Zumba for a Cure! May 10th

Okay, you know how there are just some things that are meant to go together? Like peanut butter and chocolate? Strawberries and cream? Milk and cookies? Little black dress and peep toe pumps?

Well, that is how I feel about me and the amazing Tanya Ryan! Throw some HOT Latin music in there and wrap it all up in the incredible event space at Open Square and you got yourself "Zumba for a Cure"!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 7pm, Open Square Event Space, donations gratefully accepted. All proceeds benefit Hunting for a Cure, helping to raise awareness and funds for a cure to Huntington's Disease.

Please feel free to contact me Kate@papercityzumba.com with any questions! Hope to see you there!

If you are looking for Zumba and Fitness classes in Western Mass including South Hadley, Holyoke and West Springfield, please visit www.papercityzumba.com for a complete class listing!

Shake Shake Shake Dance for a Cause 4/30/2011

I will be collecting canned food and other non-perishable food items in class all this week, April 25th for donation to the Shake Shake Shake Event in Sunderland, MA on Saturday, April 30th.

This event is to benefit the Amherst and Turners Falls Survival Centers.

I will also accept donations at my home if anyone can't make it to class but would still like to help out!

Please email me Kate@papercityzumba.com if you need to arrange a pick up or drop off outside of class time.

If you are interested in attending the event here are the details.

Time: 4pm-6pm on Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Location: First Congregational Church, 91 South Main Street, Sunderland, MA

Info: An introduction to the Zumba Program with area instructors, Bella Dickerman, Juliet Cannici, Kate O'Donnell, Lauren Franks and Zulma Rivera, with John Delapena from Seattle, WA

Proceeds will benefit area needy families and also the Amherst and Turners Falls Survival Centers.

Cost: $8 or $5 with canned food item

If you are looking for Zumba or Fitness classes in Western Massachusetts including, Holyoke, South Hadley, or West Springfield please visit www.papercityzumba.com for a complete listing!

Be Kind to Yourself, It Might Lower Your Blood Pressure

Seriously. It might. Check out the video of a song we started doing this week called "Shake It" by Michael Franti and Spearhead with Lady Saw. The song is a happy expression of beauty being in the eye of the beholder and knowing that you are perfect just the way you are. To delve a little more, so many of you that I know personally are in the "helping professions" which require lots of giving to others. It also requires treating others with a certain amount of compassion. I came across this blog posting which suggests that people who find it easy to be supportive and compassionate toward others often score surprisingly low on self-compassion tests. The research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting ourselves can lead to better health. People who score more highly on self-compassion tests have less depression and anxiety and tend to be more happy and optimistic.

Give yourself a break, you deserve it!

The Best Gifts...

are the ones you can't put a price tag or gift wrap on. I know, I know, but it's true! This week I want to share a personal experience. My girls have swimming every Friday afternoon and it is always a struggle to keep my almost two year old son from jumping into the pool with them, throwing balls into the pool or just generally squirming around for the entire hour and fifteen minutes we're in the pool area. I had plans with a friend to meet up after swim with the kids for an early dinner. She offered to bring baby boy to play and take a walk. It was on the tip of my tongue to say, "Oh no, we can manage, I don't want to trouble you." But instead, I said, "Thank you, that would be wonderful." I don't know if this is the case for you, but I often have a hard time accepting help or "gifts" like that from people. I am conditioned, as a mother, to think I have to do it all myself or maybe I just have gotten used to doing some things like that myself. I am really trying to graciously accept these gifts which are freely given. On Friday, baby boy could have had his usual afternoon of squirming and being told, "No, Stop, Come back here!" Instead, he spent time with a wonderful friend who delighted him with playing picnic, going down the slide, hanging upside down from the monkey bars and getting blessed fresh air! And I was able to sit and enjoy watching my beautiful girls swim like little seals and just soak them up. What a gift. So the next time someone freely offers a gift, accept it with open arms and know that the time will come when you can make someone else's day the way my friend did for me.

You never know how what might seem a simple act of kindness to you can really impact someone else's life positively.

If you are looking for Zumba or Fitness classes in Holyoke, South Hadley, West Springfield or Western Mass, please visit here for a complete list of classes!

