Working Hard: Mentally vs Physically

There is a time to work hard physically at the gym and then if you are lucky there are classes that challenge your brain!

Line Dance is definitely a challenge for your brain. Once you know the steps it can be a wonderful workout but it is not meant to be like an aerobics class.

When you are in my aerobics class, the goal is to improve our cardiovascular system. I intentionally keep the steps simple because I want you to perform at your highest level, while paying attention to your posture and your intensity level. If you are stumbling through the class, trying to keep up to the teacher, you may find that the only thing you get out of the class is frustration!

The best part about line dancing is the way that it forces you to think! To get the steps for each dance you have to memorize the choreography and how it works with the music.  Once you have that dance under control, each time it comes up, you feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment and joy as you move smoothly around the dance floor.

The next challenge that arises in line dance is the similarity between the dances and how you cannot let one blend into the other!

This summer I had to teach my level 1 and level 2 classes together. To keep everyone interested, I chose to teach dances that were slow love songs. This way my level 2 students were able to learn some new routines, while my level 1's had a chance to keep up due to the music being slow.

Yesterday, for the last two minutes of class, I pulled out an old slow song that my level 2's knew very well at the end of last session. I did not teach it but went over one wall to jog their memory. I was trying to give them a moment to stop thinking and enjoy a moment of success from their past!  Well, unfortunately, the dance was similar to one that I had just taught both levels ( which I thought was a good thing) and most of the students were blending the two together for the first four walls! We persisted and about half way through the song, we were all on track with the dance.

As much as you can find moments of joy in dance class, you really do have to keep thinking.  It is such a wonderful hour of exercise for the brain.

Have a great day,
Beth