Salsa
Lidia McMahon is a director at Latin Dance
Australia (LDA) and an instructor with 10 years’ experience. She says that
unlike many traditional gym workouts, salsa stimulates the mind as well as the
body. “Salsa works as an interaction between you and your partner, and it’s all
about the filing,” she says
The woman works and moves through the hips,
working the body and using the eyes to engage with her partner, and McMahon
describes salsa as an entire body workout. “You’re using the arms and working
through the torso, the hips and the legs. Some styling techniques require you
to drop down and then come back up, so you’re also working through the thighs
and your entitle spinal region,” she says.
“Salsa
works as an interaction between you and your partner, and it’s all about the
filing,” she says
McMahon says that according to a recent
study by LDA, 70 per cent of class attendees are single “Salsa can still be
quite platonic but you are physically interacting,” she says. And while most
people come to classes alone several people do meet their partners at lessons
and there have even been some marriages as a result.
Burlesque
“Burlesque is different from pole dancing
says Thompson. “It’s not as physically demanding but it’s more about getting in
touch with your very sexy, very feminine side.”
In burlesque you learn poses and move with
a great deal of poise and confidence, imagining that you are on stage and that
the audience is in the palm o! your hand. You dance like you’re in control of
the whole situation. Slow and sexy sequences, with heels if you choose Think Ms.
Von Teese In Melissa jellies.
Burlesque, like many other dance
disciplines, can help flexibility, and props, like a veil, boa or cane can give
your arms a workout, too. “The arm movements may look quite simple and
effortless, but when you use all your muscles to control your body and add in
these extra movements, it can be very strenuous, says Melky.
Slow
and sexy sequences, with heels if you choose Think Ms. Von Teese In Melissa
jellies.
McMahon says that classes such as burlesque
may increase libido, too. “There’s really a focus on being sexy and moving the
body in a sexy way. It Is very much about creating a teas’ she says.
If you wish, you can even kit yourself out
to look the part. Perth-based Burlesque Baby (burlesquebaby.com.au) offers
online ordering, with clothing, lingerie and accessories inspired by styles
from the 40s and ‘50s.
Striptease
Made famous by the likes of Carmen Electra
with her aerobic striptease DVD collection, this type of dance isn’t for the
faint hearted or easily-embarrassed! While you won’t be getting your whole kit
off in lessons, this is unashamedly raunchy. Essentially you’re pretending to
take it all off n what Melky describes as a seductive way, with coordinated
moves designed to look spontaneous. During a striptease class, the movements
require good core control and muscles worked include hips, thighs, the
abdominals and the butt. At the aptly-named Snip School in Melbourne, classes
are geared to groups of girlfriends or hens troupes, but private lessons are
available. There is no nudity.
More than a feelin’
Often (and correctly) linked to bladder
control pelvic floor exercises are the dark horse in the hot sex equation. “For
sexual response, the pelvic floor is really important,” says pelvic floor
physiotherapist Sherin Jarvis. “If our pelvic muscles are firm, there’s more
contact between a woman and her partner,” she explains. “These muscles contract
during intercourse and orgasm, so a firmer and tighter pelvic floor can give
your partner more compression around him as well as a better sensation for
you.” The mechanics? “If you can actively contract and relax muscles during
sex, you can actively increase and decrease pressure during penetration,”
Jarvis says.
Strong hold
Sets & reps: 3 sets daily once
standing, once on all fours and once sitting.
Sit, stand tall, lie on your back with your
knees bent and legs comfortably apart, or kneel on your hands and knees. Close
your eyes, imagine what muscles you would tighten to stop yourself from passing
wind or to ‘hold on’ from passing urine. You should feel a distinct tightening
of these muscles. Now that you can feel your pelvic floor muscles working,
tighten them around your front passage, vagina and back passage as strongly as
possible and hold for three to five seconds. By doing this, you should feel
your pelvic floor muscles ‘lift up’ inside you and feel a definite ‘let go’ as
the muscles relax. If you can hold longer (but no more than a maximum of eight
seconds), then do so. Remember, the squeeze must stay strong and you should
feel a definite ‘let go’. Repeat up to 10 times or until you feel your pelvic
floor muscles fatigue. Rest for a few seconds in between each squeeze.
“If
our pelvic muscles are firm, there’s more contact between a woman and her
partner,” she explains.
Power ranger
Sets & reps: 1-3 sets daily.
Squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles
as strongly and as quickly as possible. Do not try to hold on to the
contraction, just squeeze and let go, rest for a few seconds in between each
squeeze. Repeat this 10 to 20 times or until you feel your pelvic floor muscles
fatigue. TIP: Pelvic floor exercises can be done any time, any place. You could
even try doing them at the traffic lights or on the train to work. Make it a
routine to see maximum benefits. And if you’re dancing one of the disciplines
featured, the pelvic floor muscles often contract at the same time as the core
muscle, so it really is an all-body workout!
