Sweat, Music, & Goosebumps: How Movement Reinvigorates Our Spirit
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I sat on my rear end a lot in 2020. I’d venture to guess many of you did too. Sure, there were people energized by their newly found time at home that took up home projects and began a work out regime for the first time ever. While those endeavors are commendable, it was not what I did. I had all the energy and go-getter vibes in 2019 and in years prior. My life pre-pandemic was an active one I feel proud of, fueled by the glorious feeling of productivity. In 2020, and for most of the first half of 2021, however, I was not so productive.
The saying goes that a habit is formed by repeating behavior or a certain activity for 21 days. The habit of minimal movement paid me a visit and didn’t leave for quite some time. Being in my house and doing things like reading, binging Netflix, going for an occasional walk, and finding ways to entertain my two sons that didn’t involve a hunk of plastic with an illuminated screen and the internet attached, was what monopolized my personal time after work most days. It began to feel like the things I did once in a while for fun, really should have been at the forefront of my priorities pre-pandemic. For many of us, I believe there was something to be learned in terms of the activities we yearned to do that suddenly we no longer could.
With so much sitting going on, I noticed on days or evenings when I would occasionally walk farther than just up my basement stairs, my mind had more clarity. The mundane and repetitive nature of each day seemed a smidgeon better when I moved my legs-even if only around the block with my furry friend in tow. Perhaps this is what eventually propelled me to do a hell of a lot more than just put one foot in front of the other around my block, my once motivated inner voice reared it’s hidden head and shouted from within — sign up for a dance class! It’s been too long!
I saw that the dance studio I would attend monthly was open, and immediately clicked the sign-up button for “Grooves” class that following Sunday. Grooves is a class where no choreography or routine is taught, instead it’s a fun, sweaty game of follow the the leader. Paul, the instructor, and studio owner, does a few moves to a count of eight and everyone in the class mimics the movement. A butterfly bush sprouted in my stomach after the…
