Thread: Shimmies--Sheer practice or is there a trick?

My biggest problem is probably shimmies. Love them, but they need work. A 3/4 shimmy is pretty straightforward, but as for the others, how do you keep them going? Is it sheer practice or is there a trick? I'm working on leg endurance right now, but my problem is keeping the shimmy going for awhile.

Any suggestions?

breathe while practicing.

faten's classes will solve THAT little problem for ya. the woman can shimmy EVERYTHING. my basic shimmies were fine before i took with her... but really improved! i can now do a better variety of sizes and "shapes" of shimmies, powering them from different muscles for different effects. she doesn't really stop and explain things, but don't be afraid to ask her questions in between songs if she doesn't happen to see you and help you out with a particular move.

that, and/or you could try having a baby like my current one, who lets me shimmy her to sleep in the baby bjorn. weight-bearing shimmy drilll!

Practice, practice, practice. When I first started, keeping a long shimmy going was my biggest problem. I would shimmy in the shower, brushing my teeth, washing dishes, vacuuming and even at the grocery store - pushing the cart around. A good trick I learned from Aradia of Las Vegas for Egyptian shimmies is to sit on the ground and work your legs (knees), keeping the rhythm and timing for the duration of a song. It's kinda hard at first, but with some practice, it works really well.

Thanks for the advice so far ladies!

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is an Egyptian shimmy defined as? I know there are different types of shimmies, but I don't quite know what an Egyptian shimmy is.

Zahra teaches the sitting on the floor shimmy too, as well as shimmying on one leg at a time (which is slower, but the repetition develops the muscle that you need). Egyptian shimmy is usually the big, knee-driven shimmy that'll make everything (boobs!) bounce right along with it if you're doing it right.

You can also think of Egyptian shimmy being that where the legs are "straight", as opposed to bending the knees and feeling the shimmy more in the hips/arse.
The shimmy on the floor is good, too, b/c it will train the knees to not go back, in case you have hyper-extended knees. As it is, it is a destructive shimmy but you can make it safer by keeping the knees from going back too far.

I agree with everyone who mentioned sheer practice.

Honestly, when I first learned how to Egyptian shimmy it was tough going. My right leg was stronger than my right. I would start strong and minutes later my muscles would stop responding. The first time my teacher had us do a shimmy marathon in class I thought I was going to fall over and croak after just 12 minutes.

If you're relatively in shape, though, shimmies can be on par with Pilates. Like, it burns at first but after a couple weeks of serious practice you will see and feel the improvement in your muscles and endurance.

Good luck!

I need to work on my shimmies too! Great tips.

I feel like when I shimmy well (in my mind anyway ) my arms freeze! It's like I can't do both.

I will keep practicing I guess!

Slow. Down. Shimmy much more slowly than you're capable of, even going slowly enough to count it out. Concentrate on keeping good form rather than speed -- upper body lifted, ribcage slightly forward of hipbones, shoulders melting down away from your ears and back, public bone slightly lifting in front as your tailbone moves toward your heels -- and concentrate on keeping the movement nice and even between the left and right sides.

If you've ever learned to type using the 'home row' or played a musical instrument, you know how this is -- you have to slow yourself down and focus on doing it 'right' and practicing at a nice, relaxed, sustainable speed before you can make breakthroughs in speed.

Originally Posted by Azhia

As it is, it is a destructive shimmy but you can make it safer by keeping the knees from going back too far.

Why do you say it's destructive?

Hi,
I've never heard of "the sitting on the floor shimmy".
Do you know if there is a DVD, or youtube video that teaches this?
I have a bad back, would this help it, or do you think it would hurt it?
Thanks! :-)