Spiritual Experience in a Ballet Workout

CEBU, Philippines - My ballet workouts are not meant to make participants into ballet dancers or even to be able to dance ballet. What it does is similar to a fitness regimen, only that there is no trauma, no fatigue, no disco music, no movements that wreak havoc to the heartbeat. I hold ballet workouts mostly for genteel women who feel that going to the gym is too much to do, women who don't like to run, women who want a quick but relaxing energizer that won't leave them exhausted.

Having been trained in ballet, I use ballet techniques for a total body workout. I usually hold sessions just for one hour. The first 15 minutes of the workout takes place on the floor, to waken and lubricate those bones and muscles that may have become brittle with sedentary lifestyles. Lifestyles of staying at the computer eight hours in a day, having to be holed up in board rooms for meetings or in conference rooms to hold trainings - these activities cause your bones and muscles to strain.

Using the innate intelligence of the human body, the next 15 minutes is for leg stretching and ankle and knee strengthening. One technique in ballet is to have strong knees and strong ankles to be able to carry the weight of the torso and upper extremities of the body.  Here I employ barre exercises like the plié, battement tendu and battement glissé or dégagé.

For those who may not be familiar with ballet, a plié is the bending of the knees sideways over the toes and moving back to the original position as smoothly as possible. This is usually done with 16 counts. When my clients have been through this for three sessions or more, I allow them to bend down until their thighs are horizontal to have a good stretch.

Of Comfortable Levels and Regulated Breathing.

 At this point you might ask: "How about those who are a little overweight at the time of the training?" No problem, we do everything within comfortable levels. This means that unlike in the gym where you are forced to carry weights and workout in specially designed machines, the ballet workout is designed to adjust to your specific strength and resistance levels - there is no compulsion.

What is less known in weight loss is regulated breathing. What this means is that when people are fat, sometimes not all that fat is fat. Some of it may be toxins. Regulated breathing helps to release those toxins naturally. Unlike in sauna, where toxins are released by inducing heat and sweat, my ballet workout does away with induced sweating. Instead, my clients perspire because of regulated breathing and regulated movements.

 Next question: "Where do I get the barre like those in ballet studios?" I use a good chair with a strong back rest. Definitely it is not like the ergonomic chairs in your office. Sometimes the ledge on your porch or the back of your sofa will do, so long as the height is at the waist level.

The battement tendu is the sliding of the foot along the floor to give the legs and ankles a good stretch. The battement glissé (to slide) and dégagé (to disengage the foot from a closed to open position) are done more sharply and where the foot should not leave the floor. All these are meant to give the legs a good stretch, especially the inner thighs where most of the cellulites get deposited. Clients usually perspire after the first 30 minutes, getting a light feeling that something heavy has been removed from them.

 The next 15 minutes is for the hip movement. In ballet it is called rond de jambé a terre. This is an exercise to turn out the leg in the hip joint while the working leg moves in a circle. Here I let my clients move in a natural manner as they move their legs in a circle and they can feel the balls in their hips move. Clients execute all these holding the backrest of the chair for support.

 The last 15 minutes is for cooling down. Here I usually treat clients with some ballet steps just to make them dance a little from the first to the fifth basic ballet movements in footwork and handwork. This is where I take care with the back of my clients, making sure they understand the balance of their weight and posture while being graceful and flexible.

It's the Music.

 I require clients to be in a ballet gear - meaning ballet slippers (not pointe shoes), leotards and tights and a short skirt. The hair must be kept in a bun with a net.

  "Where does the spirituality come in?" you might ask. I only use instrumental religious music that do away with drums. The music I use is rendered in piano or violin, no lyrics, no acoustic enhancements. I only use music with slow tempo that are tender to the heart of the clients and move with the natural rhythm of the human body.

The musical material is an important component in a ballet workout. The music must be able to touch the soul, raise the spirits and deeply move the workout participants to deeply focus on the exercise and forget the worries of the world for one hour. No cell phones, no text, no calls. After all, clients come to me to get relaxed and energized.

  I adjust the resistance levels only for those who have already been with me consistently and regularly for three weeks. Clients come to me just to have a good workout. But after three months, they are able to lose weight, have a good posture and actually become more toned and graceful.

 My ballet workout comes with prayer. As a trainer, I also consider myself as a healer. Safe workout is something I seek the Lord Our God to intervene for. My goal is to promote fitness in both body and spirit.