Community classes generally range


from 45 to 90 minutes (find a local class at Zumba.com). An hour-long regular Zumba class can burn 400 to 600 calories says Lucas, depending upon body weight, workout intensity, conditioning level and individual metabolism. As a point of reference, NutriStrategy.com charts calories burned by a 155-pound person en- gaged in an hour of light calisthenics at 246 calories; leisurely biking, 281; and walking briskly uphill, 422. “Find a class and an instructor you


like,” counsels Lucas. “Make a commit- ment to having some ‘you’ time. Part of exercise is being social, so it’s a chance to make new friends, too.” Doctor of Naturopathy Kathy Gru-


ver, Ph.D., finds that a hip-hop workout best suits her needs four to five times a week. Each 90-minute class is non-stop action and she rarely takes a break, although some class members don’t dance the entire time.


“Give a kid more control


and you just might discover a workout partner.”


~ Mara Woloshin Gruver works out at Rhythm


Dance & Fitness Studios, near Santa Barbara, California, with choreographer Tamarr Paul. “I grew up dancing jazz, tap and ballet; nothing even close to hip-hop, and there are still moments that I can’t get a certain move or trip over my own feet. Still, it took just a few weeks to get my rhythm back and get in the groove,” says Gruver. “We run through a set of steps multiple times before we add more. Once we’ve learned a whole dance, we run it over and over to different music; some faster, some slower.” With dance, there’s something


just right for everyone. Dance with the kids, the dog, while making the beds or vacuuming crumbs. Dance along with a video or take a class to learn some- thing new and different while making new friends. In any case, breathe in the music. It all makes exercise fun.


Sandra Murphy is a freelance writer at StLouisFreelanceWriter@mindspring.com.


seemingly insignificant dash between the day someone was born and the date he or she departed? This often- overlooked little line ultimately represents every breath and step we take in life. Until an epiphany awakens us to


H


the brevity of this dash with which we have been blessed, true appreciation of our life cannot begin.


So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.


When, as newborns, we take that


first independent, deliberate breath, we sign an invisible contract with life that we will do everything we can to preserve, cherish and live it. By seizing and inhabiting our moments and living our dash, instead of simply existing, we are abiding by that first unspoken oath.


Because success should not be measured in what you will buy, or own, but in the pride you feel


inspiration


LIVE YOUR DASH


by Linda Ellis


ave you ever walked through a cemetery or read an obitu- ary and pondered that small,


in the person you’re with … when you are all alone.


When we spend our time focused


on problems, we subconsciously disre- gard all that is not a problem. In mull- ing over yesterday and worrying about tomorrow, we fail to recognize the pres- ence of today. When we postpone living until everything is running smoothly, we forfeit the minutes of our now. Instead of focusing on the next


achievement or acquisition, we need to practice focusing on all the blessings around us—our loved ones and the sheer pleasure found in simply being. The poet in me writes: So live in your now; be conscious, sincere. Let your mind allow you to be in your here!


For it matters not, how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.


Linda Ellis’ global touchstone poem, The Dash, was followed by the Live Your Dash poem, and her new book, Live Your Dash. Join the conversation at Facebook.com/LindaEllisAuthor and Twitter.com/LiveYourDash.


natural awakenings March 2012 29


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