Three Things I Learned From One Night of Zumba

I walked into my first Zumba class last night.  I wish there were some way to convey on paper just how much my entire body aches today after having subjected it to “dance” moves it’s never, ever had to do before.  But as I reflect on the hour-long torture…I mean, exercise class, it got me thinking about how Zumba relates to my season of transition right now and lessons I can take away from it, (besides that I need to probably change my heritage). 

I walked into the class by myself:  It seemed everyone else came with a friend, and I was all alone.  With the kids in school and the husband starting his classes, I feel alone a lot.  And, I don’t like it. I want friends to do life with.  Even coworkers who have to work with me would be better than no one.  And yet, I was in a room full of people.  People whom I can choose to do more than just stand by.  People I can dance with!

I felt so self-conscious:  In many ways, (if we rely on stereotypes alone), I should have been the one in the class that was doing the best.  With my Latina background, those moves should have been a breeze! And yet, as I watched some of the others in the room, I was silently telling myself, “They must have taken this class before,” because they were good!  The reality is I was the one moving in the opposite direction of all the rest of the group.  And yet, no one was watching me.  They were focused on watching the instructor (or themselves in the mirror J). People aren’t watching me or judging me.  They’re too busy doing life as best as they can, too. 

I focused more on trying to get the footwork right than just letting my body move: Our instructor was so light on her feet!  She made every move seem so simple.  And yet, as I stood in front of her trying to mimic her footwork and reverse it in my head, I was more confused than ever. So, I’d stop!  But as I looked around, it was obvious others were confused, too.  The one key difference was they were still moving!  And smiling!

I will admit.  I did a lot of smiling and a lot of eye rolling, too, mostly between embarrassed giggles and exasperated sighs at the end of songs.  Then, at the end of class, I went to thank our instructor (believe it or not) for being upbeat and so encouraging throughout the entire hour.  She looked at me and sweetly asked, “Are you a Zumba instructor, because you moved really well!” I rolled my eyes, snorted out loud, and thought, Man, you are a really bad liar! But, what the heck:  “See you next week,” I replied. 

And in the meantime, as I slug through transition this week, I’ll remember these three things I learned from one night of Zumba: 1. Choose to do more than just stand by. 2. Do life as best as you can. And 3. Keep moving!  

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What challenges are you facing in your season of life right now? After reflecting on them, what are three things you can learn from your one (night, week, month, year, lifetime) of _________________________?   

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