“Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you have never been hurt. Dance like nobody is watching”-Satchel Paige
It’s Fri-YAY y’all, and I could not be more excited. This week has been really great. I have had the time to clean our house, catch up with friends, teach classes and move my body every single day. Most of you know that I danced professionally for years before becoming a PE teacher. Since the time I walked into a dance class at nine years old I never looked back. I danced my way through life both figuratively and literally one kick ball change at a time. Dance has brought so many gifts into my world like friends, mentors and memories to last a lifetime, but since moving to Miami I only dance if I have an audition or a job that required dance movement. Yesterday that all changed…for the better.
Every class or audition I walked into in the past came with an intense need to be perfect, to be better than I was the day before. It has been a really long time since I just enjoyed shakin’ my booty without the pressure of perfection. There is a dance class offered at my local Equinox called Mitana Dance, and because I joined my friend Erin (@livinglately) for her 3 week Soul Shine challenge; day three suggested we find a friend, get to a class and just DANCE! I am good enough friends with myself so I mustered up the courage to go all by myself. I am so glad I did because my friend Emily just happened to be guested into the class! She knows the instructor, and with our busy schedules we are always missing each other, so when we saw each other we were like two kids in a candy store! Having her there was the perfect confidence booster. We found a great spot in the wayyyy back, far from the front, and I just let my body go free of judgement! Sometimes looking and feeling ridiculous because I did not know a single part of the choreography, and there were people in the class who have been attending since the beginning of time. They knew every hip pop, hair flip and pony-step-high kick-pose!
I was so pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed at the same time. As humans we often stop ourselves from doing things we really want to do because we are scared or nervous. Yes! I was both scared and nervous to walk back into a dance class because I am older, I no longer learn choreography on a regular basis, I am a women and Yes! I judge myself. So what is the point of today’s post? To tell you to just ‘Dance’…whatever dance means to you. Try to do something that you have really wanted to do, but hesitate because you are scared or nervous. Find a supportive friend and do it together! Yesterday, I was able to go back to basics, move free any pressure and fall in love with the movement experience all over again!
If you do want to dance I have linked a few dance fitness videos to help you bust a move from the comfort of your own home and have a blast while doing it!
I would love to hear how you step out of your comfort zone this weekend! Don’t forget to find some time to do ‘nothing’. Happy Friday everyone. Stay happy, healthy and tell someone you love them today.
