FOUNDATION FOR EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING

With its array of down beat and timing options and endless layering possibilities, the complexity of Suhaila's format-- which draws so many of us in to begin with-- makes goal setting incredibly daunting!

Although there are a million productivity theories to choose from, I don’t know of a one size fits all approach to goal management. I do, however, believe that there are a few fundamental elements that lay a foundation success or failure in achieving one's goals. These include:

• Healthy motivation—keep your eye on the prize: Set your sights on what you want, not fear of not having it. Fear can be deceptively motivating, but it is unsustainable and ultimately destructive. To avoid inadvertently developing goals rooted in fear, make sure you:
• Define goals affirmatively: “I want a high level of stamina” vs. “I don’t want to run out breath half way through the choreography.” The difference is subtle, but makes all the difference in the world.
  
• Check motivation: Write down why you want to achieve a particular goal. Make sure your motivations are also not rooted in fear. For example, “I want to test level II in April because I want to attend the level III in August” vs. “I want to test level II in April because I want to be level II before Mary Rivaldownthestreet tests in August.”

• Healthy motivation is not only sustainable, but allows you to be compassionate with yourself along the way. Lacking compassion for yourself not only makes it nearly impossible to dance, but it wastes energy on the path toward achieving what you really want!

• Reality = your goals - your doubts: You have to believe in your ability to achieve your goals. You may not know how long it will take, or the path to get there, but to reach a destination you must first know you are capable of getting there.
  

You are capable- I promise! But you may not know it yet. If you call into this category, affirmations and visualizations are the two most powerful tools I know for transforming faith in one’s self. Start a habit of using affirmations and visualizations as a first step toward achieving your goal.

• Dont forget the snow ball effect: The act of setting and achieving goals, even small ones (goal “snow flakes”) creates momentum which builds upon itself, launching you even more rapidly to your big goals.
  
  
• Set SMART goals: SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Setting SMART goals exponentially increases your chances of achieving desired results, and ensures that you will recognize success when you get there.

What do you consider foundational for goal setting? Do you have experience with any of these? If you have any insights that you would like to share, please leave comments below, or consider writing a guest post!

THE PRACTICE HABIT

One of the many unique aspects of Suhaila's format is that it has its own language and structure, and therefore doesn't rely on the student being in the same room (or even the same state!) as Suhaila in order to learn, practice, and grow. In fact, many of Suhaila's long time students (such as Lois, Alexia, Stacey, and Renee) live out of state, and have therefore relied on a home practice, in conjunction with periodic trips to the mother ship, to develop as dancers within the format.

Even students who regularly attend class in-person most likely have a home practice, because 1 or even 3 classes weekly simply isn't enough to time to build the strength, stamina, or conceptual understanding necessary to really learn and grow. In future posts I will discuss the components of my own daily and weekly practice, but the purpose of this post is to discuss techniques for making a home practice a habit.

Based on my own experience, and that of other women training in the format, some of the biggest challenges to implementing a regular home practice include:

1. Not enough time and/or guilt associated with prioritizing dance over seemingly more important obligations.
2. Too many goals/ too high expectations (i.e. letting the ideal practice get in the way of an adequate practice)
   
3. Motivation to start and maintain a practice
   

Below are some simple steps to addressing these challenges and building a practice habit:

