Monthly Archives: March 2014

I don’t know about you, but I hate the time change. I like that there’s more light in the afternoon, but it messes with everyone’s schedules and there is always a big debate over whether we should be bothering with Daylight Saving Time, anyway. I felt like crap Monday. I slept poorly, ignored my alarm, and then had weird hyper-realistic dreams that left me feeling groggy, and stressed all day.

I used to dance. A lot. I started dancing when I was three and I danced my way though high school. It probably was what kept me mostly sane in high school. I was dancing more than 20 hours a week, some of that student teaching. I needed it to be happy.

So when I caught a whiff of spring air outside, I decided to turn my crabby mood around. I found Firebeat Dancesport Studios. For new dancers they have a deal of one week of unlimited free classes! A Zumba class was starting in just a half hour. I dug deep into my closet, found my old dance bag (including the leotard with the hole in the side seam that should have been thrown out in high school!) and jumped in the car.

I was a few minutes late, so I had to jump right in, but the instructor Katiria was warm and inviting. I found that I had to pace myself to get through the class. The studio is brand new and there was a lot of off-gassing of chemicals that I’m allergic to. And  in high school I had a bad back injury, which is what led me to stop dancing all together, so when I felt twinges in my back I slowed down and modified the moves to protect myself.

Halfway through the class, I thought I needed to give up. There was no way that I could continue. I was light-headed and coughing and my shoulders were tensing up in a familiarly painful way. I slowed my breathing and kept modifying though, and once I got past those moments, I started feeling better. I told myself that there was only 20 minutes left, then only 15. And by the time I saw that there was only 10 minutes left and we started a cool down, I was disappointed because I wanted to keep going.

Even though I wasn’t dancing full out and it was difficult to breathe, there were some moments of pure happiness. And when I looked at look at myself in the mirror, red-faced, wild-haired, in yoga pants and a t-shirt, I felt beautiful.  I know a lot of people can understand when I say that I don’t frequently feel beautiful. Sometimes I feel pretty, or cute, or attractive, but not most of time. And I very rarely feel truly beautiful. When I looked in the mirror, the areas of my body that I don’t like about myself looked fine, and I rejoiced in moving my body and being in the moment and I whooped and laughed and felt beautiful. And that’s what I needed.

I challenged myself to push through that class. And I’m so glad that I did. And now I’m challenging myself to go to a class everyday this week. I can’t beat the free price point and they offer lots of different classes in addition to Zumba. Tasia from Sewaholic took a Bra-Making Class recently, which sounds amazing. Erin (who posted about St. Baldrick’s yesterday, which is obviously a challenge  that Erin’s whole family commits to!) has done a Yoga challenge in the past and has posted about it on our group on Ravelry. In fact, there’s a whole Ravelry thread dedicated to motivation and to challenging yourself to get things done.

So, this week, I’m challenging you. What will you do? How will your push yourself? Will you knit something that you’re afraid of – lace, colorwork, cables? Learn a new skill like crochet, or weaving, or beading? Learn how to shear a sheep? Hit the gym regularly? Skip dessert? Go for a walk? Dance around your kitchen for ten minutes a day? Are you challenging yourself to open up your heart and view others with compassion? To find a little more patience when your kids are driving you nuts?

My class last night was a ballroom sampler class and because this studio is so new, no one else showed up! It was me, two instructors (one to teach and the other to lead) and six different dance styles in 45 minutes. Intense! My legs hurt and I ended exhausted, but so happy. And it was in a different studio space, so I didn’t have the off-gassing issues! I was just out of breath from working so hard. Please share your challenges and how you’re doing with me!