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Episodes

Oct. 22, 2020

20. Building Better Bone Strength with Rebekah Rotstein

Osteoporosis is a disease that affects tens of millions of people each year. Dancers and other high-level athletes are often at higher risk due to low body weight, increased time indoors, and suboptimal nutritional support. R...

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Oct. 8, 2020

19. Living fully with a Hypermobility Disorder with Linda Bluestein, …

In this second interview with Bendy Bodies host Dr. Linda Bluestein, she explores the realities of living with a connective tissue disorder. As a renowned hypermobility expert, Dr. Bluestein discusses issues that can exist al...

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Sept. 25, 2020

18. Molding Healthy, Successful Artists with Mariaelena Ruiz

How do you prepare a hypermobile student for the rigors of the professional dance world, finding that balance of exploring their gifts while moving cautiously to avoid injury? In this episode, we are joined by Mariaelena Ruiz...

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Sept. 10, 2020

17. Training the Hypermobile Dancer with Jennifer Milner

For people working with artistic athletes such as dancers, circus artists, and gymnasts, training the hypermobile body brings its own set of challenges. Shepherding a “wonky body” through healthy training may feel overwhelmin...

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Aug. 28, 2020

16. Empowering Flexibility with Dr. Jen Crane, DPT

Extreme flexibility has permeated social media and influenced every physical art form, from dance to ice skating and of course circus arts. As artistic athletes are asked to explore greater and more unstable end ranges of mot...

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Aug. 11, 2020

15. Shaping a Healthy Career with Beckanne Sisk

Hypermobility is often desired in dancers for the long, beautiful lines it affords. But hypermobility adds its own challenges to dancers seeking a long, healthy career on the stage. In this episode, we chat with principal dan...

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July 30, 2020

14. Stabilizing the Hypermobile Body through Circus Arts with Emily S…

Nowhere is flexibility and hypermobility more valued and explored than in the circus arts! But while circus artists are highly skilled and extremely strong, working in extreme end ranges of motion comes with its own set of is...

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July 17, 2020

13. Healing the Brain Holistically with Ilene Ruhoy M.D., Ph.D.

Many conditions found in "bendy" people have a neurologic basis, impacting both the brain and nervous system. In this Bendy Bodies episode, Dr. Ilene Ruhoy, the Medical Director and Founder of the Center for Healing Neurology...

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July 2, 2020

12. Investigating Autoimmune Disorders with Jill Schofield, M.D.

World renowned expert in autoimmune disorders and the Founder and Director of the Center for Multisystem Disease, Dr. Jill Schofield, generously chatted with us in a recent interview. Autoimmunity (dysregulation of the immune...

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June 18, 2020

11. Understanding Hypermobility Disorders with Linda Bluestein, M.D.

In this episode, guest co-host Jennifer Milner interviews Bendy Bodies’ own host, Dr. Linda Bluestein! Hypermobility disorders can be frustratingly hard to diagnose or even define. From symptomatic joint laxity to connective ...

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May 15, 2020

9. Educating the Dance Community with Lisa Howell

Dancing with a hypermobile body brings its own set of challenges, from a general lack of stability to a slower recovery time. As a young pre-professional, a dancer might not understand why she must find conscious strength bef...

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April 29, 2020

8. Demystifying Genetics with Paldeep Atwal, M.D.

Your DNA holds many secrets. Why do drugs work on some people and not on others? Why are conditions expressed so differently in different family members? How might hypermobility disorders, dysautonomia (like POTS) and Mast...

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April 17, 2020

7. Understanding and Preparing for Coronavirus with Immunologist, Dwi…

PLEASE NOTE***: The following episode was recorded in mid-April 2020, just four weeks after the World Health Organization declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19) as a global pa...

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April 12, 2020

6. Minding the Mental Health Gap with Kathleen McGuire Gaines

Traits that can make a dancer so valuable in the dance world - drive, perfectionism, obsessing over details - also put them at higher risk for mental health disorders. And while physical health resources become ever more comm...

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April 4, 2020

5. Optimizing Nutrition to Support a Dancer’s Health with Kristin Kos…

While many dancers strive to fuel healthily, making the most out of your meals can be overwhelming. In today’s world especially, dancers need strong immune systems and healthy bodies ready for whatever challenge may come next...

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March 30, 2020

4. Supporting a Dancer’s Mental Health with Psychotherapist, Terry Hy…

Dancers train constantly to attain peak performance, working long hours to achieve physical and artistic perfection. Unfortunately, mental health is often sacrificed for that perfection. Terry Hyde, former dancer with the Roy...

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March 12, 2020

3. Preserving the Hip with Orthopedic Surgeon, Joel Wells, M.D.

Hypermobility can affect every joint, but perhaps the most complicated one to understand and train is the hip. With a high prevalence of hip injuries in hypermobile dancers and athletes, proper diagnosis and treatment is crit...

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March 5, 2020

2. Ensuring Longevity: Screening, Strengthening and Supporting, with …

In this continuation of our discussion with Moira McCormack, we delve deeper into Moira’s work as a researcher and tireless advocate for dance science and medicine in the studio setting. Moira talks through the basic screenin...

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Feb. 26, 2020

Reducing Injury and Increasing Education with Royal Ballet Physiother…

Moira’s tireless work with Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet school have helped build the Royal Ballet into an oft-emulated model of treatment and intervention for ballet dancers. Join us as Moira describes how important a dancer’s early training is - movement patterns, alignment, biomechanics -…

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