Where The Magic Happens!

The magic of exercise happens when you can disconnect from the chatter in your head and focus fully on the task at hand.

I see this is every class that I teach. It is very hard to leave your troubles behind when you enter the room. I can tell when my students are distracted. They make mistakes in their footing or their timing, that would not otherwise happen.  Part of my warm up exercises are designed to be simple so that I can see if the students are fully engaged in the class. I use the easy warm up as a way of seeing where everyone is physically and mentally. I can then adjust my cuing to suit the situation. Everyone learns differently. Some people need more explanation verbally, while others must see me at every turn.

Yesterday, in my line dance class one of my students was feeling very discouraged because she was not able to master the choreography in order to enjoy a few of the harder dances. I remind my classes that some days are easier than others.  We all know when we are burdened down by life that it is hard to focus on other things. I have no idea what may be going on in this person's life but the key is to find joy in the dances or steps that we can master on that particular day and not focus on the ones that we can't. As it turns out she had missed the last three or four weeks of classes.  It is very hard to miss classes and be able to keep up with the routines. Be kind to yourself when this happens. It takes time to catch up when we miss any class.

I discovered in one of my classes that one of the students had just lost her husband a few days ago. It was important for her to be there but difficult all the same. We need to go through the motions even if we are not feeling for it at the time. Eventually our bodies start to feel better and our minds relax. The magic happens when we are able to give our minds a break from the stories in our heads and participate in something bigger than ourselves.

I see the transformations take place in my students if they keep at the task at hand. Before they know it they are fully engaged and loving the challenge of each new step and instead of feeling defeated they are driven to master the dance.

I live for these magic moments! Thank you for sharing your time with me.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Beth