Zumba Danceparty

Dan Isobe will be instructing our Let Grace In families in a fun dance work out for all ages. When you hear music, the mind and body flow emotionally, psychologically and socially to different outlets. When we are grieving, we may not think we feel like dancing, but it can be so rewarding if we just show up anyway!  Zumba and other physical activity has really helped me shed my grief, personally.  I have found myself working out in a group class & fighting tears as i felt the pain releasing in my body. I found I can really turn the pain & grief into fuel & modivation to engage hard in a work out.  I needed many outlets for my grief because it would just overwhelm me if I didn't find ways to release it.  Dancing made me feel alive again. 

I have been reading some stories of other grieving individuals who found comfort and joy in Zumba:

1) Elona Washington, an injured marathoner who was grieving, going through a divorce, clinically depressed & overweight, gives her Zumba testimony to the Huff Post "Twenty minutes in, it took all of my strength not to fall to my knees and cry. I felt euphoric. And it was better than any runner's high. It took all of my strength not to run up to the instructor and give her a bear hug. Because of her energy and the music, my sexiness started to return with each beat... with every eight count."

2) "One salsa student, Ron, had an interesting tattoo on his forearm. When I asked him what it meant, he told me, “It’s the voice print of my deceased son’s laugh overlaying a heart beat…Think of it as a version of laugh, love, live.” Ron said that he hadn’t felt the same elation as he had been feeling in dance class in the three years since the passing of his son. “Dancing at the studio feels like home – a family of friends. It’s easy, fun, and happy. It’s the music, the movement, and the connectedness which was missing in my life.”

3)The San Diego Tribune wrote "In 1999, Juan died at age 15 from Muscular Dystrophy. To pull out of her depression, his mother Lisbeth Garces, eventually turned to Zumba, the dance-based fitness program. She became one of San Diego’s first certified instructors and now, at age 52, Garces teaches the dance-based exercise to people with disabilities."  When asked what do her students receive from Zumba aside from fitness, she replied "FEJ! That’s the freeing, electrifying joy that comes from setting aside daily worries and focusing on the joy of movement to upbeat music in a friendly, supportive community. Many also gain more self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills."

I hope you will join us! Bring water and a small towel, wear comfortable clothes and athletic shoes. xo, gabby