In ballet, you get sore. Most of the time throughout class, you have to keep dancing through the pain. Often times when I get in the car I will start massaging my troublesome muscles. Self massage is really great for you, it helps break up the tissues. When I have gone to my physical therapist, what he typically did was that he would sometimes massage my feet and put me through some exercises to see were I was struggling.

Self massage is very easy and good for you. Whenever my arches or ankles hurt, after ballet class I will start massaging them. In particular, my ankles. Right by your ankle bone, there is a tendon. My tendon by my ankles sometimes the blood clots there and it can be a pain.

I also have a handful of muscles that it is hard to massage them, like my quads and hamstrings. So, I use my mini roller and I love it. One of the most important things about massaging is to take your time and be patient. You really should roll the roller over the annoying muscle from 20-25 times or so. It takes a while, but you have got to take good care of your muscles.

After ballet class, you should always stretch out your muscles. You just can't go from dancing all the sudden to be sitting in the car going home. It is both not good and not natural for your body. So that is why stretching and self massage is so important for dancers. Anyways, have a great day and just keep dancing! ~Mia