Self-Improvement: My First Zumba Class!

Over the past few weeks, I have felt more tired, lethargic, and just plain eh than I have in a long time.  I knew part of it was because I am not getting enough sleep and I have a sleep disorder (more on that later), but part of it was because I haven't exercised in a LONG time.  The last time I did any sort of regular exercise was probably when I was pregnant with Baylor ... almost three years ago.

Yikes, that sounds way worse when I actually type it out.

Anyhow, I saw on Facebook that one of my friends was going to a Zumba class nearby and that it only cost $5 a class.  Not too shabby.  Plus, it met at night (7:20 to 8:20 p.m.) and it didn't conflict with my husband's MBA class.  I decided a couple weeks ago that I would give it a try, but unfortunately for me I came down with Baylor's cold and couldn't attend last week.

So last night was my first class.  I'll be honest, I was pretty nervous all day leading up to it.  As I mentioned above, I haven't worked out in a while and had no idea what my body would actually be up for.  Also, I still have the remnants of my cold, most of which are cough-related; I didn't want to have a horrible, near-vomit-inducing, coughing fit in the middle of class.  On top of the anxiety over my physical readiness for the class, there was the social anxiety of it all; I have always been nervous in social situations where I know few, if any, people.  Luckily, there wasn't much talking going on, and my old high school friend Shannon was there, so it wasn't too bad in that regard.

On the way there, I could feel the nerves creeping up on me, so I started talking to myself.  Nicole, I said, this is no big deal.  You took dance lessons for years as a kid, and you took a couple aerobics classes in college.  You will be fine.  You can totally do this.

Now, this wasn't the first class the instructor had done, so there were a few people in the class who knew all the moves - Shannon included - and the instructor didn't give any tutorial (not that I expected her to).  As the first song started up and the dancing began, I felt immediately lost.  Panic took over my body and I swore I wouldn't come back to the class; I couldn't dive in being so far behind everyone in the class.  But, since I was already there, I decided to make the best of it and follow along as best I could.  After a few minutes, I was muddling through it and doing okay, but I certainly wasn't the best in class.  It was hard watching the girl directly in front of me - basically the only person I could really get a glance of since I was so focused on the instructor - look so perfect at the moves and me knowing I looked awkward at best.  I am a perfectionist by nature, especially when it comes to classes of all kinds, so this was definitely a challenge for me.

It also didn't help that I didn't know all the songs being played.  There was a pattern and rhythm to each set of moves for each song, but since I didn't know the songs I couldn't anticipate what was coming next.  I will chalk this up to being out of the loop because of kids and needing to listen to more wholesome music (read: oldies and Raffi) around them.  The songs I did know ended up being way easier for me to follow along to.

So, how did it go overall?

Very well indeed.  I really enjoyed it, enjoyed moving, enjoyed being challenged, and enjoyed just focusing on me for an hour without little hands pawing at me.  Yes, I missed my kids terribly, but I knew they were safe and happy with my husband so I wasn't worried about them.  And I knew that doing this would be good for me, my health, my energy levels, etc.

I will say that I had a tough time just getting into the class and not thinking so much.  I was totally in my head the whole time, analyzing everything going on around me, even forming blog posts about it all, and it kept me from enjoying it as much as I think I could have.  Hopefully as I learn the steps a little more, I'll be able to just let go and relax both my mind and body.

This morning, I am not sore, but I am wondering what tomorrow will be like.  I remember when we did weight-lifting in high school in gym class.  The first day after you'd be fine, but that second day ... yikes!  I remember calling my mom into my room that second day and needing help out of bed.  Thank goodness Bryson will be home tomorrow.

I have more to write about, more about things I observed while I was in my head while trying to move my feet (not a good combination), but the kids are waking up and it's time to start the day.  Whew!

If you want to see what Zumba is like, check out this video!