Close to my Heart

Once again, long time no post!  Actually, with the advent of social networking sites, I think a lot less people are blogging these days, don't you?  Anyhow, I'm still around.  I continue to keep busy teaching zumba, attending zumba, bellydancing, as well as other group fitness classes.  I no longer have to fight with myself to exercise, my body truly craves and enjoys it and I always (or almost always...) look forward to my next work out. It's a great stress reliever as well as a source of social interaction.

Spring will hopefully be here on Vancouver Island soon (according to the calendar in just a few days).  While we haven't had much snow this winter, I'm nonetheless very glad to bid the season goodbye.  We had a freaky windstorm just last week which resulted in much of our town being without power for varying amounts of time.  We were among the fortunate that were only without for about 8 hours, others did not have it restored for days.  And although we are now having to deal with insurance to replace half the shingles that left our roof we consider ourselves fortunate because our awesome neigbours noticed and tarped it before the water started leaking through and into our house.  And something else to be thankful for is that a huge tree in our driveway snapped and landed on our lawn and not our house or vehicles.  Phew!

I spend far too much time on Facebook these days.  I've found a wonderful group of zumba instructors there whom I'm able to learn so much from.  And I am also trying to have a bit of a presence to promote my own fitness pursuits.  To that end, I have a "Zumba with Brenda" page.  I am trying to use it not just to promote my classes, but I also want to create a bit of a resource for those trying to embrace a healthy lifestyle.  I'm posting links to recipes, fitness information, as well as words of inspiration. 

So please give it a look, and I'd also appreciate a "Like" if you are so inclined. Click on the widget to the right or go here.  Thanks!!

What I did on my summer vacation

Wow, almost three months since I last blogged?  Crazy!!  I had a hard time even remembering my password to log into Typepad.

Thought it was about time that I update here.  Knitting and other fibery pursuits continue to be minimal.  I did finish a baby project at the beginning of August as well as an e-reader cover.  And I have socks on the needles too.  I haven't knit for a couple weeks but it is on the agenda for today.

So what have I been up to?  Well, I spent about 10 days in Hawaii mid August.  I travelled with three girlfriends, and we had a great time.  If it wasn't for the husband and kitties back home I just might have stayed.   Check out this sunset on our first night there:

And if you're interested, you can view my entire Hawaii photoset on Flickr here.

Not surprisingly, the zumba obsession has continued.  At the beginning of July, I was approached to teach a weekly class at the rec center where I attend classes as well.  I've spent tons of time preparing for my first class, which is now just over a week away.  I'm really excited about this new opportunity and the new experiences it will bring me. With retirement about 6 or 7 years away, I now see group fitness as a big part of my retirement plan, something I would NOT have fathomed a couple years ago (Facebook just reminded me the other day that I began my lifestyle changes two years ago).  Speaking of Facebook, I created a "Zumba with Brenda" page and if you are on FB, would love it if you would go and "Like" me there.

Well that's about it for this Sunday morning.  Hopefully I'll be back sooner than three months from now!

The First

On Saturday I taught my first, albeit extremely informal, zumba class to a small group of five friends.  One of my said friends had encouraged me to do so, even though I felt not totally ready in terms of polished choreographies and such, and I decided I might as well take the plunge.  While I definitely have lots of work to do, we had a great time.  The most stressful part was the rain that started to fall just before the class (it was to be outdoors) but just after we started the sun came back out and it turned into a lovely afternoon.

I'm definitely going to continue to use my friends and family members to hone my zumba instructing skills.  By doing so, I get to share my zumba love with others, and they will get some exercise in exchange, hopefully a win-win situation.  I'm really looking forward to doing it again soon!

An amazing day!

It's been almost one week since my zumba instructor training, and I keep forgetting to blog it.  That's because the obsession has become even greater since the training, and I'm spending much of my waking time engrossed in all things zumba: listening to music, looking for music, reading the instructor forums on the zumba website, planning a class playlist, practicing routines, etc etc etc.

