Thread: Help! My left leg locks during shimmy

Hi Bhuzzers! I have run into a small problem. When I'm shimmying I notice that my left leg/knee has started to lock up and that the range of motion is smaller than my right leg...is the difference due to lack of strength? too much tension? do i need more drills to reinforce the muscle memory a bit more?
I do know (thank you, yoga!) that i need to work on opening my hips a bit more, and that my back is on the tight end of things and the lower abs could stand to be stronger, if that helps you help me...

I'd really like to nip this in the bud because i feel like it's the only thing holding me back from some awesome layering drills.

Thanks in advance!

Drill one leg shimmies

Originally Posted by jencUK

Drill one leg shimmies

Great advice. And different speeds, too. I think drilling slowly helps the most.

one leg shimmies! I clean forgot about those...even though that seems to be happening with my right leg, lol. Thanks I'll give it a try!!

Originally Posted by jencUK

Drill one leg shimmies

My advice as well :)

We also practice "fartlek shimmies" while sitting on the floor and standing (fartlek = the Swedish words for "speed play"). It's a bit like interval training, but less structured in that it is up to each individual to speed up and slow down at will. The emphasis is on even knee movement and smooth transitions between speeds.

In my running days I enjoyed this type of training so I introduced the concept to my beginner students this summer, to their delight. Fartlek works well with all types of belly dance drills I've discovered :)

Happy shimmies!



Khalida

I've always been told to practice shimmies slower rather than faster. And that locks happen when you're moving too fast for your body. I would recommend just slowing down until it doesn't lock (even if its at half or quarter time to the music) and staying there for a while (read: several weeks) before attempting to speed up *slightly*.

Best of luck!

W

Here are a couple things you can try:

Sit on the floor with your feet out in front of you or straddle stretch, and alternate your knees, as in a shimmy, on the floor.

Standing, start your shimmies in slow-mo by slowly speeding up your hip shifts (alternating right/left) from very slow, all the way up to very fast. At medium speed, do 8 counts flat, 8 counts ball. Varying the use of the feet will make the hip/leg muscles stronger and more controlled.

Try that and see if it helps. If you still have problems, let me know and I'll dig deeper.

Amira

Thanks Ladies!! I've tried all the suggestions and it does look glaringly clear that my left leg doesn't have the muscle control/strength my right leg does! I can shimmy strong for a minute and then it starts to fade and the left leg just needs some training/conditioning-which consists of your suggestions!!! ..g.: oh boy this is going to take awhile!!

Give it some time, and it will get stronger. Just keep working at it!

Amira