Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace, and Focus of a Ballet Dancer

I purchased this book a couple of days ago and devoured it over a glass of red wine. I have been a dancer all my life, transitioning from ballet to belly and latin dance as my body changed and developed. But I always have maintained the core principles of classical ballet. I have done yoga for years, and combined it with weights, along with barre work. And I do love to dance. Lately, I had hit a fitness plateau. The lovely lady who mentors me in yoga is traveling through Dubai and India, so her guidance is momentarily unattainable. I found Mary Helen's book while aimlessly searching Amazon for something to inspire me. And I was instantly captivated. It is an easy and insightful read. Her tone and words are warm and sincere. And the pictures and instructions seemed easy enough. I decided to give it a try. The next morning, I pulled out my mat and put on some music (Portishead, in case you are wondering). I did several of the basic stretches, and a couple of the ab exercises. I used a timer, as I do in yoga, so that I was assured I was holding the poses long enough. After 20 minutes of this, my muscles felt gloriously warm and stretched. In truth, I felt like I had been stuck in a taffy pulling machine, but in a good way! I went downstairs to dance my normal 45 minutes of freestyle whatever, and man, I was toast. After 15, I had to stop. That "warm up" work out I had done had worked a number on me. I woke up the next morning and felt like I had been hit by a bus. And I am someone who considers myself very fit and very flexible. Here are a couple of key points I would like to make on why this book is worth every penny: 1) It is not smug. That is a big thing to me. There is so much elitism in the ballet world. It is like a sorority where you have to be thin enough, talented enough and have enough money to pursue it. Mary Helen is such a total sweetie throughout the book that it makes one wonder how she ever dealt with other ballerinas. She is relentlessly gracious and compassionate. She strives to make the exercises accessible to everyone, regardless of body type or fitness level. 2) You don't need equipment. You don't need to spend any more money then what the book costs. I do recommend a timer, as I like to make sure I am holding my poses long enough. But then, I am a masochist, so don't take my word for it. 3) It seriously works. Seriously. I have only been doing it for a few days now, but there are muscles in my body being gloriously tortured that I didn't even know existed. And I am sure this will help with my dancing. And my bikini. 4) You don't have to be a dancer. Honestly, if you aren't interested in the dance vocabulary and Mary Helen's story of her own personal struggles (what's wrong with you?) you can skip it and go directly to the exercises. They are very simple, almost zero impact, and adjustable based on the limitations of your own body. I loved every syllable of this book, so much even that I spent hours looking at the Ballet Beautiful website and Facebook page. I will admit it: I have a major girl crush on Mary Helen Bowers. She is the woman you would normally envy and feel the sick wave of schadenfreude wash over you when you look at her flawless skin, endless legs and perky ponytails. But she is too damn nice and too damn real. And she seems to truly want us all to enjoy life the way she does. I will say, in conclusion, this book does require personal discipline. For those of us that crave structure and have no problem pushing ourselves, this is a good thing. It is why I have always been a dancer in the first place. But there are those that would be better in a gym setting, where they need the company of others to motivate them. That is fine too. Enjoy your zumba. I will be here, in my Hello Kitty leg warmers, doing plies to the beat of Wu Tang's "Reunited".

