Ballet's Many Benefits for Your Body

 Here's another inspiring article about one woman's experience with ballet's positive influence on her life!

I found these two passages particularly inspiring:

• "Two years and a lot of late nights at the barre later, I can tell you that taking that first (literal) leap into adult ballet didn't just change my body but my life. My mindset about health and wellness is radically different, and I am more fit than I've ever been. Thanks to the rigorous and challenging nature of ballet, rest assured, you will get a worthwhile workout. I've been able to evolve and grow in a way that's been safe and beneficial for my body as I get older. Ballet, with its rhythm and repetition, its musicality and its simmering heart, is also a solace for those with busy minds who find it hard to turn off their thoughts."
  
  
• "I am building muscle, toning every last inch of my body: abs, butt, legs, arms, feet, back (oh the beautiful backs ballet dancers have!). I am improving my posture, my balance, my core strength. Taking stairs by two is easy, thanks to improved quad and calf strength. Lugging home bags of groceries is a walk in the park since I spend an entire class holding my arms chest height or above and shaping them into graceful positions. Watching my classmates — adults of all ages, from different backgrounds and places in the world — I can see how far we've come since we shyly shuffled into the studio that first night. My turnout is still far from perfect (one might even say it's far from good), but my mind is clear every time I leave that place, and for me, that is no easy feat."