Hi, everyone! Last week I shared some of the conditioning that I do on a regular basis after giving birth, which mainly focused on building strength in the legs and upper body. Today I would like to focus on some of my favourite stretches to regain flexibility in the legs and hips after giving birth. I focus a lot on legs as this is many dancer’ best assets.
Besides the physical changes to the body post pregnancy, I found that my adductors had become very tight as well and overall, my left leg had become less flexible. Everyone is different in their baseline flexibility, but for me, these are some of the stretches that helped me get my splits back fully within 3 months of returning to pole. So, I think that it may also be beneficial to other dancers returning after a hiatus, as well as, those who have just begun their pole dancing journey.
Please remember to warm up before you attempt these stretches . When you stretch, do not push to the point of sharp pain, it should only feel like it is an “annoying, heavy burden” instead of a tearing sensation.
Side lunge variation - Lunge to the side, while the torso remains facing the front. Move the hips in circles, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, and go as low as possible, especially pushing out to the side as far as you can in big circles. Repeat on both sides. This helps to loosen up tight adductors.
Leg lifts/kicks - Lift leg towards the shoulder, turn out the knee. Actively squeeze in your thighs to keep the knee as close to you as possible while kicking, then keeping the leg straight, do small pulses. This is very beneficial in helping to get your legs to open up more in pole tricks requiring straddles. For the other variation, lie back on your elbows, and draw the leg towards your face as close as possible, move in big circles in both directions. This targets your hip flexors.
Downward dog Touch down with straight legs with palms straight on the floor, use a yoga block if you can’t reach the floor. Over time this will get easier. Make sure to push your back flat to feel a deeper stretch in the hamstrings and calves. You can also walk your hands back towards you. If you have a higher baseline flexibility, and are able to keep your legs straight, lift one leg and kick while keeping the knee high and turned out. This helped me a lot in achieving my penche.
Pancake/straddle stretches - You do not need to have a full split for this - just open your legs to it’s widest ability, and the key move here is to ensure you roll forward in your hips. Place the weight towards your ‘groin’ area instead of sitting back in your bum, to stretch out the inner thigh muscles. Keep rolling forward, to ease out the tension in the inner thighs. You can also move sideways and lift your arms up to the ceiling, while squeezing the thigh muscles actively (this is not visible to the eye). When you engage the muscles actively, you will be able to balance without touching the floor and this will help to strengthen your straddles while opening the hips.
Lunge - In this version of lunge, keep the back knee straight and do not allow it to bend at all throughout the entire stretch. Keep the back foot in the highest demi pointe, then pulse downwards. This will stretch the hip flexors mainly while strengthening the quads, which is key to beautiful splits and leg extensions. You will feel the burn in this one!
Make sure to always repeat on both sides. I would do all of the above about 2 to 3 times a week, in 2-3 sets of 8 counts on both sides or until my muscles feel nicely stretched out. Follow the music as you do these as it is more fun!
Everyone develops differently and it might take you more than three months, but there will definitely be progress if you apply the right form, technique and consistency. Be patient, and form good technique to avoid injuries.
If you are interested to give pole dancing (or other forms of exotic dance) a go, check out my Instagram account: @stardust_poledancer
