Belly-dance Your Way Through Pregnancy

By Angie Gilchrist

In a warm, dimly-lit room, a woman dressed in a crimson red and gold-beaded outfit, adorned with a gold-coin belt around her hips circles across the room to the beat of the sitar and drums baring her big, beautiful pregnant belly for all to see. No one can keep their eyes off of her as they watch in amazement as she does Belly Rolls, Figure Eights and Rib Slides all while her baby-to-be enjoys the ride.

Doesn’t sound like your typical pre-natal workout does it? That’s because it isn’t. Belly dancing is unlike traditional exercises like running, weight lifting and walking because there are no timers to watch, no sweaty machines to clean off and no one looking over your shoulder trying to compete with you, said Liz Behel, first-time mother-to-be and belly dancing teacher at The Studio in Huntsville.

Belly dancing is a great exercise for women and can be really helpful to mothers-to-be and those who have recently delivered.

“Some belly dance moves are based on folkloric exercises that prepare the stomach and lower back for childbirth,” said international belly dancing star Rania Bossonis in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. She has produced a series of belly dancing DVDs and videos.

There are two movements that are especially beneficial to pregnant women: the Belly Roll and the Camel according to Bossonis. “The Belly Roll prepares the abdominal muscles for pregnancy by pushing out and pulling in the stomach muscles. This prepares the muscles to be stretched during pregnancy, and this allows them to recover faster after birth. It also helps during delivery, much like Lamaze techniques. The Camel strengthens the lower back to help the body carry the child during pregnancy.”

“Where traditional Western exercises tighten muscles, belly dancing teaches women to use and control their muscles,” adds Bossonis. “Also, when doing isolation exercises in belly dancing, women work all muscles including supporting muscles, whereas traditional exercises work particular muscle groups one at a time, such as biceps and triceps, and often neglect supporting muscles. Belly dance students learn grace, strength, flexibility and control.”

Belly dancing can meet the fitness goals of many moms-to-be and new mothers.

“Belly dancing can be anything you need it to be,” said Behel. “It can be aerobic and you can get all sweaty and get a great workout or it can be an hour of stretching. You can work on your upper body, lower body, arms, thighs, abs, whatever.”

Bonnie Hardison of Gurley, mother of two, said, “Belly dancing is the easiest exercise I think you can do besides walking. It is low-impact, and you can control how hard or easy you want the workout to be.”

The benefits of belly dancing extend beyond fitness. “Belly dancing helped me with pain management throughout my pregnancy so I didn’t have to take medication,” said Hardison. Hardison was in labor for fifteen hours with her first daughter; due to medical reasons she could not have an epidural to ease the pain. However, she was able to handle the labor pains with the help of belly dance moves, Hip Circles and Undulations, which allowed her to control her abdominal muscles during the labor.

Behel believes that belly dancing has kept her in a positive mood throughout her 40 weeks. “I feel re-energized after a long day at work and I really believe dancing has made me feel happy throughout this pregnancy.”

For information about belly dancing classes at The Studio, including Mommy and Me classes and classes designed just for kids, visit their website.

Consult your doctor before beginning belly dancing or any other type of exercise to ensure your health and the health of your baby is not at risk.

Angie Gilchrist is a freelance writer from Somerville and enjoys spending time with her one-year old son, Eli.