How to Do A Belly Roll - Basic Belly Dance Move

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Flex your abdominal muscles and try to do a belly roll.

* Make sure that you are comfortable! You should be wearing comfortable clothes. You should also practice dancing and exercising in a comfortable place.

* Stretch your body and muscles, if you need to.

* Stand up straight.

* Attempt to flex your whole stomach area. In other words, tighten up your entire abdominal region. Hold for a moment and then release.

* Attempt to do a belly roll.

* Until you're familiar with doing a belly roll, avoid incorporating any arm, hip, chest or leg movements in with your belly roll (belly dance move.)

(Observe the way that your body reacts to this belly roll exercise. This will give you something to compare your future belly rolls and muscle flexes with. This can help you to notice any progress that you are making. If at all possible, practice dancing in front of a mirror. This way you can see yourself moving and dancing.)

Some people will have no problems completing a belly roll. They might do a perfect belly roll even the very first time that they try it.

For other people completing a proper belly roll may seem impossible. If your one of these people that can't complete a belly roll, then keep reading to learn how!
Step 2

Get to know your belly.

When you first attempt to roll your belly, you may not know how to move most of the muscles that it takes to execute a belly roll.

You might never use these certain abdominal muscles, so when you attempt to instruct these muscles to move in a certain way, they don't always respond properly or move how you instructed them to. This is because you don't completely control these muscles yet.
Step 3

Take it Slow.

Sudden abdominal exercises might cause your muscles to be sore.

To avoid this, you should start working out slowly.

The first few times that you work with your ab muscles, you should only work out for a few minutes.

Each time that you work on your abs, you can work out for longer periods of time.
Step 4

Exercise your belly muscles back to life.

The first exercise can be done sitting down, or standing up. It is designed to help you get to know your belly muscles.

Try to flex you entire abdominal region. Hold this flex for a few seconds and then release. Do this exercise a few times a day. This alone will start to show you results in overall abdominal muscle tone and appearance.
Step 5

Flex your abs daily until you are comfortable making a muscle with your entire stomach.

Flex your abs daily until the muscles are slightly toned and not just lying unused and dormant.

At this point flexing your entire abdominal area should be easy.
Step 6

Flex your belly region while using your fingertips to carefully feel your abdominal muscles underneath the layer of belly fat. The abdominal muscles are protected underneath a layer of body fat. Don't smash or press down too hard on your muscles, your fat or your belly.

This exercise will give you something to compare your progress with. You will eventually notice that your belly muscles are changing everyday.
Step 7

Isolate your ab muscles.

At this point you should be more familiar with your abdominal region.

Instead of flexing your entire stomach area, try to concentrate on one area.

Let's say that you want to start off with the bottom of your belly first :

* Try to flex and hold just the bottom of your ab muscles.
* Squeeze tightly and hold for a few seconds, then release.
* Repeat this a few times each day for a week.
Step 8

Move on to work with your upper ab muscles.

Repeat Step 7 using your upper abs instead of your lower abs (The top of your stomach instead of the bottom.)

* Note *

At first, it might feel like your entire abs are being flexed. This will eventually work and you will notice the difference as long as you keep at it.

You should be visualizing the certain muscles, concentrating and really trying to see if you are able to isolate these muscles.

After a while of working with your belly using these techniques you should be able to do three things :

* Push out your belly and tighten your upper abs, leaving your lower abs and the rest of the muscles extended outward.

* Push out your belly and tighten your lower abs, leaving your upper abs and the rest of the muscles extended outward.

* Extend or Push out your entire belly and then flex and pull in your entire belly.
Step 9

Do sit ups to strengthen your abdominal muscles.

This exercise will allow you to strengthen your ab muscles and get to know how they work, all at the same time.

When doing your sit ups, try to sit up moving towards the right or moving up towards the left direction. This will strengthen the sides of your abs.

Try to flex your upper and lower abdominal muscles at different times. This should allow you to fully understand and to isolate your different ab muscles.
Step 10

Perform a complete belly roll - belly dance move.

* Stand up straight or with feet shoulder length apart and knees slightly bent.

* Push out your belly/stomach/ab muscles (This should make your belly appear round.)

* Begin with the top, Pull in and Flex your upper abdominal muscles.

* Keep the upper abs flexed and flex your lower abdominal muscles.

* At this point your entire abdominal region should be flexed.

* In one movement, Release your flexed muscles and push out your belly.

At first this move will look somewhat mechanical and might even feel awkward to the dancer.

* Repeat the three motions or movements over and over again.

* Don't expect to get the move down right away because it always looks funny for most people (at first.)

* Keep repeating these three motions, even if it takes a few weeks you will get the move down.

* Make sure to take it slow and keep practicing.

* Eventually these three mechanical looking movements will become more fluid and begin to flow together smoothly.

* Keep practicing your belly rolls and you will be a professional belly roller in no time!
Step 11

Once you have mastered the belly roll you can then incorporate some hip and chest movement in with your belly roll.

You can turn the belly roll - belly dance move into so many things.

Try a reverse belly roll!

Instead of tightening your upper abs and then your lower ab muscles,
switch the muscles/movements/motions around backwards.

Reverse belly roll :

* Push out your belly.
* Pull in and Tighten your lower abs.
* Keep your lower abs flexed while you pull in and tighten your upper ab muscles.
* Release.
* Repeat these movements until it becomes fluid looking.

This creates what will look like a brand new dance move.

Also try this quick dance move idea :

* Twist your hips to the left and do a belly roll.
* Then twist your hips to the right and do a belly roll.
* Repeat these steps a few times and you have yet another belly roll inspired, belly dance move.