10 Things You Can Shimmy While Doing

If you want to get better at shimmying, you gotta practice them! This simple-looking, natural-seeming move can actually be surprisingly technical and difficult to learn, which is why many belly dance teachers recommend that students make their shimmy practice into an almost daily routine!

If you're finding yourself meeting this suggestion with the common "But I don't have time!" response, get ready to have your excuse declared completely null and void! You don't need to set aside hours for your shimmy practice. All you need are a couple of minutes shimmying every day or every few days to see your shimmy power, muscle control, speed and coordination reach new heights!

And if you really, truly are not able to dedicate those 3-5 minutes regularly, I guarantee that you can still fit that shimmy practice in if you learn the art of shimmy multi-tasking, or shimmy-tasking!

Shimmy-tasking is the act of layering your shimmies with mindless daily activities you already have to do anyway, to guarantee the shimmying will get done no matter what.

This not only helps you achieve better and more controlled shimmies, but is also bound to make your necessary chores much more fun and exciting!

So are you ready to dish the excuses? Let's go!


1. Shimmy While Doing Dishes

Got no dishwasher and a big ol' pile of dishes waiting in the sink? Turn on some music and shimmy while you wash them! You will feel that time suddenly fly by and won't even think about how much you just wish you had a dishwasher!

If you do have a dishwasher, you can skip this one, or if you are more advanced, use it as a challenge to practice your shimmy level changes when you load and unload the machine... just don't be dropping and breaking any of your china! 


2. Shimmy While Brushing Your Teeth

No one can hide from this one! You gotta brush your teeth every day, so here is your perfect opportunity to get your shimmy on, multiple times on the same day. You don't even need to put on music, just shimmy to the rhythm of the bristles scrubbing them fangs!


3. Shimmy in the Shower

Just make sure your shower floor is not too slippery, and you're good to go! We wouldn't want you falling over and hurting yourself so keep your shimmies soft on this one. 


4. Shimmy While Folding the Laundry

Is there a more boring chore than folding clothes? Now you have a reason to look forward to it. Get that music going and shimmy away! It might take you a bit longer to finish, but it will feel like time well spent. 


5. Shimmy When You Wait for the Bus/Train/Anything

This act of public shimmying should be reserved for the cold days when you are wearing a long jacket and can shimmy inconspicuously underneath it without anyone noticing. Bonus: it will help keep you warm! 

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6. Shimmy While Grocery Shopping

I have heard many a belly dancer say the grocery store aisles are their favorite place to get some extra shimmy practice in. This is a great opportunity to practice walking and other traveling shimmies, but as another act of public shimmying, reserve it for those days when you are wearing a long jacket so as not to attract unwanted attention from onlookers. 


7. Shimmy While Cooking

If you've got that recipe down on autopilot, add music and shimmies to your food prep or cooking process!  But don't do it while you're chopping or peeling or handling something dangerous, because that would just be a recipe for disaster!


8. Shimmy While You Scroll

How many hours a day do you spend scrolling through social media? You might as well put some of that time to good use by getting up from your chair or couch and shimmying while you get caught up on all your friends' updates and stories!


9. Shimmy on That Boring Call

Got a friend, family member or colleague who just won't stop yappin' on the phone? Next time they start going on and on about nothing without giving you a chance to speak, mute yourself and get a shimmy going. If you're really pro at it and able to shimmy while maintaining your normal voice and breathing pattern, you can even do it while you have that conversation!


10. Shimmy When You Lay in Bed

Notice how your technique morphs completely when you no longer have that connection, exchange and feedback between your feet and the floor, and when your body is in a horizontal position instead of vertical. Which totally different muscles are you now having to rely on? Do this right before you sleep or right after you wake up to make your shimmy practice the first and/or last thing you do in your day! 

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We could keep this list going forever and ever ("Shimmy While Filing Your Nails!" "Shimmy While You Watch TV!") but I think you get the point! Add a shimmy to anything you do often and on autopilot, and watch your technique, control and comfort with this move completely skyrocket! If you have a favorite shimmy-tasking activity that wasn't listed here, share it in the comments! 

So, what are you waiting for? Get up and start shimmy-tasking!