Want ideas to take better care of your body as you return to dance?
We're smarter now... the forced hiatus has taught us more about how we need to better take care of ourselves (in many ways). So as you return to dance, you'll need to build your conditioning back up gradually so you can get your West Coast Swing back!
In general, we recommend consulting a professional for this, and it so happens we have one in-house on Team Swing Literacy!
We sat down with Coach Gabriel Shaw, practicing kinesiologist, to hear his recommendations for Westies as they return to dance.

Plus, we'll tell you about an upcoming workshop for Westies to get more mobility in their thoracic spine so they can feel less stiff and improve things like contrabody, body rolls & isolations, and groove.
Please note this article is not intended to be prescriptive nor instructional. For personal treatment advice, please visit your health practitioner. For instruction, please refer to swingliteracy.com
Tessa: Can you explain more about your training, your job, and how a kinesiologist helps people?
Coach Gabriel: Glad to! I am a practicing kinesiologist, and completed my B.Sc. Kinesiology at the University of Victoria. After my degree I pursued the professional designations of Clinical Exercise Physiologist and High-Performance Specialist through the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP).
But my training really started when I was 13 years old as that’s when I began taking classes in Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Qigong. That particular style was very choreographed and fanciful, so I joke that’s also when I started dancing.
In the study of movement, a formal education is only the beginning! My continuing education also includes: Kinetic Link Training, The Franklin Method, Motivational Interviewing and various Tai Chi & Qigong Instructor certifications.
Kinesiologists can do many different jobs, but it generally involves a holistic approach to active rehab and conditioning. People see kinesiologists to learn how to exercise properly, train more effectively, manage persistent pain or re-integrate after injury.
My work is primarily to help people discover the stress/tension/trauma they hold in the body, which causes compensatory movement patterns that lead to pain or dysfunction. I use a combination of vehicles for this from Tai Chi, active rehab, neuromuscular re-education, mindfulness and dance. A lot of my work takes place in private sessions, but I also teach regular group classes and occasionally workshops and events.
Tessa: How have you worked with Westies prior to the pandemic? (treating injuries or inefficiencies from bad technique, old injuries, etc.)
I’ve worked with Westies before the pandemic, and throughout the pandemic through private movement coaching, group classes and workshops, plus a little bit of West Coast Swing teaching.
My work is helping them to resolve pain and injury by conditioning more functional, integrated ways of moving specific parts of their body. This involves stability, mobility, releasing tension and deeping their mind-body connection, so they can prevent pain, stiffness, or instability from holding back their dance!
Tessa: Westies have been on a forced hiatus for a year and a half. What do you think has happened to their conditioning as a result of not being able to keep up their dance lifestyle?
Coach Gabriel: It ranges a lot.
From what I’ve seen, many people have not been nearly as active as they were before the pandemic, both because of dance and their other hobbies. Most have lost a lot of the functional strength they had before, which often results as joint pain or instability. Now they may be starting to dance more often and they are having a hard time with aches, pains and setbacks. Many have also seen reduced cardiovascular fitness, which means their heart and muscles fatigue much faster than before.
Others have been using this time constructively for self-care, improving their health or addressing chronic issues that they never made a priority before, which is great and I’m glad to be a part of that solution.
So many people are realizing how stressed and busy they have been. Dance is such a great outlet that many people are missing in terms of their mental health as well. Some people have been able to answer this by starting meditation practices, taking up outdoor hobbies, dancing solo or in online training programs such as SwingLiteracy. But many are seriously struggling with symptoms of stress and anxiety, which can also show up as physical pain, fatigue and lack of motivation.
Tessa: Given these weaknesses/changes, how do you think Westies are vulnerable as they resume their WCS hobby?
Coach Gabriel: The biggest vulnerability is in not being honest with yourself about where you are at.
Some people want to be where they were before, in terms of their dance abilities or conditioning, and they might jump in100% to the activity level or effort level they used to be able to maintain. But their bodies are not prepared for this anymore, and it will take time to build it back up.
The biggest risk is having to take yet another break from dancing due to pushing too hard and getting injured, I’ve seen this a lot. This ends up taking more time in the long run than starting slow at first.
The best bet is to take it slow to start and listen to your body, take breaks and be more mindful. Of course being super stressed makes it harder to listen to one’s body. But this is when you need it the most.
Tessa: What can Westies do at home to build their conditioning back up to prevent injury? (In priority order)
Coach Gabriel: One of the biggest areas of weakness is the hips - which are also very important for dancing.
A lot of Westies like to walk or run, but this is only forward motion on a mostly even surface. Our bodies are designed to leap, turn, move sideways, climb hills and trees, etc. You need the variety in order to build agility.
