So Tango is about Control and also about Posture. And you can get both if you use your abdominal muscles the correct way, am I right?
So for you to Tango there are some main body concepts you must be able to manage to move on. Alignment is number one. Engaging abdominal muscles and placing your pelvis in neutral is number two. Using the ball of your feet and your pointing toes as you step is number three.
The rest, is attitude. What makes you look as if you were floating on the floor. What gives you a mysterious, suggestive manner.
Get in line, soldier!
In order to Tango, your body, your head, your neck, your shoulders, your chest, your torso, your waist, your hips, your legs and your feet must be aligned.
In other words: you will align all your body from head to toes. Well, actually, you won’t have to do it. Your brain will. That is, first you tell your brain that your body needs these basics taken care of, and the your brain will go on with the job automatically with little or no interference from you.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Your Pelvic Bone
Listen, your pelvis does not move from your neutral position. Ever. Neither do your hips. You will use these core concepts over and over again as you do TANGOLATES. Your powerhouse will grow so strong that your will never be tempted to use your back muscles. Practice pelvic positioning:
Stand in front of a mirror. Turn to the right until you see only your profile. Now stick your derriere out and hold it there. Next, pull your derriere in as much as you can, and hold it there. Now try to fluctuate from one position to the other three to five times. Somewhere along the line lies a nice comfortable in between. That is your neutral. When your TANGOLATES you will be using this neutral naturally as it is difficult to TANGOLATES outside of the neutral. Even when you do the swing to get out of the fifth position, you will do it in neutral, because there is no way to get out of the blocked feet without recurring to the neutral and the navel-to-the-spine position.
Master the Concepts
You can learn the one thousand and one exercises of TANGOLATES starting with the sole of your foot.
Seriously.
Try this exercise to find your transversus abdominis first and to tighten it later. In order to do it right, you first put a cotton ball on the cushion of your sole and stick it with a tape. Now, draw an imaginary line between that cushion and your big toe, more presicely, the outer part of your big toe. This is the part of your foot you want to move. Another thing to remember, when you Tango, you always move your feet in this manner, sliding this cushion in the direction you want your body to go. You do not stamp your sole, much less your heel. When you Tango, you slide the cushion of your sole, or the “cushion-toe”. This is the reason why Tango dancers look as if they are floating on the dancing floor.
Standing straight in front of a mirror, both feet parallel, find the ball and slide your foot forwards as far as it goes and draw a semi circle to the side. Guess what? It is very difficult to do this movement without holding your belly in! Plus, you will see, as we go along, that most of the one thousand and one movements of TANGOLATES make you tighten your transversus abdominis without even noticing you are doing it, just because the movement is such that it is difficult to realize it with your belly hanging lose…
Keep Looking for Mr. Transversus
There is a better way to get what Joseph Pilates used to call “navel to your spine”, and that is the first eight movements of Tango, especially the fifth movement. Remember to, first point like a ballerina; second, always keep your ankles closely together, and third, lengthen fromthecushion-and-toe as you reach out. You will feel a stretch along the back of your entire leg. That’s the idea, so if you do, you know you are going in the right direction.
O.K.first the image and then the exercise. Imagine you want to go to the bathroom for number one. You are told that you have to wait 20 minutes until one is available for you. There is nothing you can do but hold it. So you pull in and up. As time goes by, you pull harder in and up, in and up, in and up. The twenty minutes passed and you are told to wait 10 more minutes. Those last 10 minutes seem like a month to you, but, you have no choice so that you give it the last try, this time with feeling: in and up for ten more minutes. The last three minutes are the most difficult so you give it the last all time effort try. In and Up!
That’s it. You’ve got it. Your abdominal wall is now right up your spine. We are talking here about a flat and beautiful…what? belly? What belly? There is no belly!
You Float
Always move with your ball-and-toe part of your foot. Your legs should be straight most of the time, try not to bend your knees. Never move your hips as if your were dancing salsa, this is no salsa, this is Tango. Remember to that your heels should not stay too far apart. It does not look nice. You can draw half a circle with your toes, you can also stand still and not move. Tango, as well as PILATES FOR TWO respect the movement and the rest period. Finally, let your imagination fly: the gym class becomes a magical stage.
Hide your Face
An invisible string pulls you from the top of your head. Your chin is up.Now, try this:
Lower your chin to your chest
Inhale as you turn your head until and try to touch your right shoulder with your chin.
Exhale as you lift your left arm up with your hand extended towards your right eyebrow, as if you were going to take a hat off.
When you hide your face and take off an invisible hat, the muscles you are using are the deltoids, the serratus anterior, and the trapezius, all muscles that stabilize the shoulder girdle and help you keep your spine erect.
