Exercise #1: Teach Your Abdomen To Respond To You, And Learn To Relax!

This is a simple exercise that everyone can do, that will help you get in touch with your inner self--or at least with your belly roll muscles!

Stand comfortably, in good belly dance posture. That means your feet should be directly below your shoulders, your knees relaxed, and your rib cage held high--imagine a puppet string attached to your breastbone that is pulling it up and separating it from the rest of your body. Put your hands anywhere comfortable where they can relax--I always demonstrate with my hands on my hips, but their exact placement isn't crucial.

Now, suck in your gut as far as you can possibly suck it in. Got it as far as it'll go? Now try to pull it in just a little farther! When I teach this to my students, I tell them to visualize pulling their belly button all the way back to touch the spine. Hold it as long as you comfortably can. Next, relax it thoroughly. Relax it so much that your stomach area sticks as far forward as it could possibly want to. We're so conditioned by Western society to keep a flat stomach, that we often find relaxing the stomach area to be more difficult than sucking it in! Notice that I'm not telling you to forcibly push your stomach out--just relax it and let it all hang out.

Repeat this exercise several times each day. Try to do about 4 repetitions where you hold it in as long as you possibly can, then let it out for an equal length of time. Then try to do 8-12 (or more) repetitions where you repetitively pull it in for a second or two, then relax it for a second or two, and keep going. Be sure to breathe normally while doing this.

Exercise #2: Build Strength In Those Muscles!

You already know how to do either situps or crunches. (Modern fitness thought is that situps are not good for you, crunches are much better.) Do as many situps or crunches each day as your abdominal muscles will tolerate. Try to do a minimum of 10 or 15 at first, and try to work up to 25 or 30--or more! The stronger your abdominal muscles, the better your belly rolls will be! If you need help building strength in these muscles, videos that may help are Veena & Neena's Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Arms & Abs, and the "Abs Only" workout that appears on Rania's Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss: Daily Quickies. Both can be ordered from Amazon.com.

Exercise #3: Build A Relationship With Your Diaphragm

We all instinctively know how to use our diaphragms--every breath you take is controlled by your diaphragm, and if you find yourself breathing hard after exerting yourself, your diaphragm will be working hard on your behalf. Musicians (vocalists and those who play wind instruments such as trumpets) have learned to control their diaphragms more consciously, to inhale larger breaths and put more support behind the sound they produce.

When learning to do belly rolls, make your diaphragm your best friend. Consciously think about it. Breathe deeply and see if you can isolate the sensation of that muscle between your navel and rib cage.

An excellent time to do this exercise is while you are behind the wheel of your car or sitting at a computer keyboard. Hunch your shoulders forward over the steering wheel or keyboard, so that your abdominal area is somewhat compressed by the posture. If you never drive a car and never sit at a computer keyboard, then just sit in a normal chair and lean foward with your shoulders hunched as described.

Now, tug inward ever so slightly just below the rib cage, above the navel. You won't be able to pull it in very far in this posture, but the point here is to discover where that muscle is, and how to isolate control over it. You should feel a muscle rubbing gently against the bottom edge of your rib cage. That is your diaphragm. If you can tug it in even a small amount, you've accomplished the point of this exercise. Now, rhythmically pull that muscle in, then let it relax, then pull it in again.

Do this exercise as often as you can discipline yourself to do it--once you build a close friendship with your diaphragm, you'll be able to do not only belly rolls, but also beautiful stomach flutters! Breathe normally while you do this.

Exercise #4: Isolate Your Pelvic Muscles From Your Diaphragm

This is the advanced version of Exercise #1. Warm up using Exercise #1. Then transition to this one. Suck in the diaphragm while letting the pelvic muscles relax. Then relax the diaphragm while sucking in the pelvic muscles. Repeat, over and over and over. Don't forget to breathe normally! If you have trouble with this one, see "The Sphinx" below under "Having Trouble? Try One of These!"

Exercise #5: 1/2 Roll

This is the advanced version of Exercise #3. Hunch over a desk or car steering wheel as described for Exercise #3. Pull in your diaphragm as described for Exercise #3. Holding it in, now pull in your navel, then your upper pelvic muscles. That is half of a top-to-bottom roll, which means that the movement originates at the top, at the diaphragm. Now, to get out of this position, let your pelvic muscles out first, then your navel, then your diaphragm. That is half of a different roll, the bottom to top, which means that the movement originates with the pelvic muscles at the base of the abdomen. Do this exercise 8 times per sitting to develop control over each of the two half rolls.

Tell me if you would like me to put more lessons on.