The training itself was amazing.  We started the day with an hour long master class led by the Zumba Educational Specialist (ZES) who was providing the training.  She was awesome, a total inspiration, I would attend her classes without hesitation.  My plan going into the master class was not to exert myself in the same way as I do in the classes I attend at home (didn't want to overdo it at the start of a long day), but once the music started, I couldn't help myself!  Following the master class, the day consisted of lectures interspersed with time learning steps.  The Basic Level 1 training is to learn the four basic steps: merengue, salsa, cumbia, and reggaeton.  We also spent some time learning about the Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN), a professional development type thing which provides access to great resources including monthly malings of CDs and DVDs as well great online resources.  I knew before attending the training that I would want to join ZIN.  We also learned about cueing moves for a class.  Zumba is supposed to be cued non verbally, although I think most instructors use some verbal cues as well.  The instructional part of the day ended with the ZES leading a mini class utilizing each of the four steps (and variations of each) that we had spent the day learning.  At the end of the day, it was really interesting to see how she put the steps together as well as utilized the cueing to lead us through each song.

Before leaving, we were each presented with our certificate:

And posed for a group picture:

I love this picture because we all look so happy, albeit tired, at the end of an amazing day.  The group itself was a diverse group of mainly friendly people who all love zumba.  There were at least two other bellydancers there as well, one of whom had also participated in the Shimmy Mob that I blogged about a couple posts ago. I'm towards the back right of center, wearing a brown jacket with a turquoise tank top poking out.

Well that's probably more about my day than you really wanted to know, but there you have it, recorded for posterity!

Peace, Love, Zumba!

in one week...

So, in my last post I hinted about stepping out of my box some more, and that it involved zumba.  Well I'm going to share that with you now.  After all, I've been talking ad nauseum to my friends, family and coworkers about this, as well as posting on Twitter and Facebook, so it's about time I bring it to the blog too.  Here's a screen shot of a recently received email which will reveal all:

Yep, next weekend I'm headed off for Level 1 Zumba instructor training!  To say I'm excited would be an understatement, I'm totally stoked and can't wait for next Sunday to arrive. 

One year ago, I'd never even heard about zumba.  I attended my first class on September 14, 2010 (how pathetic is it that I even remember the date!?!) and gradually became totally enthralled.  I think around December my instructor suggested I might want to get liscensed myself, and at that time I didn't take the whole thing all that seriously, even though I knew that I loved zumba and would attend every class I could.  Sometime early in 2011, I became even more consumed by zumba and my workouts became more intense too.  I also started to work on some zumba stuff on my own at home, and it nearly killed me having to sit still when I was ill one week in March. 

Also early in 2011, I realized that I did indeed want to become a licensed zumba instructor, and began to stalk the zumba website waiting for local training to be offered.  Finally, not quite a month ago, the listing showed Vancouver!  I registered within minutes of seeing that.

I really need to credit my awesome instructor for all her support and encourgement.  I would not be doing this without her.  She's even given me the opportunity to lead a few songs during the small Saturday morning classes, which has been a lot of fun.  I learn a lot from watching her too.

As for my own aspirations, I really don't anticipate teaching tons of classes.  I have a day job which keeps me plenty busy.  My vision is subbing for my regular instructor (she's currently away on vacation and no one could be found to step in) as well as maybe some informal classes for friends and family, and anyone else with whom I can share my love for zumba.  I'm far from being an extrovert or someone who even wants attention, so as I said, this is definitely stepping out of the box for me. But you know, when you find something that excites you, you want to share it with everyone.  And zumba has turned this former couch potato into someone who can't wait for the next class.  Recently the following quotation was posted on the Zumba Fitness Facebook page, which really struck a chord with me:

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask What makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."  Howard Thurman

Obviously, Zumba totally makes me come alive.

Anyone still here?  If so I'll end this post by sharing one of my current favourite zumba songs with you (I spend way to much time looking at zumba stuff on youtube).  I'll probably post more in the week ahead as my excitement builds.  Some day I'll talk about knitting and other fiber stuff again.

