From a frozen neck to floating legs

An unexpected recovery in Hong Kong… and a new ritual in Verona

Hello my Wonderful Adult Ballerina,

I was 15 years old.
My dance teacher, Elisabetta Hertel, had taken me to Hong Kong on a scholarship to study ballet for a couple of months at a prestigious school Jean M Wong School of Ballet. The experience was… unforgettable.

Back then, I could barely speak English. I’d ask people to repeat things three times just to nod politely.

Still, I made friends, danced every day, and told myself: One day I’ll speak like an English person. (that’s a story for another day.)

But that dream trip came with surprises.
The biggest one? The air conditioning.

Outside it was 36 degrees and humid.
Inside the studio? -20. Penguins could have pirouetted past me and I wouldn’t have blinked.

As a good Italian girl, I wasn’t built for this. I love warmth, my muscles love warmth. But back then, we didn’t have much money for fancy warm-ups or layers. When class started, everything came off anyways. That was the rule.

I was already shivering under the vents. The more I moved, the sweatier I got… and the colder I became.

Until I turned my head during barre and…
Snap.
My neck froze. Just like that. Completely blocked.

There I was, in tears, mid-class, far from home, surrounded by brilliant dancers and unable to move.

But I wasn’t going to let it stop me.

We were in Hong Kong, after all. The land of Chinese medicine, ancient healing, and wise hands.
So my teacher took me to a clinic that promised relief.

“We’ll do cupping,” they said.
I stared at the strange little glass bulbs they laid out.
It looked like a medieval torture set more than a healing tool.

They lit a flame inside each cup (I almost ran out the door), and then gently placed them on my back. I felt a pull, a gentle suction, as my skin lifted into each cup like little domes. 

It was weird, yes. But somehow, I knew my body needed this.

Afterwards, I felt like I could breathe again.
I danced the next day.
Free. Loose. Grateful.
It was a miracle I didn’t know I needed.

I didn’t use cupping again for years.
In the ballet world, it was rare, mostly for tight spots or injury recovery. A bit like acupuncture (which, by the way, I can’t stand because of the needles… but I still get it because, well, it works).

Fast-forward to this week.
Verona. Summer. Heat.

And me…
Dragging my legs around like they were filled with wet sand.
Heavy, sore, puffy. My calves were tight. My feet ached.
Even walking felt like too much.

So I visited my body guru here, Giulia, my massage therapist who knows everything.

She’s been helping me reconnect to the shifts in my body with Thai foot massages, fascia work, deep tissue, breath therapy, realignment, even sound therapy.

This time she said:
“You need the cups.”

I blinked.
“On my legs?”

“Absolutely,” she smiled.

I thought she’d just slap some cups on and leave me to relax. But no. She used different-sized cups like a choreographed dance, moving up and down from ankle to glute, loosening, lifting, coaxing the inflammation out.

And the result?

✨ My calves stopped throbbing.
✨ The water retention? Gone.
✨ My legs felt light, for the first time in months.
✨ I didn’t sweat buckets walking home. (It was actually hotter than before!)
✨ And my feet stopped feeling like ancient bricks.

Turns out, all that tension wasn’t “just tiredness.”
It was stagnation. Inflammation. Circulation stuck in limbo.

After the session, my body felt like it had space again. Oxygen. Flow. Movement.

And it reminded me of something important:

Your body knows what it needs.
You just have to listen before it starts yelling.

Whether it’s dance, massage, breathwork, or stepping barefoot onto the grass…
Give it a moment. Give it permission.

Let it breathe again.

Love, Alessia 💕

P.S. If your legs are feeling anything like mine were, heavy, puffy, sore, there’s a plan inside Lazy Dancer Studio I absolutely recommend. It’s starts gradually with an oomph but it gets the circulation going. It leaves you feeling lighter, more grounded and glowing. You’ll find it [right here].

P.P.S. Already a member and going through the Ballerina Journey Plan? For a deeper release, check out [this day here], perfect to reconnect to the soul and release  the lower body. It’s not all relaxing… but it is ridiculously effective. Don’t say I didn’t warn you 😉.

PPPS. Even though I'll continue visiting Giulia to get cupping massage done properly, I've decided to help the process by getting my own cups too. I ordered THESE  ONES on Amazon. I'll keep you updated on how it goes. (The lady in the picture looks happy! 🤣)