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Misty Copeland

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Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You Kindle Edition

by Misty Copeland (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The celebrated ballerina and role model, Misty Copeland, shares the secrets of how to reshape your body and achieve a lean, strong physique and glowing health.

Misty Copeland believes "There has been a shift in recent years in which women no longer desire the bare bones of a runway model. Standards have changed: what women do want is a long, toned, powerful body with excellent posture." In other words, the body of a ballerina. In her first health and fitness book, Misty will show women how to find the motivation to get healthier and stronger, and how to reshape their bodies to be lean and flexible, with step-by-step advice, meal plans, workout routines, and words of inspiration.

Celebrating the importance of healthy fats and a fitness regimen based on ballet exercises, Misty shares her own time-tested exercises and an eating plan focusing on healthy fats, both of which keep her in top shape. Tips for motivation and words of encouragement as well as tips on how to keep going even when you may want to give up. An inspiring section on the importance of finding mentors, and eventually being one, plus excerpts from Misty's personal journal, round out this important book on grace and strength.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The language soars into dizzying heights of lyrical fancy.

-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Firebird"

Copeland shows that the power and grace she displays on the stage translates to the page as well.

-- "Huffington Post"

[Life in Motion] is the stuff of which movies are made.

-- "Chicago Sun-Times on Life in Motion"

About the Author

Misty Copeland is a Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Life in Motion, and the award-winning Children's book, Firebird. She made her Broadway debut in 2015's On The Town, putting a show that had reportedly been suffering financially for months into the Broadway Box Office Top Ten for the two weeks that she guest-starred as Ivy Smith. She's been featured in the New York Times, on 60 Minutes, and she was named one of SELF Magazine's "Best Bodies of 2014" and Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01HZFB44I
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Life & Style; Illustrated edition (June 20, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 20, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 166.7 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 232 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #476,884 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #17 in Classical Dance
- #186 in Women's Personal Spiritual Growth
- #1,691 in Diets

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Misty Copeland

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Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.

Copeland was considered a prodigy who rose to stardom despite not starting ballet until the age of 13. By age 15, her mother and ballet teachers, who were serving as her custodial guardians, fought a custody battle over her. Meanwhile, Copeland, who was already an award-winning dancer, was fielding professional offers. The 1998 legal issues involved filings for emancipation by Copeland and restraining orders by her mother. Both sides dropped legal proceedings, and Copeland moved home to begin studying under a new teacher who was a former ABT member.

In 1997, Copeland won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award as the best dancer in Southern California. After two summer workshops with ABT, she became a member of ABT's Studio Company in 2000 and its corps de ballet in 2001, and became an ABT soloist in 2007. As a soloist from 2007 to mid-2015, she was described as having matured into a more contemporary and sophisticated dancer.

In addition to her dance career, Copeland has become a public speaker, celebrity spokesperson and stage performer. She has written two autobiographical books and narrated a documentary about her career challenges, A Ballerina's Tale. In 2015, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, appearing on its cover. She performed on Broadway in On the Town, toured as a featured dancer for Prince and appeared on the reality television shows A Day in the Life and So You Think You Can Dance. She has endorsed products and companies such as T-Mobile, Dr Pepper, Seiko and Under Armour.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Gilda N. Squire Gildasquire (Extracted from File:From the ballet Coppelia.jpg) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Customers find this book to be a wonderful resource for nutrition advice, with intensely beautiful photographs of dancer's bodies and easy-to-follow meal plans. Moreover, they appreciate the helpful stretching routines and how-to content, with one customer noting the poses are similar to yoga. Additionally, the book is well-written and easy to read, featuring Misty's inspiring life story.

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Advice Readability Photography Recipes Exercise content Ease of use Writing quality Story quality

49 customers mention "Advice"49 positive0 negative

Customers find this book to be a great motivational resource with wonderful nutrition advice, and one customer notes its emphasis on mental health.

"...and suggestions for having the right frame of mind to help you eat healthily, move your body more, and feel happy with your life right now,..." Read more

"...I also loved that the meal plan seems forgiving but healthy and respects the fact that ballerinas eat. My sister did ballet as a child...." Read more

"...in healthy living where she involves pieces on stress management, diet, finding social relationships with people you aspire to be like, fitness, and..." Read more

"...What this book provides is both well thought out and solid advice from a respected professional, something both students and working professionals..." Read more

49 customers mention "Readability"49 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging, with one customer noting its encouraging tone.

