Dance Fever

"Dance first, think later"

When I was working out with the most fantastic trainer in the world (the one that made me puke my first time out----love you, LaGunta) I refused to jump rope in front of the other people in the gym. It flooded my system with an anxiety wave that drowned my sense of humor and exposed my flaming, red angry.  Deep in my soul I knew that all those skinny little gazelles lined up on the treadmills with a full-view of my hippo-shaped, two-bras-for-safety's-sake-wearing, jump-roping-ass, would be secretly laughing at me. And we all know that when we are on the treadmill our eyes wander to anything that is moving-anything to distract us from the torture of walking on purpose. And currently, all of my parts move when I try to go all Rocky on the jump rope.

 

But if she had just asked me to dance instead...

Calories burned in 30 minutes!!

For some incomprehensible reason, I have no problems dancing wherever I am.  I don't care who's watching. This weekend I even learned how to shake and shimmy (thank you, Belinda).  I've been known to dance in the middle of the cul de sac at midnight by the light of the moon, get my groove on in the grocery store aisle, and even bust a move while baking. Therefore, dancing my ass off-and any other body parts-just makes sense. This morning I tried out the "Rockin' Body" series with Shaun T. Much fun!!  My office/art studio is now also my dance floor!

The right brain shows concussion indicators.

Yes, dancing burns a ton of calories, but there are other added benefits as well. It is not a secret that I may have taken one too many bumps in the head throughout my sports career. 30 years of soccer, 6 years of rugby and 10 years of football can be a bit tough on the noggin. So much information has come out recently about the long-term effects of concussions that it can be rather scary to consider what symptoms I face. So far, the manifestations have surfaced in the form of a slight stutter, difficulty finding the right word I want to say, short-term memory issues, and frequent headaches. However, there is very little research concerning how a female athlete's brain is affected-or if the effect is greater. My doctor is a former football player and is fairly fascinated with my case. He and I are searching for brain studies for me to join. In the meantime, he has directed me to do puzzles, challenging thinking games, and lots of exercise-including dancing.

You see, it seems that dancing and learning new dance patterns can have a crazy-awesome positive effect on the brain. I found an article by Richard Powers-dance guru- that sites a study in the New England Journal of Medicine about the effects of recreation activities on mental acuity in aging.  

"One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. there was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing." -Richard Powers

That's right. Who knew that shaking my butt might save my brain?  You can see more of the article by Richard Powers here:

http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm   

Check out these findings from the study:

Reading-                   35% reduced risk of dementia

Bicycling-                   0%  reduced risk

Swimming-                 0%  reduced risk

Crossword puzzles    47% reduced risk (4 x per week)

                                                                      Playing golf                  0% reduced risk

                                                                      Dancing Frequently    76% reduced risk!!

This all totally makes sense to me. Learning new dances can be difficult. Getting your body to do what your brain is telling it can be like trying to settle a herd of kindergartners down for a nap while wearing a monster mask.  One part is sure to go off screaming in the wrong direction-and maybe all the parts.  Now set that chaos to music. If you're really on your game, set that chaos to music and try to choreograph it!

Happy Hoppers Square Dance Club

 In retrospect, I should probably thank my parents for my early appreciation of dance, as well as the mental acuity and coordination that came with it. My parents were from Montana, they joined a square dance club called the "Happy Hoppers." Inevitably, I got roped into taking Square Dance lessons. I will admit here that I LIKED the square dance lessons.  It was fun, rigorous exercise, and there were always new moves to learn that got increasingly more intricate. Okay, I HATED the fluffy dress and girly shoes I had to wear, and the fact that my partner was always Jeff- the caller's son.  Jeff and I were the same age, so we had to dance together all the time. We even had to do square dance exhibitions together. Since we were little 3rd graders, everyone thought we were sooooooo cute-but that is a whole other story. (Although I do find it amusing that we both turned out to be gay. Interesting.)  My point is that dancing in all forms really can be stimulating for the brain as well as the body. 

I actually have this CD.  Love it.

This week I will be doing more dancing and less worrying about the pounds and the inches. I assume they will come off on their own as I unleash the boogie fever to my disco beats, get my rump-shakin' Zumba on, Just Dance my way across the living room, and do my best go-go dancer shimmy while I'm working in the garden. Dance like no one is watching, my friends!

