Adding Some Flavor to Life's Recipe

Even though the Zumba licensing procedure list told us the day will be loaded and to get plenty of sleep the night before...I didn't sleep a second the whole night. My mind filled with visions of running into this guy on my way to the car in the dark of the morning. Fortunately, he wasn't around when I left for the long drive to Zumba training class. 

After the long drive, blurry-eyed and not fully awake....I entered the room that was filled with all types, ages, and backgrounds of future Zumba instructors preparing for a loaded day of learning physically, intellectually and emotionally how to live and teach the Zumba lifestyle.

Zumba is very cool because it has guidelines, but encourages each of us to bring our own flavor to it...from how we dress to how we choreograph and teach to the type of music we choose. The room was filled with diverse flavors, making the perfect Zumba marinade.

     Here is one of our course helpers striking a pose for the camera. Everyone there was so friendly!

Then the day began. There were lectures, demos, workouts, steps and combinations to learn, improvising, working with groups and partners, Power Points and finally...

 ...licensing! I've done a ton of certifications in various venues and have to say that this was the first one that participants were smiling during and after the whole event.

I had to do a little celebration salsa with our instructor, April. She has the nickname of "Smiles" because hers is magical and contagious. Her energy and talent blew me away! Though it was a loaded day and I made it through on no sleep whatsover... I came home inspired to be a part of a very cool and creative Zumbaworld.

To Your Health in 2012!

A new year tends to inspire us to focus on health. In this era it's easy for health focus to fall to the bottom of the to-do list if we get too busy. It's probably more important to put health on the to-be list.

 I recently noticed when going down the aisle of my local Walmart that many people were reading the labels of food products before choosing to put them in their shopping carts! This is not something I'm used to seeing where I live! I also see many affordable workout DVDs that didn't make it under the Christmas tree, are on sale. There are so many workouts available anymore that it's easy to find some that are fun enough to stick with. The current trend of short workout DVDs that align with this time-challenged era is a brilliant idea! I know how life gets, but I also way honor the incredible fitness instructors who inspire us live and I wouldn't enjoy paying for a live class that was as short as some of these DVDs. It's all a matter of taste and what works best for how we choose to live.

 I love this message from Michael Pollan! Simplicity is wise to consider when choosing what we ingest (and not just with food.)
 So far, this year is exciting for me because I'm paying attention to my intuition instead of paying tuition to learn what my intuition has been trying to tell me for decades. And though it may seem impractical to focus on some of these things, I am curious to see what happens if I actually act on whispers I've been hearing for decades.

I hope this video clip inspires you to experience 2012 with a simple and healthy way to nourish yourself every day!