So if possible, try to walk, run or hike on uneven surfaces such as trails or beaches. Standing single leg exercises (especially while moving) are very good for training the hip stabilizers, both the adductors and abductors. These muscles are commonly ignored by most people but they are especially important for dancers to improve balance, spins and prevent hip and knee pain.
Training the hips can also be done through a program that includes a lot of lateral movements. There’s a good hip exercise on Tai Chi Walking on my YouTube channel for this here.
The core is also a big issue for dancers. Dancers will often see the symptoms of this in reduced balance, control and the onset of back pain. Regular, consistent activity does a lot to condition the core, so a sedentary lifestyle with a lot of sitting means a big drop off in core strength, even for those who exercise regularly.
My tip for this would be to pass over flexion exercises like crunches or sit-ups which involve actively changing the position of the core, and instead aim for exercises that challenge the ability to maintain a neutral spine position. In other words, movements where you have to hold your core steady while moving other parts.
For example, when doing a Plank, you hold your core steady, but it would be even better to use a moving exercise, which will be more translatable to dance, such as the dead bug or the Paloff press, which are simple, yet effective.
Embodiment is very helpful for the mind-body connection and stress. Embodiment really means actively listening to your body and physical sensations. A lot of pains, compensations and stored stress are a result of constantly being in our heads and ignoring our bodies. It’s a vicious cycle because stress and anxiety don’t feel good, which compels us to push those feelings away. Anxiety and physical pain can be prevented or quickly resolved by slowing down and focusing.
For example, when post people go to the gym they are trying to get it done as quickly as possible. They rush through their reps and sets or spend a lot of the time thinking about other things rather than investing in coordination training or mental imagery. So this is a good time to invest in embodiment or mindfulness training for self-care. That could be through meditation, forest-bathing, tai chi or other mind-body modality.
Tessa: What can Westies build into their daily routine to create better movement habits that are going to improve their quality of dance?
Coach Gabriel: Well, as you know, your quality of dance will improve when you train smarter to move more effectively and efficiently.
So daily routines can go a long way to improve dance skills because you are reminding your muscles how you want them to move so frequently that they will myelinate new habits.
First, make sure you warmup your joints every day. It’s shocking how many social dancers just start dancing without warming up first. When you warmup first, your dance just feels better! Plus it’s way easier to avoid injury.
I have a great 30min routine for this here, but even just 5-10 minutes of warmup exercises can make a difference.
This is not a complete or recommended list
In your daily routine, I would recommend including the walking, core, and embodiment activities mentioned above, plus:
- Rotational exercises for core, hips and shoulders.
- Exercises to strengthen the gluteus medius for hip stability and the transversus abdominis for core control and contrabody.
- Rotator cuff strengthening can also pay big dividends helping dancers avoid shoulder problems and improve their connection.
Dance Less Stiff: virtual workshop
with Coach Gabriel
Designed just for Westies!
This is perfect for you if you:
Tessa: How might a Westie know if they need a kinesiologist?
Coach Gabriel: If you consistently receive the same feedback from partners or teachers, despite many attempts at correcting the issue, this means you need to try something different. Sometimes this means getting help from a different WCS Pro, but sometimes this indicates a lack of conditioning. That’s a good time to get some movement coaching.
Many of the people who come to see me have dance-related pains that are preventing them from dancing at the level or amount that they desire. This is especially true if those individuals have already tried physical therapy or a standard exercise protocol.
But there are also a lot of people who simply see the value in getting expert guidance on how to exercise specifically for dance in a way that will help them keep dancing for a long time or as they age.Tessa: How would a Westie go about consulting with a kinesiologist?
Coach Gabriel: This is a good question, because it’s the same in all locations. I work with dancers virtually from all over the world. If anyone is interested they can schedule a free 20-min phone to call with me.
https://coachgabrielshaw.com/dance
If we’re not a good fit I can usually recommend someone else based on the individual’s needs.
The British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists (BCAK), who I am registered with, has a “find a Kin” feature on their website. You could Google search the credentialing association in your area for the same.
The most important thing is to find someone with the proper educational background and an approach that you resonate with. If they don’t have formal education, offer some kind of free consultation, or can’t explain their area of focus, those can be red flags. Of course dance experience helps a lot too!
But just like working on your dancing with a private teacher: don't put it off! The longer you leave it, the harder it will be to correct bad habits that are holding your dance back.
As resident kinesiologist for Swing Literacy, Coach Gabriel provides our students and members with tutorials, workshops, and support targeted for West Coast Swing, which are integrated into our training programs.
Learn more about how you can #trainWCSsmarter at swingliteracy.com
What to read next:
Ever wondered what a physiotherapist’s take on West Coast Swing would be? It’s not easy to find one that really understands the nature of social dancing and the specific actions involved in WCS. But we’ve got one! Meet Ruth Norgaard…we asked Ruth some questions about common WCS errors that lead to injury and how to avoid them. Here are her responses!