Many years ago, when I was in my late teens, I would read pretty much any magazine that I could get my hands on. I crammed all the beauty, diet, and exercise tips. Those were the days of supermodels. Now, celebrities have taken over, and the supermodel culture seems to be a thing of the past. I remember an interview with Paulina where she shared her beauty tips. Her number one beauty tip was the ubiquitous one that’s always shared: drink lots of water. She went on and on about water. I remember someone wrote back to the magazine and said that even if she were to drink all the water in Niagara Falls, she still would never look as good as Paulina. You see, genetics plays a huge role. Water is essential. We all know that, but let’s not rule out genetics!The same goes for the ballet approach to exercise. I love this book and I also love all the workouts that I’ve tried by Mary Helen Bowers. Those workouts make me cry. Trust me. They’re that painful. However, I also know that even if I were to do her workouts as often as recommended, my body will never look as good as hers or anywhere close to a ballerina’s. Again, genetics.Although I am highly skeptical that my endomorph body will transform into the “long, toned physique of a dancer,” I feel motivated to give it a try. As with any workout plan, I’m sure that there will be some benefit if I am consistent. I think that the key point to remember with any form of exercise is to do something you love and to stick with it. I may mark my calendar and give an update on this review after three months, six months, or even a year. I read that Natalie Portman transformed her body for her role in “Black Swan” (which I haven’t seen) by training under Mary Helen Bowers six days a week, as well as by swimming.Diet, of course, plays the main part, the usual 80/20 rule, although as I get older, I realize that it’s more like 90/10. The author addresses diet and has helpful suggestions and recipes.Her overall approach is a balanced one, reminding us to focus on the positive and to tune out negative thoughts. Another reason why I love this book.I’m not much of a book/paper workout type. I prefer DVDs. She has a streaming service also, which I dream of if our post-covid finances ever get straightened out. That service is not cheap! She has also a YouTube channel, but those clips are too short and not the real deal.Here are some of my favorite quotes/tips:Emotional Eating“The next time you find yourself thinking about or reaching for comfort foods, take these two steps:1. Take a deep breath and let it out.2. Then ask yourself if you are feeling physical hunger or if you are just tired, thirsty, or upset.If you take the time to become aware of whether what you are feeling is actual hunger or another feeling that is emotional in nature, then you give yourself the opportunity to break the unconscious habit of eating emotionally. These two steps may seem oversimplistic, but I assure you that they work. They can also help you make better choices about the food you eat when you are feeling emotionally overwhelmed and help you regain your inner balance. Why? Because all of us have the power to become aware of how we are feeling and to choose not to let that have an impact on what we eat.”Extremes“To achieve even the loftiest of goals, you must employ a simple approach that comes down to steady, consistent work, every day. This is an important part of Ballet Beautiful. I’m not asking you to starve yourself, to consume only lemon juice and maple syrup for 10 days straight, or even to give up all dairy, sweets, coffee, and wine. But I am asking you to focus on yourself every day. That might be a 15-minute workout, or a 60-minute workout, or swapping out your nightly dessert for fresh fruit.All you need to do is think about how you can take care of yourself, choose at least one thing from the program each day, and then focus on that.”Fasting“My clients ask me all the time for my thoughts on fasting. The answer? I’m not a fan. I worked hard to achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle and would be very wary of anything that might disrupt it. I also think that cleansing encourages bingeing because of its built-in deprivation. While I enjoy the occasional green juice, now that I know the beauty of balance in a healthy lifestyle, I’m just not interested. You do not need to fast with Ballet Beautiful; you only need to focus on filling your body with whole, nourishing, delicious foods and giving your body a challenging workout. Satisfaction, not deprivation, is the word here.”Going for too long without food“One good rule of thumb is to eat something healthy every four hours and try to avoid getting ravenous.”“Sometimes life gets in the way and you go too long without food by accident. When this happens, I try to help my body by reaching first for proteins and healthy fats before I move into fiber and carbs to keep myself from (1) overeating and (2) feeling sick. This helps to satisfy me without going overboard.”Results“One of the most motivating features of the Ballet Beautiful program is its results! I have seen again and again how empowered and encouraged women feel when their bodies begin to lengthen and transform. I encourage my clients to commit at least three days a week to my program because that commitment allows enough time for the body to show real results in just a matter of weeks.”“When you eat well and work out at least 15 minutes six days a week, your body will thank you. And you will realize that you can indeed maintain balance.”Stay Active“Just as I don’t skip meals, I always find at least 15 minutes each day to work out. Even when my day lasts 16 hours, rushing from meetings and training sessions, writing for my blog, and managing my growing Ballet Beautiful business, I find a little time to move, just for me.”

This book is a great intro to Mary Helen's exercise philosophy. It guides you through her own struggles with her weight after she retired from the stage, and how she came to form Ballet Beautiful. It's nice to see how she designed this program to overcome some of the flaws in a 'standard' ballet day of exercise, and in doing so made her body more toned and stronger than it was when she was dancing everyday. It's also nice to see how she's human too! She's struggled with weight and making the right choices, so she's not up on a high horse.She workouts she goes through in her book are good because they teach you the correct form more so than her dvds, but I think you really need the dvds as well to see how she does the exercises.The recipes section is the least inspiring part of the book as it's extremely basic, but I think that's important, in a way. It shows readers that eating simple, healthy food is all you need to stay on top of your diet. But if you're looking for interesting ways to prepare lots of veggies (which is the cornerstone of any good diet), I would recommend Kimberley Snyder's Detox Beauty Foods.

Wonderful, really love it. I am now in her program Ballet Beautiful and is fantastic. I practice Ballet for years and I let it, with this book I recover the practice, the style, care my body and mind.

Very nice book. I didn't finish to read it, but I love the mindset part - it speaks a lot about psychology in general, that most of as a focusing on the wrong things. And the recipes is very simple and accessible. Totally recommend!

Formato molto buono, sia per testo che immagini. Il contenuto dell'autrice è ben strutturato, esercizi molto efficaci, consigli alimentari che rispettano la salute di corpo e mente. Consiglio l'acquisto a chi ami praticare danza classica o che non abbia ancora idee ben chiare su come gestire la propria salute dal punto di vista motorio e alimentare.

Mary Helen Bowers advocates for a balanced, thoughtful approach to exercise and nutrition. I have a subscription to the Ballet Beautiful online program, and the book is a great accompaniment to the online program, providing the theoretical foundation and lifestyle guidance. It is an inspirational book, I highly recommend it!

This book is great in conjunction with the DVD, as it gives you other exercises not on the DVD and also an eating plan which is very good.