Thursday Night's Playlist

DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love Again- Usher/Pitbull

Lagartija Azul

El Mambo de los Shorty's- Tito El Bambino

Alright- Pitbull feat. Machel Montano

La La La- La Banda Loca

Luna- Eddy Lover

Yeah! (Batuka Mix)- DJ Joao and DJ Payssao

Salsaton- El Rubio Loco

Like a G6- Far East Movement

Blue Zone- Don Omar

Sacudelo- Willy Chirino

Donya- Arash and Shaggy

Somewhere Over the Rainbow-

If you are looking for Zumba classes in Western Mass: Holyoke, South Hadley, or West

Springfield, check out www.papercityzumba.com for a complete class listing.

Paper City Zumba with Kate O'Donnell: Bringing fabulous to a class near you!

How to Stay Motivated

Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you should scrap your exercise plan! After all, wasn't it just a few short weeks ago you were swearing that you were going to exercise three times a week? Or maybe you made your SMART New Year's Goals? But right about now is the time we start to falter...
1. Make a list of all the reasons you want to succeed at your wellness goal. Really, it can be anything, from the very serious, "I don't want to die of heart disease," to the supremely silly, "I want to be able to zip my jeans without having to use a fork to do it!" Now take that piece of paper and put it in your wallet, purse, glove compartment, anywhere you can easily access it. When you're tempted to skip your workout, pull it out and reread it. There is your motivation, in your own words! Hard to argue with yourself, isn't it?
2. Plan ahead! It works for me with meals for the week for a family of five that holds down 2.5 jobs with two school age children who have their own activities. I may deviate from the plan, but at least I had one! So pack your exercise bag the night before and put it in your car. Pack a healthy snack instead of the vending machine at work.
3. Give yourself permission to skip one workout a month. Yes, it actually works. Think about it, what are you going to waste your one skip on? "It's cold out," or "I have a migraine." And who knows, maybe you'll get to the end of the month and never have to use it!
Let's face it, human nature is to make excuses. In spring, it'll be because it's too nice out, in summer it's too hot! There will always be something, right?
Don't let it always be something for you!
Paper City Zumba and Fitness: Bringing fabulous to a class near you!

What is the best workout you can do?

What is the best workout you can do? The one that you will actually do! In my opinion, this is the key to Zumba's success. Zumba has tapped into the fun factor and has created an exercise program that everyone can benefit from: novice exercisers to highly conditioned individuals. For someone who is just beginning an exercise program, what better way to feel successful than to join a class where "go at your own pace" is the mantra, you will start with the basics! And if you are highly conditioned, we will work together to challenge your cardio endurance and work large muscle groups with holds and pulses! There is truly something for everyone!

I have been thinking a lot about the "best" workout and I truly believe it is the one you will actually do! What does this mean? Consistency! Find something you love to do and keep doing it! Does this mean that you can only Zumba, or run or swim as your only exercise forever? Nope! But that is the topic for the next post!

Welcome to Paper City Zumba with Kate O'Donnell

The idea for Paper City Zumba came from a good friend. She has lost over 100 lbs and has maintained her weight through a combination of Weight Watchers and home exercise videos. She came to my Zumba class at a local gym and loved it. Zumba spoke to her love of music, performance and voice; she is a classically trained singer with an amazing voice. She wanted more Zumba and the classes offered didn't fit into her schedule, it was hard to justify a gym membership when what she really wanted was more Zumba classes and more flexibility.

I realized that many people fall into this category and for lots of reasons. Busy schedules, busy lives, we all know how that is! And she was not the only person who shared this frustration with me. Thus, Paper City Zumba is taking Zumba out to the community and making it accessible to everyone. What does that mean? Classes are open to all fitness levels, no dance or fitness background required! The price is affordable, $5 drop in per class. What is stopping you?

Two brand new classes beginning 9/13/2010:
Mondays, 7:00pm, All Saints' Episcopal Church, Woodbridge Street, South Hadley, MA, $5
Tuesdays, 5:45pm, All Saints' Episcopal Church, Woodbridge Street, South Hadley, MA, $5

*All classes are 1 hour long, please arrive a few minutes early to sign in. Supportive sneakers, water bottle, small hand towel are recommended.