Up

No, not the movie. Up in the sense of lifting your body. Lifting your torso while your feet remain on the ground. I think about being “up” when I’m working to address various sore spots in my body, or when trying to perform a movement a certain way.

I’m a huge fan of visualization.

When horseback riding, I thought about posture as being a slice of toast in a toaster: too far forward or back and you will get burned. I also thought about lifting my spine (but not my chin), because the toast needs to be straight as well as at the correct angle.

In ballet, that “up” feeling has been described as closing the elevator doors in your abdomen and going to the top floor, or zipping up a zipper. Another common one was feeling like a marionette, with a string pulling up your spine and out the top of your head.

A less direct “up” feeling comes from imagining your pelvis as a basin of water. If you tip it too far forward or back, you spill the water. This image also gets me to lift up at the front of my abdomen because my water spills out the front. I have written about other images here.

Why does feeling “up” when dancing matter? It’s largely about using my core muscles effectively. I imagine that feeling is relevant for other sports as well.

It’s also about moving downward gracefully, rather than crashing into the floor. I use it a lot for anything involving a bend or jump, so I don’t get “stuck” at the bottom and lose momentum.

Recently, I have figured out how to it on turns. By thinking “up up up” all the way around, then holding it for a moment before landing, I am having more success than I have had in 20 years of dance classes. Still not good, but significantly better!

Up is helping me outside of sport as well. It’s an easy little mantra to check in on my posture when I’m walking. I use it (with mixed success) to take the pressure off my shoulders when I lean too heavily on my bike handlebars.

But also “up” as in the movie. Walking tall and visualizing something above my head that is lifting me up literally lifts my spirits. Instead of a grey cloud overhead, I have a bunch of colourful balloons.