Beep, Honk, Wave, Shimmy!

Give me a honk, beep, wave, or shoulder shimmy! Feeling the love already!

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!

Reclaim Fun!

A friend shared this video on her Facebook site and it made me stop and think. Here's a quick synopsis: a team of scientists found that by making a traditionally drudgerous task fun, people chose fun almost every time regardless of how "hard" it was.
Hmmm.
Just like something else I know. ZUMBA!
So I thought about it, why not apply that principle across the board? It's easy to see how much fun children can have doing something like folding laundry or digging holes for planting flowers because
they haven't learned yet that it isn't fun!
My challenge to myself and to you for this week is to "unlearn" that something isn't fun.
Have a paradigm shift.
Forget that exercise isn't supposed to fun, just "good for you."
Forget that making dinner is a chore and reclaim your inner child!
Let's take back the fun, startiung with Zumba on Monday night!

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!