"This book is amazing! As a way of shaping the goal of being "your best self", it's a winner!..." Read more

"Arrived with box damaged but book was in great shape.This book is amazing. I bought the book..." Read more

"...What this book provides is both well thought out and solid advice from a respected professional, something both students and working professionals..." Read more

"...In the end, I think this is a fun read for people who want to peer into the life of a ballerina, and see how they might eat and what basic routines..." Read more

27 customers mention "Photography"23 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the book's photography, particularly the intensely beautiful and dynamic images of dancers' bodies, with one customer noting the inclusion of beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves.

"...It was lovely!..." Read more

"...This book is easy to read, includes beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves, and also has meal plans and recipes...." Read more

"...fitness books I've read, telling readers that their bodies are already worthy of appreciation, that food and movement are to encourage and support..." Read more

"...Yeah, she's stunningly beautiful, focused and successful. But we already knew that, didn't we." Read more

19 customers mention "Recipes"19 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the recipes in the book, describing them as delicious and healthy, with one customer noting they are easy to follow.

"...It was lovely! There are lots of exercises, recipes, (you can download a printable PDF once you buy the audiobook), and suggestions for having the..." Read more

"...beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves, and also has meal plans and recipes...." Read more

"...the book inspiring, helpful and full of great exercises and delicioys food suggestions. I highly recommend!!." Read more

"...I've tried some of the recipes and they aren't complicated and are so delicious!" Read more

17 customers mention "Exercise content"17 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the exercise content of the book, which includes helpful stretching routines and yoga-like poses.

"...It was lovely! There are lots of exercises, recipes, (you can download a printable PDF once you buy the audiobook), and suggestions for having the..." Read more

"...I found it relaxing as heck. And several of the poses are very akin to yoga...." Read more

"...I found the book inspiring, helpful and full of great exercises and delicioys food suggestions. I highly recommend!!." Read more

"This is probably one of those most psychologically balanced and healthy fitness books I've read, telling readers that their bodies are already..." Read more

10 customers mention "Ease of use"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow and down-to-earth, with one customer specifically praising the simple meal plans.

"...successes, and talks about fitness through the lens of creating an ease-ful, integrated system of movements...." Read more

"...The format is very user friendly (I have sticky notes all over the place in my copy!)..." Read more

"This a great book written in a very down to earth and "I've been there" point of view...." Read more

"...Good mix of biography and how-to, including a ton of delicious recipes!" Read more

10 customers mention "Writing quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to read, with one customer noting it's required reading for high school girls.

"...Absolutely brilliant. This book is easy to read, includes beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves, and also has meal plans and recipes..." Read more

"The advice is good, the text is somewhat entertaining...." Read more

"...She has created so many new paradigms. This book is easy to read and realistic in approaching a healthy lifestyle from a true athlete...." Read more

"This book should be required reading for high school girls. Misty is inspiring in so many ways...." Read more

8 customers mention "Story quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, describing it as a wonderful narrative of the author's life, with one customer noting it's life-changing.

"Misty Copeland has an inspirational story arc...." Read more

"...It is full of personal stories of Misty's own challenges and successes, and talks about fitness through the lens of creating an ease-ful, integrated..." Read more

"...Wonderful story of your life. Bravo!" Read more

"Interesting." Read more

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Dee
Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2017
Verified Purchase

This book is amazing! As a way of shaping the goal of being "your best self", it's a winner! I trust her methods which are concrete, and I agree with her ideology 100%. I bought this book (the audio version) while listening to her interview on NPR on Thanksgiving morning, and listened while I was baking cookies, and making sweet potatoes. It was lovely! There are lots of exercises, recipes, (you can download a printable PDF once you buy the audiobook), and suggestions for having the right frame of mind to help you eat healthily, move your body more, and feel happy with your life right now, wherever you are at the present, plus helping you to work on whatever goals you have to tweak yourself or your life should you want to make any changes. I'm really glad I happened to be listening to the radio this morning while I was running to the grocery store to pick up some last minute ingredients, or I'd never have know about this amazing book or its author!

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MT24_photo
Great content and helpful motions!
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
Arrived with box damaged but book was in great shape.This book is amazing. I bought the book
risking it because I had never taken ballet, but now I am doing beginner ballet adult classes and love them. The book is a great introduction to ballet exercises. I’ve done yoga for many years so some moves were reminiscent of that. Where I find the book lacks a bit was in the photos—there are great photos of Misty to be expected—when reading the detailed instructions for the exercises.

