FREE

Have you ever felt free? liberated? I mean like - have you ever done something that allowed you to just BE - no strings attached? I feel like that sometimes if I am creating - just for myself, without any restrictions or guidelines...I feel free in my relationship with Christ - he loves me and allows me to be FREE from death and FREE from a lot of things that entangle me...and my husband allows me to feel FREE because he loves me unconditionally...but I have found something totally unlikely for me that allows me to feel so FREE! Zumba - or a funky version of it! Here is what it is: Zumba is (taken straight from their website)

ZUMBA is a fusion of Latin and International music - dance themes creating a dynamic, exciting, effective fitness system! The routines feature aerobic/fitness interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. Zumba utilizes the principals of fitness interval training and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning and total body toning. It is a mixture of body sculpting movements with easy to follow dance steps. (not always so easy in my opinion - depending on who is teaching)

There are lots of versions of it - I have been taking a class very similar to this at the gym where I work out and I can't get enough! The instructor is SO great - not easy or slow though! Here is the funny part - growing up I NEVER went to any dancing type events. I never danced at weddings - nothing! I am not confident in that at all. So, the first time I go to this class - I am in shock. She has us shaking things I have never shaked in my life! The music is great - so loud and I am cracking up...looking at other people, waiting for them to laugh at me. Are they really going to do that? Here is the great part - nobody cared! There are like 60 people crammed in this room. People of all different races, ages, sizes, and colors. Some people are really good dancers and really fit, some (like me) try their best and can keep up but look a little odd, others are totally doing there own thing and have no clue - maybe they think they are following along...EVERYONE has sooo much fun! It doesn't matter what you look like or if you can move like the instructor. I was standing next to a very large older woman in the FRONT row last time and no one cared that we both looked quite funny! You just have fun and focus on yourself and it is like a big exercise party. It is so good for the woman I see in there. It is empowering! Okay - the best part is that you really burn between 700-900 calories IF you work hard! (You can tell that from wearing a heart monitor) I feel so invigorated when it is over - and ready to conquer the world! Kevin loves it because I clean like a crazy woman when I come home. How about a change from your exercising norm - try something funky and let lose!