood in front of a class that was tired, not quite ready to move - or how many times have you felt like that yourself when having to teach after a long day of rehearsals...

So here's 7 easy exercices and stretches to get your (and your students) energy going in a way, that can be easily incorporated in your class.

These exercices are based on tradtional chinese Medicine and stem from the teachings of Do in and Makko Ho.

Before you watch the instructional video, here's a VERY short introduction of what a Meridian is and how the exercices are constructed:

WHAT IS A MERIDIAN - and why does it matter for dance class?

The human body does not only have a complex net of blood vessels, but also a set of pathways along which the vital energy is said to flow. We call them Meridians, they exist in 6 pairs and we can look at them as energy highways through wich  our vital essence Qi (Vital energy) blood and body fluids are transported around the body. It can be seen as a network through which the body and its organs communicate and are connected. Each meridian has many acupuncture points along its path.

Each meridian is connected to an organ, which is the physical manifestation of the meridian. The stomach meridian for instance, is connected to the stomach and holds / distributes its energy into the entire body and mind. It works in partnership with another meridian, the Spleen. So the 6 meridian stretches are designed to access all 12 meridians (or hence 6 meridian pairs). You can find a map of the human meridians attached to this idoc.

Stretch1: lung and large intenstine

Stretch 2: stomach and spleen

Stretch 3: heart and small intenstine

Stretch 4: kidney and bladder

Stretch 5: heart governor and triple heater

Stretch 6: liver and gallbladder

Makes sure you do them in this order - the sequence represents the flow of energy in the meridians.

To catch them all at once you can finish with the do -in exercice shown in the end of the video.

Why do those stretches contribute to your dance class? 

By stretching the meridian, the energy flow increases, areas blocked with tension are released and our vital energy can flow freely. The effect is, that we feel awake, aware of the entire body and ready to move with our full energy potential.

Enjoy!