In another life. . .

I was thinking about it tonight, and I think I've pretty much convinced myself that in a previous life I was a dancer! And perhaps to make it even spicier, I'm pretty sure I was a Latin dancer.

There's something so special and magical about letting yourself get lost in the music, making up your own dance moves or being successful at following someone else. I must confess that even though I love dancing, I'm not very good at it. My favorite style of dancing is to turn up the music really loud (usually when nobody else is home) and make up my own moves! I do make a decent follow though. A few weeks ago at a home evening activity we learned the cha-cha. My partner is a dancer, and he kept showing me new moves. I did pretty well following him. Last year I learned to swing dance, and although I'm not very good at it, I sure do love it! I forget when I go long periods of time without dancing how much I love it until I do it again.

Latin dancing in particular has always fascinated me. Tonight I was doing a Zumba workout tape that my sister let me borrow. I've done Zumba (which is basically a combination of Latin dance moves done as an aerobic dance workout) before, so I was excited to get my Latin groove on again. It was really fun, despite the fact that I think the instructors are annoying and the class members have horrific workout clothing. It was just fun to let myself do these moves, no matter how silly I might have looked doing them (this is why I don't have a mirror anywhere downstairs. . .) Zumba is also an excellent workout, so I feel good about that too.

I have learned that one of the keys to a successful exercise program is to find something you like and do that. I suppose since dancing is something I enjoy, it's good that I can use it as a workout! In addition to Zumba, I also recommend the Dancing With the Stars cardio dance tape, Hip-Hop Abs and the Latin Flavor dance section of Yoga Booty Ballet. Even if you're not a great dancer you can still have a blast doing these moves. Try it sometime!