Hey ballet friend,

Last month I talked about the "layers of the cake" that support beautiful, expressive dancing. Your technique relies on mobility, deep core control, gross and fine motor coordination, and what I call super fine motor control — the stuff that supports pointe and high extensions, and helps you express with your whole body.

That's a lot of layers. Especially when you're juggling movement skills alongside the creativity and community that make ballet class so special.

My TBI & Long COVID double whammy needed a lot of rehab. When I was stressed beyond capacity, I fell back on what I knew: restorative movement for strength and healing, and orienting my path (however long and bumpy) towards making art in this imperfect body.

Those same movement practices remain a huge part of my self care as I continue to heal, manage chronic pain, and re-enter activities that matter to me. Even sitting to write this newsletter, I've gotta check in with my core cues and take mobility breaks so I'll be in one piece to teach Saturday morning ballet.

Knowing what you need and when, and having the mental bandwidth to do the work, is a process. I use mobility as the first stepping stone because releasing tension and caring for your somatic nervous system creates more mental space to build those other layers.

Not sure where to start? Head to inspiredmotion.ca/classes for a full body reset that helps you:

• Recalibrate your nervous system to take back your mental bandwidth.

• Peel back the layers of tension from prolonged sitting.

• Learn posture cues that make desk work and ballet class easier.

• Support range of motion safely (extra important if you’re hypermobile).

• Get more flexible for ballet.

I used to teach these classes live for adult dancers to connect with and understand their bodies on a deeper level — but nobody could make it at the same time. Plus, sometimes it just feels better to make your own private spa day. 🛁

Face mask? ✔️ Couple of candles? ✔️ Gentle movement that helps your circulation like a massage, and makes you sleep like a baby? ✔️

This asynchronous version gives you the freedom to fit body care into work breaks/TV time/weekend decompression, when it actually works for you.

I'm making some tech changes come fall, so this offering is currently only available until September 1. Access it in August for $30.

Try a 5-minute sample at inspiredmotion.ca/classes

Hope you relax and enjoy,

Natasha