Zumba

I got licensed to instruct Zumba in March of 2013.  It was a long, stressful day because if anyone knows me, they know I can't dance.  BUT, I kept hearing you don't have to be a good dancer or a dance teacher to be a Zumba instructor or be good at it in general.  That being said, I was a FISH out of water that day.  There were some AWESOME dancers in our training group of more than 50 people.  And, those "dancers" among us caught on to everything in a split second where I fumbled and stumbled the entire time.  They would be the ones to JUMP at the chance to go up front to lead after just learning a few steps...while I was trying to hide behind anyone I could ;)

But, at the end of the day, even the ZES (Zumba Education Specialist) who was training us said that those of us who felt overwhelmed could still become great instructors.  I will NEVER say I'm GREAT...I will say the picture above is pretty much what I know to be true.  But, I've given an option to many women in our community to get out and get some exercise in and have a lot of fun doing it.

I love to see moms bringing their kids and I've even been bringing my 4-year-old most of the time.  She can be a distraction sometimes and I do feel bad for the class when that happens.  But, being able to bring her is so good for her.  It's teaching her to be active and social....she loves to dance with us...until she gets distracted or tired....AND, I don't have to feel guilty for being away from her.

I've been BEYOND fortunate to be allowed by the school here to use their facilities for my classes.  Whenever possible, I have class in a brand, new gym WITH a built-in amazing sound system.  I plug my iTunes in and GO.  So, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to the our public school and administrators and to all my "Zirlfriends" ~ the best word EVER thought of by one of my class participants :)