Some exercises had no photo at all, although it was explained very well there were at least two exercises where I had to read them over twice to make sure I did them correct. It seems like the simplified areas are intentional to squeeze in recipes, which was okay for me. I also loved that the meal plan seems forgiving but healthy and respects the fact that ballerinas eat. My sister did ballet as a child. I feel many people don’t think about the fact that ballet dancers are doing workouts 6-8 hours a day, so you have to consider that in her meal plans. If you at 1400 + calories and you burned 2800, etc. Also, the sitting (chair) exercises I have done working in my home office and they make a difference. So this book overall is an amazing buy. If not only to read her story, and how far she has come, it’s worth it.

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10 people found this helpful

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Julie D Machado
Excellent Nutritional Information and Meal Plans for Ballet Dancers
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Misty Copeland takes the time in this book to explain what foods give her energy and why. I am incredibly grateful! My daughter is in her 4th year of ballet and now is training 4 times a week. As a mother, I had no idea how to fuel her body with the nutrition she needs and was overwhelmed. "Ballerina Body" has been both my guide and an inspiration as she guides us through four parts of her book: Mind, Motion, Meals, and Mentors. Absolutely brilliant.

This book is easy to read, includes beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves, and also has meal plans and recipes. It is an instant classic for every ballerina and even every ballerina's mom.

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2 people found this helpful

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Andy & Ari
Decent Wholistic Approach, Needs More Pictures
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2017
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Misty Copeland has an inspirational story arc. She has persevered through a number of setbacks and difficulties, and a background that was not considered ideal, to become a principal dancer in a prestigious ballet company. I bought this book because 1) I respect her story, and 2) I do a lot of playing around with my cardio because I get bored easily, so I've begun experimenting lately with dance cardio.

For me when it comes to fitness, primarily, I am a strength trainer, and I have a background in healthcare...those things shape my opinion of this book.

I really love that she talks a lot about the importance of loving the body you have, and accepting that it may not be able to look like or do the same things as somebody else, and yet deserves your love and care. I think she is spot on, hit it dead on the nail when she says the best way to have lasting changes to your lifestyle and to your fitness/health is to make gradual changes bit by bit that become part of your habits. Fast changes made too much too soon usually crash and burn, and yet I think because of the speed we've become accustomed to getting certain things in this society, people seem to expect that with diet and exercise. I had to loose some weight a few years ago as part of a health crisis of sorts, and it never fails to surprise me how many people ask me what I did and then loose interest when I say dietary changes and exercise. The truth is, if you loose more then 2 pounds a week, you're putting your liver under stress. You loose 4 pounds or more a week, you're actually damaging and killing liver cells. I have that straight from my GI Dr, who wanted to make good and sure I was clear on that since I was already being treated for medication induced liver damage. I was told it wasn't safe or recommended for a person with a healthy liver, but for me, it was even more important to go slow. So she's right...go slow. So those extreme weight loss shows that tend to be so popular are actually really doing the participants involved an incredible disservice just from the organ perspective alone, don't even get me started on the too restrictive calories with long days of working out.

Her nutrition portion...I didn't really have a problem with it, per se, and I do think she actually provides adequate guidance, and she's certainly right that studies have emerged within the last few years that implicate sugar as having a much higher risk for heart disease then fat. Very true. My fellow shoppers, sugar is not your friend on a whole lot of levels. I did estimate the calories on her perfect day meal (the one she considers a perfect day for herself) and it came in at about 1464 calories. So. What you have to remember here is that she's dancing and in effect exercising about 8 hours a day. So you can eat that number of calories, and not necessarily see the same results she does. Because looking lean is about your body fat composition more then anything else. And yet, I wouldn't recommend you go any lower, because you need to make sure you don't dip below your base metabolic rate, which is the number of calories you burn each day just to stay alive. Locate a BMR calculator on-line to figure out what yours is, and in order to best protect your health and metabolism, don't go below it, even if you're trying to loose weight.

