Dancer's Survival Handbook

Nikki Naab-Levy is a massage therapist, fitness educator, and pilates teacher. Nikki's philosophy is very different from the rest of the fitness industry, which preaches "No pain, no gain!" (She calls it the "yelly, screamy side of fitness.") Instead, Nikki believes that your fitness routine should be supportive of the activities and sports that you love and that it doesn't have to hurt. A lot of athletes, including dancers wear their injuries like a badge of honor and power through. Nikki gives the analogy of the fire alarm in her house: the battery is low and it keeps beeping. It drives her crazy, but instead of changing the battery, she just closes the door so she can't hear it. Not good if the house catches on fire! It's the same thing with our bodies- when we ignore the small pains, it can add up until suddenly the house burns down. Some of the most common injuries for dancers come from the need for mobility. Nikki points out that we can take a lot of different pathways to achieve a certain shape or move