"Let us read, and let us dance; those two amusements will never do any harm to the world."

-Voltaire

The Endorphinator

I apologize for the extended hiatus.  I have returned....

During my time away, I was not idle, but it was not an easy time.  My previous post was all about stress.
Well, the stress increased exponentially and was no picnic, but I weathered it with this fantastic, magical wonderment known as the mighty ENDORPHIN!! Every time I figured out I was feeling a deepest shade of blue (indicated by being wrapped in a blanket watching my 17th consecutive episode of Star Trek Voyager on Netflix) I went for a walk. My added visits to the gym produced a cleaning frenzy whirlwind that resulted in a sparkly-clean and organized office/art studio (a previously unheard of anomaly), the deletion of two giant bags of clothes that don't fit, and a 1/4 totally weeded front yard.  Unfortunately, my back gave out before my endorphin wave did.  This all felt FANTASTIC.  I could conquer the world!!  I could start a business!!  I could....totally take a nose-dive.

That white, digital slice of imbalanced hell-the bathroom scale-got to me again. I have lost...NOTHING!!!  This was highly discouraging and sent me back to the couch for a day or two. There have been no inches lost either. Unacceptable. the natural progression was to demean myself, to open up my mind to all kinds of doubt in myself. My inner voice is a nasty little item that is abusive and mean-spirited. She has serious issues. I have named her after a similar someone in my past, but for the purposes of avoiding lawsuits, we shall call her..."Jane Ho."  Jane Ho went all whippy slap-slap on my psyche after I viewed that heartbreaking lack of change on the scale. She led me over to the mirror and compared me to a hippo, then changed her mind and told me I look more like a rhino with my big shnoz and jello-jiggler midsection. Jane Ho told me I would never see a difference and that I was just going to fail.  She even came close to convincing me that my blog is a stupid waste of time-no one is listening. She went too far with that one. I got mad.  "Listen here, Jane Ho, you can fuck right off!  I've been working hard!! And it doesn't matter if anyone is listening!! This is MY change!  FOR ME!!"  Then I jumped all up on the reasonable train and left Jane Ho behind to talk to herself and the spots on the wall. (And before you voice concern about my apparent schizophrenia-it's okay, Jane Ho moved out).

I HAVE been working hard. I may not be seeing a difference on the scale, or in inches yet, but there have
been so many other positive changes. My struggles with getting my diet on track continue to be the major factor between me losing inches and pounds vs. ideal shrinkage. I will continue to improve.  I'm sure of it. I just have to stay out of the grocery store and never drive past a fast food joint.  Just kidding.  I need a huge injection of will-power.  All suggestions on how to acquire this are welcome.  In the meantime, here is a list of the positive changes that I've experiences so far:

1. Energy: My energy levels are up. I'm getting stuff done like a soccer-mom on a 15-shot espresso high.
2. Mood: Laughter and humor are my baselines, but I actually caught myself whistling at 5:30 am yesterday!
3. Air: I don't have to gasp for breath after tying my shoes anymore, or climbing stairs, or using the remote.
4. Joints:  My knees used to call me unmentionable things-especially when it rained.  Not so much now!
5. Distance: Walking 5.0 miles is no big deal. I still want to die a bit on steep inclines, but I don't have to lie down and gasp like an untanked guppie anymore.  :)
6. Social: I've been re-connecting with old friends, making new friends, and generally getting out more.
7. Strength: I can open jars again.
8. Focus: Attention span is a crap-shoot when you have unmedicated ADHD.  I sat through a 3-hour presentation on the Holocaust the other day. Only started squirming with about 20 minutes left to go.

All these things have brought me back to my positive outlook as I continue to forge on.  I'm getting closer to the end of the first 50 Bandanas, but it has become clear that this first 50 has been all about learning and habit-forming, breaking horrible cycles and installing healthy ones. I'm totally looking forward to the changes the next 50 Bandanas will bring!!

As always, thank you to everyone who keeps me motivated.  You rock!!!  Here's a healthy little list of snacks that I'll be portioning out.  You should too!