How do you know when you're doing too much?

One of my students asked me this today. She takes a lot of classes and teaches and choreographs, and today was sore and tired, which prompted the question. In sailing, the answer to "When should you reef the sails?" is "The first time you think of it."

When your body starts to ache, to hurt, when it's telling you not simply to rest, but to stop, NOW, perhaps that is when you have reached the "too much" point. When injuries that should heal quickly, don't, when you can't remember the last time you didn't feel tired, when you start to question your love of the art, all these are red flags that say "too much".

Side note: this is a great site. Thanks, Gloria, for recommending it:
http://www.med.nyu.edu/hjd/harkness/patients/injuries/

One way to prevent injuries, is to do everything as correctly as possible, but the quest for perfection in dance can be deadly. We can always be better, and we should strive to be the best we can be, but there is the Law of Diminishing Returns. More is not better. Yes, you need to take a good amount of classes, not simply to work on your technique, but to increase your strength and stamina. One of the flaws in ballet class is the shortness of the exercises. The longest thing you're going to do in class is an adagio, or a long fondue combination that will last for 2 minutes, maybe. When you start performing, you quickly realize that "Waltz of The Flowers", or the Entrance of the Shades in "La Bayadere", or "Les Patineurs" are all a hell of a lot longer than 2 minutes, so you need some kind of stamina base so you don't die in your first rehearsals.

That being said, you can take too many classes. Not only physical fatigue sets in, but mental fatigue as well, and that takes a lot longer to recover from. If you're physically tired, a good night's sleep and you're good to go (remember to take that one day off a week). If you're emotionally exhausted, that can linger for weeks, and is downright dangerous, not only in dancing, but driving a car, or just walking down the street. If you do the exercises thoroughly, two classes a day is plenty. If you have the drive and energy to do more, by all means, go for it, but learn to listen to your body. It's going to give you the answer to
How do you know when it's too much?

Or. maybe it's time to reef the sails.

See you in class.