1. Develop ready-to-go practice modules: Create 10, 30, and 60 minute "mad-libs" style practices ahead of time to keep on hand, so that you can choose a practice that fits your schedule on a given day. Suhaila's Fitness Fusion dvds also work perfect for this.
2. Create additional time in the day: Ideas to do this include implementing a productivity system (I love Zen to Done by Leo Babauta); reducing email consumption to once a week (and other scary/ fabulous techniques implemented by Tim Ferris in The Four Hour Work Week); or "cutting the fat" by doing an 80/20 analysis on the areas of your life that cost the most time, money, and energy.
3. Eliminate guilt: For years I struggled with guilt associated with setting aside time to dance, despite the fact that the nourishment I gained from dance sustained every other aspect of my life. While there is no easy way to silence the inner voice that is judging the way you use your time, just recognizing it, and not believing it on face value is a great start. The Artist's WayJulia Cameron, and The Voice of Knowledge by Miguel Ruiz are both tremendous resources in overcoming this challenge.
4. Set a single, specific goal and/ or intention for your practice: Given the complexity of the format, it is easy to become overwhelmed and so difficult to prioritize one movement or concept over another. This alone has paralyzed me from time to time! By setting a single goal, you are more likely to gain confidence and momentum associated with achieving that goal, while avoiding the pressure of feeling like you have to improve everything in every practice. (And remember: our artistic path is a life-long one... and in the context of a lifetime, what is wrong with taking your time and savoring each moment on the path to achieving one's goals?)
5. Log your practice: Briefly jot down notes, or at minimum, place a big fat X on a calendar, after each practice. Use this as a source of inspiration on days you are lacking motivation. I love the simplicity of Joe's Goals for this purpose.
6. Remind yourself of your dreams: Write down your dreams (or long term goals) as a dancer, and WHY you believe in your ability to achieve them. The second part is important, because if you don't believe in your own power to achieve your dreams, you won't have the motivation to practice. Don't edit yourself in this practice-- no dream is right or wrong!

For more tips on implementing habits, check out the great tips in this article on Zen Habits.

Have you experienced any of the challenges outlined above? Have any tips for over coming them and/ or building habits? If so, please share in the comments section!

TOOLS TO IMPROVE ABDOMINAL ISOLATIONS

Last night's class at DCDC focused on pelvic locks and chest locks. Both movements involve abdominal contractions, and I have yet to teach either without at least a few student who really struggle to isolate their abdominal muscles. Why is this? I have two theories:

1. Strength (particularly in the lower abs and lower back)
2. Tension in the abdominal muscles

It is easy to focus on the former without giving attention to the latter. In class I provide several exercises to strengthen the associated muscles. For additional exercises, I highly recommend Suhaila's fitness fusion DVDs because they focus on developing the muscles needed for the format.

However, no matter how strong you become, if you are still holding tension in your belly muscles, you will have a lot of trouble isolating (I am living proof of this-- just ask Suhaila!) Often, the source of the tension is psychological, and builds upon itself during practice, particularly if you are struggling to execute a movement.

To reduce this tension, I recommend incorporating one, or more, of these tools into your life and/ or practice:

1. Intention: Set an intention at the beginning of class, and focus on this intention throughout. Return to this intention whenever you begin to feel frustrated, as a tool for diverting your energy from the source of your frustration.
2. Silence the inner critic in your head: Each of us have an incredibly mean inner critic living in our head that knows our vulnerabilities, and speaks our language. This critic is so mean that our bodies immediately respond to its horrible messages by tensing up. We have to learn to recognize the inner critic, and silence it. There are several tools for doing this, I have had the most success by reading "The Voice Of Knowledge" by Miguel Ruiz, and by utilizing affirmations.
3. Affirmations: Affirmations are an INCREDIBLY powerful tool. I really like the suggestions for using affirmations from we the change blog.

What tools do you use? Have you had success with any of the recommendations above? If so, please share in the comments section.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

A few months ago a simple, but profound, thought occurred to me:

It is impossible to do a dance of isolation (e.g. belly dance as taught by Suhaila), with negative, self deprecating, or self defeating thoughts running through your head. The logic is clear: when you are being abused, your body tenses in order to protect itself, making isolation of the muscles virtually impossible.

My intention in creating this blog is simply to offer a resource that dancers of all levels can use along the path toward self love and appreciation, in order for all of us to reach our creative potential-- on and off the dance floor.

Over the next few weeks I will post my own insights as well as those of guest authors, links to other resources, book reviews, group exercises, and anything else of interest.

Your participation matters tremendously! Please do not hesitate to post comments, share ideas and insights, and email me feedback.

Finally, I want to publicly acknowledge my teacher and mentor, Suhaila, for inspiring and guiding me in my own path.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share the journey with all of you,

- Alexis