The Importance of Rest

Rest is a topic that I have found is often pushed aside by dancers and teachers alike despite it actually being a vitally important component of being a healthy dancer. In order to be able to perform to the best of your ability it's imperative to give your muscles and joints rest so they have sufficient recovery time and physiologically your mind needs time switch off.

‘I think it is vital to listen to your body and make a case by case decision on what is okay and what is too much'.
Top tip: Listen to how your body feels physically and think about how you can manage your timetable to fit in adequate rest time. 


Burnout - 
Emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from a combination of exposure to overwork and lack of rest.

Tapering effect - 
Tapering refers to the practice of reducing exercise in the days just before an important event, i.e., competion or performance. 

It will be interesting to hear how other dancers balance their work schedule with rest and to compare and share opinions.

Topics of conversation:

Do you feel when you are having rest time you are being unproductive or lazy?

Do you feel physically better or worse after a few (2 or 3) days off from dancing?

Do you think the number of hours sleep you have effects your performance ability?

How do you like to spend your rest/downtime? 




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