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Step 1
Begin by walking in place. The warm-up is as crucial as any other step in getting your body all lined up the right way. As you walk and get warmed up, increase to jogging in place or in circles. You should do this for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking only into a light sweat.
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Step 2
Stretch your arms and legs in turn, getting the blood flowing to all the muscles as you prepare to start dancing.
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Step 3
Find your perfect posture. You want to begin your dance in a still moment with your posture aligned. You should show elegance in your stance. The posture will help you to breathe easily and give you a freedom in movement, and it makes you appear more light and graceful. Your feet should be directly below straightened shoulders, and your knees should be relaxed. Hold in your tummy so that the rib cage is held high! Hands should be placed on the hips to be prepared to move.
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Step 4
Dance! Start will the belly roll. With this exercise, you are actually forming a circle with your navel. You want to have a pulled in tummy, and make a simple roll around. Your movement should come from the abdomen. Listening to soft, exotic music helps set the mood for this dance. When using belly dancing for fitness, this dance help build your core!
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Step 5
Stand with your feet a few inches apart. Bend your knees a bit without tensing your legs at all. Now move with your buttocks. Slowly wiggle the backs of your legs. This is a shimmy in place. Get comfortable shimmying in place.Then, start gliding back and forth. This is a great aerobic work-out, as well as strengthening your muscles. Pay attention to proper form, but have fun with it. Make it your own.
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Step 6
Shimmy! The next move is the forward-and-back shimmy. You want to make small, exaggerated motions for this that flow like a vibration. You are simply moving your body backwards, then front. You are putting most of your energy into forcing your body backwards into the shimmy, and the forward movement should be a release. You can keep some of the movement of the belly roll as you shimmy.When practicing this, keep the small of your back relaxed to avoid possible injury. Your feet should be in the customary belly dance position of about shoulder width or slightly less apart, toes pointing straight forward, knees relaxed.
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Step 7
Turn around! You'll want to add spins and turns to your dancing for added flair and ease in working out in a tight space. Shift your weight to one leg, then cross the other one and whip it around in front of the supporting leg. Shift your weight on to this leg now, and use it to push yourself into a spin. This can be repeated as often as you want within your dance!
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Step 8
Cut a figure eight! In belly dancing, this move is done with your hips. Pretend there is an imaginary number 8 on the floor. Gently but precisely move your hips in sway to reach all the circles of a number 8. Do this a few times in a row to get the proper effect of the dance move.
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Step 9
Put it all together in any order and sequence of dance that you like. Dance until you feel tired for a thorough aerobic work-out.
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Step 10
Cool down! Slowing down the pace of your dance until you are walking in place is the best idea for a cool down. Because you have also worked your muscles, you want to make sure to stretch out all muscle groups to avoid any lactic acid build-up and for a great feeling after your work-out.
