Do you see why merely addressing symptoms is not enough? When it comes to tightness in our bodies…the default advice is to stretch. But stretching by itself does not address a muscle imbalance.

I was about 16 years old when my knee issues began. We were in rehearsal for a big upcoming performance at the Lilac Festival…a performance I was GIDDY with excitement about.

Sometimes I wonder if our core feels the same way. Like “thanks for the gift, but do you actually know me?”

I very quickly saw how the injuries that ended my career could have been prevented entirely…if, as a professional dancer, we had been treated not only as artists, but athletes.