With my birthday being last week, I can't help but have thoughts about aging and the inevitable passage of time. But, I also have a lot of gratitude for being where I am today... having long outlasted the typical age of retirement in this brutal ballet career... and in some ways feeling more confident in my body & career than ever.
But it's been a sloooooow grind to get here. I needed the extra time. To master my body. To get a handle on my mental demons. To feel confident enough in my uniqueness to become a true artist & give everything to ballet without needing anything (validation or ego-boost) in return. The simple act of doing the art, going all-in with pure intent on connection & creation, is the reward.
If you've been following me a while, you already know I'm no thoroughbred. As a misfit and late bloomer, I have had to WORK to build a body I feel confident in. I had a lot of mental and physical struggles in my early dancing years (the time usually considered "peak" in a dancer's career) and needed decades to overcome those struggles.
I made a lot of mistakes. Learned a lot of hard lessons. Endured a lot of pain. That's why I'm so grateful to have these later years as a "seasoned" professional where I can enjoy dancing... instead of destroying myself with it.
But in order to get here... my body has had to hold up through decades of extremely demanding standards and the hard work to maintain those standards. So today, I share the single most important factor to that longevity:
Learning to manipulate stress - both how to inflict the right kind of stress to ensure your body stays in prime condition... and how to mitigate negative stress (on a physical, mental, & emotional level) for preservation purposes.
What's the main reason dancers have short careers? STRESS. Physical, mental, emotional stress.
In order to have career longevity (especially as a freelancer), you have to learn how to manipulate STRESS. I say "manipulate" because you need a certain amount and the right kind of it. But you also need to decrease the bad kind.
And the more seasoned you become as a professional dancer... the more this stress manipulation becomes vital. (*BTW...this doesn't just apply to dancers...this concept applies to everyone who wants to age gracefully!!!)
Decreasing the negative stress on your life is nothing we haven't heard before. This can include
- adjusting your "side-hustle" to make sure it's not draining you physically or emotionally
- avoiding junk food and toxins that mess up your system
- supporting healthy hormonal tone through proper nourishment
- actively calming your body and emotions through meditation, self-massage, breathwork, journaling, etc.
All of this makes sense. But here's the surprising one -- decreasing your workload... meaning all the physical activities you do to stay in dance shape.
This is where things get hard... because it goes against EVERYTHING you've been taught and EVERYTHING you've done your entire dance career up until this point. Most dancers think the only way to get better is by doing more - more classes, more cross-training, more stretching, more cardio, more time & effort spent working on the body.
But the seasoned pro has to do LESS. And that is terrifying!
Here's the kicker -- because you are doing less, you must make the work you do really COUNT. This is where manipulating stress comes into play. You have to intentionally inflict the right kind of stress to create positive transformation... but avoid overloading your body with excessive stress that just wears you down.
This is why cross-training in a specific way with specific intent is SO important. You can't afford to waste energy or wear out your body on exercises that aren't providing the right kind of transformative stress. If you only get a limited amount of workout opportunities each week... you have to be very strategic and make them count. Efficiency with training. Quality over quantity. Otherwise you're just wasting precious mileage and energy.
Hitting the gym every day leads to burnout & deterioration. Hitting the gym with a specific intent and plan once or twice per week leads to improvements. That doesn't mean you sit on your couch and watch Netflix the rest of the time. But you must not think that if you don't do a hardcore workout every day, you'll fall behind.
You can't train the same way you did when you were in your twenties. But you can still improve & stay in the game. You just have to learn to manipulate stress and train differently. Father Time is the one thing none of us can control. But we can control how we deal with it.
Learn more about my methods for body preservation and career longevity. Work with me privately or come to my HUNTING HAPPINESS RETREAT this summer to get my Fountain-of-Youth Protocol for aging gracefully and making the best of your body! We'll talk about anti-aging secrets, metabolism boosting workouts, and of course ways to decrease stress! (***This retreat is not just for dancers... it's for anyone wanting to feel confident in your body so you can enjoy life to the max! Check out the exciting itinerary here!)
Or sign up for my online SUMMER DETOX starting May 26 where you'll learn how to nourish your body for fat loss, performance power, and pleasure!
PC: Jon Taylor @jontaylorphoto