Exercise keeps me on top of my game. Keeps my mind sharp, helps me to stay in good health and good spirits. In fact, I think I might just crawl up into a ball and cry myself to sleep if it wasn’t for my regular endorphin rush. Sound a little extreme? Well, this is my personal blog – and I can give you my personal experience, right?

This healthy addiction to exercise began at around age 16 with a desire to be fit and beautiful ~ as most young women strive to be. Thankfully I really liked food, so starving myself was never part of my regimen. Instead I studied healthy eating and began to exercise regularly. At 18 I would drive over to Philadelphia to go into the dance clubs and dance from the time they played the first song to close. I’d dance for 4 or 5 hours straight ~ drinking nothing but ice water and riding the endorphin rush.
Sound wacky? Don’t care ~ this is MY reality.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m still dancing…

Throughout college I kept sane by hitting the gym a few times a week, and hitting the trails behind the campus. I know these workouts helped to keep me from gaining a ridiculous amount of weight – cause remember… I like to eat!

There is a good correlation between those who regularly exercise and a healthy diet as well. If you are hitting the gym and running, you KNOW you must fuel your body properly. You feel absolutely horrid otherwise.

So fast forward to Mom of two and gonna be 35 in just a few hours… and I can tell you that if it wasn’t for my workouts I would not be where I am today! I’m home, self employed, living life by design.

Today, I head to the gym 4 or 5 mornings a week to do some sort of fun exercise like Zumba, kickboxing, and even the not so fun womens strength training. I often head in there with racing mind and a body that is holding onto the stress of the day before. By the time I am halfway through I feel the endorphins flood in, and the happy thoughts begin to flow. The creative problem solving part of my mind kicks in and divine inspiration begins to download into an open, happy mind. Some of my most profitable ideas were conceived while in the middle of a Zumba class … who woulda thought?

If I sit in front of my computer, my mind and creativity begins to stagnate. If I workout, I return to work enthusiastic about the task at hand.

My point of this long, personal post about why I simply must workout, or my life falls apart???
To inspire you ~
If you feel that the words ‘stagnate, blue, depressed, bored, or unhealthy’ resonate with you and your current lifestyle ~ try incorporating some exercise into your life.

The human body is not at all designed to sit ~ to be lazy. It is meant to move and do physical work. Our entire physiology was created in such a way that if we do gentle exercise and eat healthily, we can live an optimum life.

If you know you are on the other extreme, start with moving some – on a regular basis. If you are eating junk ~ its because your mind really craves the endorphin rush and you are getting it from the foods you are eating. If you give it the endorphins in a regular workout – you can begin to SHIFT your diet to one that will actually add years to your life, instead of killing you slowly.

Why do I care? Because I truly do want to see all people fit, healthy and happy – as we were designed. Your potential really is squashed if you aren’t exercising – and you were designed for greatness.

Hey, its almost my birthday. Give me a present and tell me you have committed to getting in shape. You don’t have to be like I was at 18… dancing hours on end. But commit to something. Cause You Love You

Its Monday, and most people dread them right? I mean, its usually the end of the weekend and the day you need to set the alarm again and drag yourself to work. I mean, people do have to WORK, it makes the world go round…

But I have to say I’m totally ecstatic about Mondays! I look forward to Mondays as I know I get to dance with the wild and crazy Wendy at Zumba!
At 10am at our local YMCA, at least 50 women convene for 60 minutes of high energy Latin inspired dance moves done to an international mix of music. The result is massive calorie blasting, endorphin pumping and pure FUN on a Monday morning! Its the perfect start to the week.

Zumba makes me RICH!
It truly enriches my life. I was born to dance – am made to dance, as we all were. Before Zumba, I felt a sense of loss for not being able to express this aspect of my self regularly. As a Mom, I found that I went out less and less to dance. I certainly did not spend my weekends clubbing anymore, or even as I had in the past – traveling to festivals to dance!  Could you say I smiled less because I wasn’t dancing? Absolutely! Was I aware of how much I missed dance? Oh yes, I was!

In an effort to smile more , I resolved to join a dance class locally. In the past I had danced with a troupe that performed with a Batucada ensemble. That is, I danced an African style Samba with a group of about 80 drummers! Talk about high- energy and fun! It was an incredible time. However, its not something I was going to find in my little Florida town…
I was a member of the YMCA though, and in looking over the schedule I saw this class called Zumba that was described as a Latin inspired workout – and I figured, why not try…
I was hooked! My instructor is this incredibly tight blond Irish chick who speaks not a word of Spanish, but moves like she was born of Latin blood.  Turns out she has been a dancer and cheerleading coach for years and years – so she does alot of her own choreography and is an excellent teacher.  I feel really lucky to have Wendy as my Zumba teacher at the Y!  I get my dance class, as many as 3x per week if I like, and its included in my membership

I smile more now that I take Zumba – I really do! I smile as I enter, as my freinds and I know we are about to have a blast – and I smile as I leave sweaty and full of the happy endorphins that start my week.  I am grateful that I am an American woman with the freedom to dance my azz off on a Monday morning!

I make more money now that I take Zumba? Could it be true? Zumba makes me rich? I do believe so- it is an expression of life – of living an ecstatic, joyful life and for me that includes dance. It helps to break my mind out of a rut. You cannot jump around and sweat for an hour, learning new dance routines, and not have a shift in consciousness – its just impossible! I have walked out of there with inspired ideas – and keep a notepad in the car for jotting such ideas down… Some of my best work is done on a Monday, after Zumba.  So yes… Zumba makes me Rich!

I forgot to load the battery into the camera today – so I couldn’t get Wendy on film – sorry! I told her to dress in her Zumba wear for next Monday’s class and I’d film one of her original choreographed dances. Until then, here is a great vid I found on YouTube . As you can see, Men SO Zumba too! In fact… Beto Perez created this revolutionary fitness program – and he is most definitely, a MAN! Check him out in the vid below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Zumba is part of my weekly fitness regime for the ViSalus Fitness Challenge, Body by Vi ! Join me to morph your body into the YOU thats hiding inside

What the heck is Zumba?

Well… when you take a Zumba class, essentially you get to do some wild and crazy dancing in the morning!
I can’t imagine where else you could dance to Latin, African, hip hop, belly dance and trance music, all within an hour, and NOT end up with a hangover!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Zumba is a high energy aerobic workout done to a fusion of Latin and International Music. The variation of fast and slow rhythms means you are getting an aerobic workout with intervals of high intensity to burn far more calories than if you were going at just one pace. The moves are fun and sexy and totally tone and sculpt the body – and all your doing is dancing! You’ll start to take a Zumba class for the health benefits – you’ll continue because it will become the highlight of your workouts! Its truly a fun workout that leaves you feeling really happy!

Find a Zumba class if you think exercise is boring – a guarantee you will change the way you think about fitness! Try Zumba and you will want to work out, will love working out, and get hooked. You’ll achieve long term benefits while having a blast in one exhilarating hour of body-energizing,caloric-burning,awe-inspiring movements that will totally keep you hooked!