Ditch the Workout, Join the Party!

OMGosh! Remember, I said I needed to get busy and do something out of my routine to get the body moving? Well, at least two people have mentioned zumba to me - my friend, Cheryl, actually cancelled drinks on me after work one night not to miss her class (that says something) - and a woman at church also mentioned it.

So I searched online - first of all, the official zumba site is a blast just on the opening page (www.zumba.com) and makes you want to move your body. You can search and find a class near you anywhere in the country, and surprisingly to me, there are quite a few in Fort Wayne.

Then my sister-in-law, who works at the Heart Center, sent me a copy of a brochure she had from the Kachmann Mind Body Institute on the Lutheran Hospital campus. I was already familiar with Dr. Kachmann, the surgeon - he removed a tumor from my mother's spine when I was in grade school and we attended the opening reception for his gallery downtown, plus I had visited their website earlier in the year for other reasons . So I went to their site to look at the class offerings and zumba specifically (www.kachmannmindbody.com). They had a class on Wed. night, so I decided to try it.

Back to my opening comment - OMGosh! It is absolutely a blast! The time really does fly and the moves and music are so much fun! You can feel like you're a mass of un-coordinated arms and legs, but that's part of the fun of it. Our instructor, another "Dancing" Donna, was fabulous - I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she moved like a pro, hips in constant motion and arms and legs coordinated in perfect rhythm always. The studio at the Institute was very nice, and one wall in the room we danced in was floor-to-ceiling mirrors (another reason to not take my eyes off my instructor!). We did steps that included salsa, tango, and merengue. My face was BRIGHT red after the first two dances and stayed that way until the next morning!

The other good thing was getting back into the flow of dancing in general, and getting used to hearing another person's voice instruct me. I think that's good practice for what's to come.

Going back this next Wed......join the party!