The O-town Scene

Dance youself happy with Zumba By Monica O'Leary Not long ago, I found myself in a depression so deep, unable to sleep or eat (unless you count downing a bottle of shiraz). The kind where crying is exhausting and you feel like the only thing you can do to survive is retreat into some desolate corner of your mind and wait there, numbly, until the end of time. I am sure by now I have thoroughly bummed you out, but don't worry, there is a happy ending. This is just where I began when I started my journey to health and happiness and Zumba. How did I get out of this dire mindset? The unyielding sup- port of wonderful family and friends. And vanity. As I ventured more and more into public, I was getting the supremely ironic, "You look great! You've lost so much weight!" I would smile weakly (still somewhat depleted in posi- tive energy) and thank them. As time wore on though, I found my thanks becoming genuine. It was nice to have a silver lining to such a charcoal cloud. Even my "I was in a depres- sion!" to well-wishers' "How did you do it?!" became a little more lighthearted. Wanting to keep the weight off and keep the compliments coming, my focus shifted from thinking about how sad I was to thinking of what I could do to take better care of myself. I needed an outlet for my newfound energy other than obsess- ing to my friends over pitchers of margaritas. I decided exercise was the way to go. I had been active for many years through dance classes and fitness programs, and I remembered how I happy I was. Happy was the destination I was going for. I had heard of Zumba, a Latin-dance focused fitness pro- gram, and knew a variety of classes were offered in the area. As a former dancer, it sounded like the perfect fit. And it was. I remember distinctly my first class when a girlfriend warned me, "Get ready to get addicted!" She was right. The music, the movement and being in a space with other women who were doing something healthy all contributed to my motiva- tion. There was a sense of camaraderie. Zumba was less intimidating than a structured dance class, because you don't have to be a trained dancer to participate. You don't even have to have rhythm. If you're a more creative mover, you can personalize the choreography once you got the hang of the basic steps. Throw is an extra twirl here, a hip swivel there. As I continued going Contributed What happy Zumba dancers! to classes, I felt myself coming alive again. Between building up my endorphins and fueling my energy level, it became increasingly difficult to dwell on the negative. After a particularly rigorous Saturday morning class, I lingered a few minutes after to tell my instructors how much I loved Zumba when one said to me: "Oh you can tell you love it! You are totally going to get certified!" Why shouldn't I learn to teach others a form of exercise that had been so tremendously helpful to me both physically and mentally? I would do it! Now I love to encourage people to try my classes or just try Zumba in general. As far as my journey to wholeness, I am now well on my way. And when there are bumps in the road, I feel better able to contend with them now. Sometimes I just shake them out in class. Monica O'Leary is a Zumba instructor at the Oneonta YMCA. Jan. 12, 2012 O-Town Scene 13

• Cover