Whether you're looking for a new workout routine, or some new steps to add to your dance repertoire, belly dance exercise videos allow you to try this dance form in the privacy of your home.
Core Workout
Many movements in belly dancing are centered around exercising your abs. According to Rania Androniki Bossonis, author of "Belly Dancing for Fitness," belly dancers are sculpting almost every muscle in their core, including the hard-to-reach deep transverse abdominals. Ayshe, the instructor in the "BellyDance for Core Fitness" DVD, explains that core muscles have a big impact on posture and general health. While videos like "BellyDance for Core Fitness" zero in on your core, even beginner's DVDs like Neena and Veena's "Belly Dance Fitness for Beginners" offer core building.
Muscle Isolation
Muscle isolation, a technique that requires you to use specific muscles without moving other parts of your body, is key to belly dancing. Lower-body dance moves shouldn't affect your posture or movements in your upper body. This is why professional belly-dancers can balance swords and candelabra on their heads while they shimmy and shake their hips. To tone up through muscle isolation, there are belly dance DVDs that specifically focus on arms, abs, hips, the butt and thighs.
Key Movements
These include horizontal and vertical figure eights with the hips, hip circles, horizontal and vertical chest circles, hip bumps and drops, shoulder shimmies, hip shimmies, snake arms, stomach and full-body undulations. Dance videos like Jillina's "Instructional BellyDance" DVDs instruct you in these movements via choreography; whereas belly dance videos with "workout" or "cardio" in the title tend to focus on aerobic exercise by drilling you on combinations of key movements.
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