A November update

So, what's been happening around here since the completion of Blogtoberfest?   Let's see, I finished the body of my Tea Leaves Cardigan:

I turned the heel on my first Nutkin sock:

Meanwhile, the feline members of the household have been catching up on sleep:

And I'm still hopelessly addicted to Zumba.  I'm particularly excited this morning, and hopeful that the work day will whiz by, because tonight I'm going to a Zumba party.  One of the instructors has rented a local night club for two hours before they open tonight.  Two hours of Zumba fun, complete with door prizes.  Can't wait!

On that note, I'll end this post with one of my favourite Zumba videos to move along to, courtesy youtube.

Friday

and by the end of the week, I'm tired so once again taking the easy way out with today's blog post.  Still obssessed with Zumba though, and looking forward to a fun class tomorrow morning at 9.  You know I'm addicted when I'm willing to be at the gym that early on a Saturday.  Anyhow, I'll try to write something of a little more substance for my last two Blogtoberfest posts (hopefully that shouldn't be too hard on the weekend), and I do have some handspun to show you if the skies are bright enough for decent photos tomorrow.  In the meantime, today I have two Zumba youtube videos to share with you.  I just tried moving to these, as well as the other two I posted this week, and from a shear fun to move around to perspective, these two, particularly the second, are now my favourite.

The first was found searching for the words "follow the leader Zumba" on youtube.  We use this music at the class that I've been attending this week, which is actually way different music than is used at the original Zumba class I've attended.

And this one I really enjoyed, just because it incorporates bellydance, which you know I love.  There are lots osf bellydance moves utilized in Zumba.  And just for a little tidbit, this was choreographed by Beto, the founder of Zumba.  If you're interested, you can read more about Zumba, including its history, on the Wikipedia page here.

Back tomorrow, and I promise to talk about something other than Zumba!

Zumba all the time!

Welcome to Brenda's Zumba blog, all Zumba, all the time, ha!  I did mention the addiction the other night, right?  Anyhow, home from a  great, energetic, and once again CROWDED Zumba class.  It seems like it has really taken off in our town.  I've mentioned my ecclectic taste in music before, and one of the many things I like about Zumba is that it has exposed me to different kinds of music.  Tonight's class included a wide variety, including Michael Jackson's Thriller (with a Halloween bent to it), an African Song, and even some Bollywood.  Predominantly Latin music of course, but the variety just makes it all fun. 

I often have a new to me song in my head after a Zumba class, and will come home and type some of the lyrics along with the word Zumba into a search over at youtube.  I did that tonight, and then it turned into a blog post.  I had nothing else for you tonight anyway.  And I do like this blog to reflect what is going on in my life in terms of interest and activities. 

So here's tonight's video.  Not quite as energetic or as professional as the video I shared the other night, but still fun, and hey, it's Zumba!

Zumba Addict

Okay, tonight I'm ready to wind down, Glee is starting in less than five minutes (it's now started since I began this post), and I don't feel like trying to put a coherent blog post together.  That and Blogtoberfest is on it's last few days and I'm loosing steam.

I admittedly am now totally addicted to Zumba.  My regular instructor has the nerve totally deserves to be on vacation for three weeks, and I really miss her classes.  As a result I've had to look for other workout options.  I found one teacher that I like almost as much as my regular instructor, and will continue with a class or two of hers on an ongoing basis.  The class I went to tonight, with a still different instructor was somewhat chaotic, although a still good workout and I did have fun.  I think the main issue is that these extra to me classes are at a larger gym and not as intimate a setting as I prefer.  Still great to have workout options that I enjoy overall though. 

Anyhow, in anticipation of tonight's blog post, I went to youtube and searched for Zumba.  I normally have not found too much there, but lucked out tonight.  I found this very high energy choreography to a song that we actually did tonight. Way more energetic and peppy than I will ever be, but fun nonetheless, and when I'm alone in the house, I just may play this on the laptop and move around myself.  Don't tell anyone though, okay?