Zu Zu Zumba!

Don't worry, this will probably be the last Zumba post for awhile... okay, so that's probably a lie. But, today is the last day I will be visiting the Y in Wilmington for Zumba classes for awhile so I felt like it was appropriate to write about today. Even though I've only been doing Zumba for about a month, I have quickly become totally addicted to it. I started Zumba classes 6 weeks after I gave birth to my son Nolan and after my doctor had cleared me to "resume any and all physical activity." Wink. Wink. I guess for some women they don't feel the urge to immediately get their body back and not look pregnant. Sure, I might would have felt that way too if I was toting around my healthy baby boy, but being now a childless mother I was quick to want to not look pregnant any more. Anyone who knows me probably knows I'm not that motivated to workout in the traditional sense, but do enjoy activities. I also have a huge dance background having took ballet for 13 years. So Zumba seemed a likely choice since I heard it burned calories like no other.

Well, after leaving every hour long class drenched in sweat I knew I must be burning something off and eventually it started to show on the scale. It showed in my body too. My stomach was getting tighter again and my legs were getting firmer. Hopefully, sooner rather than later I would be rid of all this baby weight. I soon started attending just about every class offered at the Y, going to two and sometimes three classes a day when they were offered. I even visited my friend's gym to check out her Zumba class but quickly realized not all Zumba classes are created equal. My instructors at the Y were way more dancy and fun and their energy was great. In fact, it was probably their energy that drew me to the classes more than anything. One thing Marshall and I can't deal with right now is being around bad or negative energy. Fortunately, we have great friends with amazingly positive energy and now I had Zumba classes with intensely positive energy.

Most people probably think of something like Yoga as being more beneficial for your spiritual self as the self-reflection and meditation helps to heal the soul. I've tried Yoga numerous times in my life and I have some true Yogi friends, but being that in my head right now was not a good place for me to be. I needed something loud and difficult that would distract me. What better than Zumba? The music was infectious and clubby and the moves were challenging. Remembering them was even more so. It probably didn't help that several instructors used the same song but with different moves. Every time I thought I had the moves down I realized I had the other instructor's moves down. Oh well, as long as you were shaking it that is all that mattered.

In all my Zumba classes, I have made some observations regarding this trendy workout. In order to be a true Zumbie, you must not only purchase crazy looking pants but they must also have tassels on the butt. The purpose of this? Well, to make sure your butt is shaking, of course! (Note: I have yet to purchase any tassel pants). Secondly, you also must have brightly colored shirts with Zumba! written all over them or at least have the trademark circle logo with the Zumba dancer in it on them. Finally, to top off your outfit you must have ridiculously brightly colored socks and shoes. And it should go without saying, but none of this wardrobe needs to match either. Now while I have seen all of my instructors wear both the Zumba! shirts as well as the crazy colored shoes, I have yet to see any of them in tassel pants. They all either wear what appears to me to be traditional spandex capri pants or the billowing pants that are more reminescent of MC Hammer pants than anything to me. Now the die hard Zumbies complete their wardrobe with Zumba! bracelets and sweatbands. It's all very 80s to me and makes me laugh. But, hey maybe that's the point after all. Again, not a single instructor I've seen is either wearing Zumba bracelets nor sweatbands. In fact, the instructors all dance with their hair down and most of them have long hair. I've often wondered if that's a requirement for instructors to wear their hair down. Personally, I don't understand how they can stand it. You get so hot and sweaty in Zumba class that if you are not dripping in sweat by the end of it, you are doing something wrong. Meanwhile the instructors' hair is soaking wet yet they continue to sling it around not caring one bit. Umm, yeah. I'm not sure what to say about that except it must be a requirement in order to pass their Zumba instructor test.

Now that we have the wardrobe down, let's talk about class. It has come to my attention that you are not in Zumba class unless you either yell "Zumba" during the song or the song itself says Zumba in it. Usually, it is a combination of both. And if you aren't yelling Zumba you surely are making some other crazy sound that I can't even begin to replicate here. I'm not sure exactly why the instructors insist on having us do this. Personally, I think they enjoy seeing us be so utterly ridiculous and purposely try to see just what ridiculousness they can get us to agree to partake in. The instructors probably have some super secret FB page where they share their stories and get a good laugh at all of us Zumbies. Most people probably think Zumba class is just a whole lot of booty shaking, and you would be right. But there's also a whole lot of jumping around, clapping, spinning in circles and grapevining. A lot of the moves not only make you feel sexy, but they can make you feel like a kid again. Who over the age of 12 spends an hour jumping around and clapping anymore? Not me until I went to Zumba class. And then there are the songs! Oh the songs! It brings back my college years of clubbing and dancing. Those songs that aren't latin or bollywood based and sung in a language I can't understand but a beat I can dig, are modern and poppy. One instructor in particular likes anything by Pitbull and I have to say, I do too now. The music is so addicting that it is one of the reasons you keep coming back.

For me the physical and fun benefits of Zumba were a no brainer. If I stick with it, eventually I will have a body maybe not as great as my instructors', but awesome enough for me. But really the benefit that kept me coming back was the stress relief and spiritual healing it provided. Nothing releases stress better than yelling, kicking, punching and laughing. All of which I do at every single class. The endorphins you release while in there instantly improves your mood. I challenge anyone to go to a Zumba class and leave feeling down. This high is what kept me coming back. It gave me something to focus on for the hour and allowed me to leave my sorrows at the door. Never in a million years did I think I could get this benefit out of Zumba. In a weird way, Zumba healed me. Or at least put me in the right direction to start my healing process. I have a feeling it will take many, many more hours of Zumba to really see the full potential of it's healing process, but eventually I will see a more physically and emotionally strong person thanks to Zumba. So thanks so much Karson, Jaime and Wendy. I hope I can find some good substitute instructors in Charlotte until I can return to my Wilmington Zumba classes.