Where I did feel like this book is lacking is in pictures for the exercises. There aren't adequate pictures for the exercises she gives. Some of them have none, and I think, especially if you don't have a background in dance, the worded explanation on some of them may leave you confused and unsure what to do. I also feel that the number of exercises given probably aren't going to produce the same results she's got, unless you're doing a few hours worth of them. And actually, really, I'm pretty sure just doing the ones included in this book alone isn't going to provide the deltoids (shoulder muscles) she's got visible in her pictures…

I also feel like promising anybody a willowy, lean dancer's body is a slippery slope. Some people's bodies don't do willowy. Mine sure as heck doesn't, not when I was in gymnastics, not when I was underweight, not when I was jogging, or trying pilates or yoga...you get the idea. I spent a number of years trying to pursue willowy, and it never happened for me. My body is built well for one thing apparently...short, bulky looking muscles, and it doesn't matter what I do, that's where I end up. Right now, I strength train pretty aggressively, because I have an amazing special needs son, and being the best mom I can be to him pretty much requires every muscle my body can come up with. This is the first time in my life I've ever been grateful for that. My point is...your genetics have a huge roll to play in whether or not your body can look the way Misty's does. So I think all of the sections in this book where she talks about focusing on overall health and vitality as your goal...those are the ones worth reading and setting your heart on. Because maybe you're blessed you can be willowy, maybe you're not. But improvements in health and fitness levels are pretty much attainable by most anyone.

I did do the floor barre exercises she was recommending this morning, and I've got to tell you. I found it relaxing as heck. And several of the poses are very akin to yoga. But I don't think for me, personally, that floor barre provides what I need, but it could be a great place to start if you haven't been exercising in a while.

Overall, I thing this is a book that has more merits then not. I love that she strives for an overall balance in healthy living where she involves pieces on stress management, diet, finding social relationships with people you aspire to be like, fitness, and food. I think there's a lot of value here, especially for someone who's not been exercising. If you have a higher fitness level, I think, unfortunately, you're probably going to need to look elsewhere.

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256 people found this helpful

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Dr. Richard J. Gamble
Good Advice
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
While this book is not the complete book one might be looking for in starting a new diet and fitness plan and it may not really offer any new innovations in nutritional guidance it does accomplish one thing which is very important. As a group performing artists tend to be skeptical of any health or nutritional advice from sources that they perceive do not fully understand the strange love/hate relationship one has with that physical self which is also one’s creative performing instrument. What this book provides is both well thought out and solid advice from a respected professional, something both students and working professionals need and can use. It is a good beginning.

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9 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer
Love love love!
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
I am a longtime fan of ABT and of Misty Copeland, so I was excited to get this book. I found the book inspiring, helpful and full of great exercises and delicioys food suggestions. I highly recommend!!.

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Amazon Customer
INSPIRING AND INFORMATIVE
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2021
Verified Purchase

I was grateful to find this book - though I do wish it had been twenty years ago !!!

A well written book - and inspiring - for the health of a dancer and acceptance.
It was lovely to see that Copeland worked with her body type and achieved something healthy and beautiful - good to see.

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Maria Fernanda
El libro de ballet por excelecia
Reviewed in Mexico on February 26, 2018
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Misty Coopeland es una de mis bailarinas por excelente a seguir. Su libro es excepcionalmente bueno, desde los ejercicios que pueden a ayudar a mejorar tu cuerpo hasta recetas para una alimentació adecuada. Me encanto.

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Donna and Matt
Love the book but....
Reviewed in Canada on May 26, 2020
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Love it but it said it was going to be new and the book sleeve came with a very very noticeable tear in it.

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mikado5
Incroyable
Reviewed in France on September 8, 2018
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Livre passionnant pour tous ceux qui aime la danse ...et Misty Copeland est vraiment superbe ,elle est belle et physiquement parfaite....elle est impressionnante dans tous ses mouvements...

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Michelle Crane
Uses diagrams not photos
Reviewed in Australia on July 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Photos showing the ballet moves would have been much easier to understand - diagrams are unclear and hard to follow. A large portion of the book is spent on recipes that look bland and unappetizing.

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Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You Kindle Edition

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book

5.0 out of 5 stars Great content and helpful motions!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Nutritional Information and Meal Plans for Ballet Dancers

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Wholistic Approach, Needs More Pictures

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice

5.0 out of 5 stars Love love love!

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRING AND INFORMATIVE

5.0 out of 5 stars El libro de ballet por excelecia

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the book but....

5.0 out of 5 stars Incroyable

3.0 out of 5 stars Uses diagrams not photos

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Excellent Book

Great content and helpful motions!

Excellent Nutritional Information and Meal Plans for Ballet Dancers

Decent Wholistic Approach, Needs More Pictures

Good Advice

Love love love!

INSPIRING AND INFORMATIVE

El libro de ballet por excelecia

Love the book but....

Incroyable

Uses diagrams not photos