Over the last few months I knew that I had wanted to make some changes to my curriculum, but I did not know what direction I wanted to take or what changes.  After many weeks of thinking and brain storming it hit me as I was preparing to introduce a Belly Dance Class at our local YMCA.  I needed something that would catch people’s attention and at the same time described what my classes would be about.  As it began to piece together I sat at my kitchen table and realized that most of what we do is hip work; layered on by other movement such as traveling, accents and so forth.  So I thought to myself ok Hips, but Hips what??  I continued to brain storm and asked myself what do I want my students to achieve out of my curriculum and I came up with being able to effortlessly move from one movement to the next the hips being the core and icing the cake with other movements.  That is when I came up with Luscious Hips and started to develop the curriculum.  I ended up with 8 weeks of solid curriculum, tested it out myself and then took it to my students and tried it out.

The goal is still to drill a movement, but also learn to travel with that movement and to put movements together much quicker but drilling so it becomes natural in the body.  For instance,  the first week we started out with the Egyptian drilled it then added hips up in place first drilling then putting it together by moving with it and going from basic Egyptian to Egyptian with hips up.  Each week we add movement and always review the weeks before.  What happens is that it becomes progressive so if a student misses a class they may miss out.  This curriculum also helps with transitioning and putting moves together which seems to be very common in most students.  There will be at least 3 different levels or more and once a student is finished then they will be tested on their knowledge before they can move to the next level.  This is not a learn belly dance quick approach I wanted to make that clear.

My current students seem to enjoy the new curriculum and the class is going over very well at the YMCA, we are getting geared up for week 3 and they are all doing well and learning!

The Picture above was taken by NightWing Photo!  We had about 500 shots in 3 hours it was a wonderful, but exhausting!

We all know that one way to stay in shape is to dance. It does not matter what type of dancing it is but, Belly Dance has so many pluses that most do not realize the effects and how much it can not only help you lose weight, gain muscle and just feeling good about yourself. Belly Dancing for myself is the only way I stay in shape. Years ago I was a fitness instructor and I taught 12 different fitness classes a week. To have a full body workout including aerobics, strength, toning and endurance I would have to take or teach a separate class. Belly Dancing is truly a all in one work out. Yes, we do get our heart rate up so it is an aerobic workout plus with each movement we contract muscles so we not only work out our center core but, arms and legs as well. We are always working on flexibility and strength and endurance. One of my students messaged me one day very ecstatic that she had gone from a size 15 jean to a size 11 in just about 5 months. She was so grateful and thanked me for what I had done but, I had to remind her that even though yes, I was there to help her along she did it all by herself by being dedicated and coming to class as much as she could. All of my students have felt the benefits of Belly Dancing and most of them will tell you that they have slimed down and they just feel better about themselves in general!

Here is a list of all of the benefits that we get from this dance:
1. Improved posture and muscle tone
2. Strengthens your bones
3. Weight Loss
4. Helps prepare for child birth
5. relieves STRESS
6. Strengthens your core, back, legs & arms
7. Improves mood
8. Helps digestion
9. Helps with self image
10. Increases circulation
11. Improves sleep patterns
12. Helps with depression
13. Increases your flexibility
14. Easy on body (low impact)
15. Helps in relieving PMS

With all of the benefits it is no wonder more women are trying it! If you would like to try it check out my schedule or contact me for more information @ 740-466-7590 or najlasdance.com@gmail.com