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!

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!

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!