Chest Lift Belly Dance Move

Video Transcript

"Now we'll be going over the Chest Lift. So to begin, make sure your feet are facing straight ahead, knees are slightly bent, belly button's pulled in, chest is lifted, shoulders are back and down and arms will be out away from our body. Now, you're going to want to envision a string attach the center of your sternum, lifting straight up towards the ceiling. And that will help your chest lift. You can also accomplish this by taking a deep breath in and down. Now you don't want to initiate the movement with your breath, but this is a good way to get the position correctly before trying to do it independently. So again, as you lift think about your sternum lifting to the ceiling and think about the angle of your sternum changing as it lifts up, so you're not lifting up your whole body, just angling the sternum. Also make sure that your shoulders aren't pulling down your back. Your shoulders are just along for the ride. So the chest just lifts straight up and pulls straight down. Think about lifting up with your diaphragm, so you're using your upper abdominal muscles as well. Let's try it with music. Five, six, seven, eight and lift and drop and lift and drop and lift and drop. Good. Practice in front of the mirror, make sure you're not changing your level, you're not going up and down at all, and staying nice and centered."