Last week it was International Dance Day. I celebrated with a fun and spontaneous Zumba birthday party on YouTube to celebrate twenty years of Zumba. It was a ton of fun and totally unexpected. I couldn’t help but think about how I first got started with Zumba.
My mom was the person that said I should try it out. My first class was on Valentines day in 2011. I invited a friend to meet me at the place and dance with me. I had no idea what to expect. From my first class I was hooked. It was a great workout and the energy of the class was awesome. Figuring out fancy footwork and choreography made me excited and happy. I learned how to samba, salsa, and more and felt free dancing. Free from judgement and worry.
Every class gave me the chance to get out of my head and get my body moving. No matter whatever stressful situation I was in whether it was relationship problems, work drama or school assignments and deadlines, I would put that outside of my mind for the hour and just let it loose and sweat it out. It was a huge stress reliever for me. The levels of stress and depression I felt was overwhelmingly scary at times. Panic and anxiety attacks were a daily thing. I’m so happy and grateful I had a positive way to process and release some of the stress I was going through.
Zumba became a part of my weekly routine and went to at least 2 (if not 3 or 4) classes a week. I made friends with the teachers and other people taking the class. Something about good music and good energy brings people together.
I kept going even when I was pregnant with my son and continued after he was born. Some of the ladies would carry or play with him when he was a baby baby so I could enjoy the few minutes of dancing before I’d have to go back to reality. .To this day, Damian loves being around music and loves to dance. One of my favorite memories of him is when he was about two years old He got up on the stage with the teacher Jenn, and danced with her in front of the entire class of over 30 people. It was so adorably sweet.
The thing that I love the most about dance is it's own language all on its own. People from all over the world can feel the music even if they don’t understand the words. You’d think I’d know Spanish by now! LOL When I let my guard down and move to the rhythm I can enjoy it more fully. When I relax and feel the music instead of worry about what I look like or compare myself to others I am more successful at nailing the steps and timing.
I am soooooo very thankful for my Zumba family. They have been a constant part of my life for over 10 years and I’m ready to keep dancing and spreading good energy and love for many more years to come.
I’ve been noticing first hand that when I look for good, I see more good around. The opposite is true too. if I look for problems, more problems appear.. I try my best to keep a positive mindset and stay on a high frequency as much as possible.
One of the ways I do this is by being mindful of what I give my attention to because it can affect me sometimes without me knowing it. . When I'm driving, I only listen to songs that make me feel good. I don’t listen to the traffic report or news because the tone is usually opposite of how I want to feel.
I still stay informed about what’s going on and I felt the nudge to write about this. The ugliest thing I keep hearing about over and over on the news and media is hate. So much hate spewing through racism and violence. I know that it comes from fear over generations and generations. It’s been going on for so many years. I have no idea how long it will take before we won’t hear of another police shooting or hate crime.
But I also refuse to believe that nothing can be done. What can we do? We can work on ourselves and heal our souls from whatever we went through. That takes work for sure. It means being honest and real and asking for help from Above.
The biggest responsibility parents have is to teach our children the importance of kindness and equality. We are all humans and all bleed the same. In one of the books Damian’s class read this week was about how when we all get xrays, we all look exactly the same -The same organs and skeleton and we all bleed red.
I choose to believe we can make the world a better place by holding space and coming from a place of love. When we do this, it's safe for us to be ourselves and be vulnerable. I want more real conversations and connections. Those are the moments that really matter most. Life is way too short so let’s stop with the small talk like the weather or what we ate for dinner. Let’s talk about what’s really going on even if they are hard conversations to have. The greater the risk the greater the reward. .
If you liked this blog and want more goodies like this, I’d love to have you jump into my group All Heart and Hopeful, Happy and Healthy Moms if its a good fit. If not, no biggie.
Last week was spring break and I surprised my little one with a short mini vacation to the cute little surf town in Santa Cruz. The drive down there was rough with traffic most of the way down. But once we got there, the weather was perfect for the beach, pool and the Boardwalk. I got us a decent motel less than half a block away from the action. Taking advantage of the free parking was great. Thankfully we went in the middle of the week so it wasn’t crowded and actually quite nice.
I’m from Hawaii so I really liked the charm and vibe of this surf and chill community. After a day and a half of the boardwalk with rides, games, miniature golf and fair food, we finally went to the beach. I laid out my towel and put sunscreen on the boy before he went to enjoy the water. I walked to the water's edge and felt the very cool (nearly freezing for me) water. I was instantly brought back to reality that I was in California, not back home.
As I watched the daredevil kids try to get into the water for a swim but getting pushed back to the shore because of the waves crashing close by. Each set that would come in the small up and down waves and then crescendo into a big beautiful glass like crest shaped barrel was so mesmerizing to me. Taking in all the saltwater air smell and the sand between my toes, I couldn’t help but think that’s how life is. A bunch of ups and downs and when it's all coming together forms the most beautiful wave. I’ve heard the saying ride the wave and go with the flow so many times. But what I’ve learned is that when I do ride the waves and enjoy the up and down journey it prepares me for the big beautiful outcome.
Another quote I’ve read is I can’t control the waves but I can learn how to surf. I had dreams to learn how to surf when I was a little girl and still sometimes in my dreams now I imagine riding a wave on a longboard looking fierce in a two piece. Above all I need to trust that God/Universe/Angels and Ancestors all have my back. Everything is supposed to be the way it is. My job now is to enjoy the ride and help others enjoy their ride along the way.
Rockstar Moms was created for the overworked, overwhelmed mom that has a ton on her mind and her to do list feels incredibly long. They may feel like they are drowning with all their responsibilities and feel like they’re stuck in a hopeless situation. She may be in a toxic relationship feeling alone and unworthy of being happy. She may be depressed and always angry and overly anxious without even realizing it. She may have young kids at home that need her to show up for them daily. She may feel like she’s living her own groundhog day over and over and over again.
Why did I create this course?? That woman was me about 6 years ago. My son was 2 years old and I was depressed, discouraged and on the verge of giving up. My son’s dad and I had a very rocky relationship and I nearly resigned to the idea that my life was going to stay the same or get worse and the thought that my life would get better seemed too good to be true. I felt alone and confused. I worked my tail off at my job that I hated because I was in survival mode.
Today my life looks and feels so much better than it did not that long ago. I reached out and asked for help when I realized that it was too much for me. I got into support groups and created my own community and started working on my connection to my Higher Power. I moved into my own apartment and got a better job closer to home so no more crazy commute. I worked on my self care and started loving myself for my resilient heart and not so focused on outside appearance or worrying about pleasing others but made myself a priority. I started dreaming again and little by little my dreams are becoming reality.
In a nutshell, I created this course to help moms realize and remember their worth. I want moms to know they are supported, seen, heard and above all loved. We have weekly momentum calls with group coaching to ask questions and get support. I share my steps on how I took back my life, reclaimed it and made it mine again. I remembered who I am and worked on my confidence and forgave myself for not knowing any better before. Now i see that my struggle can help so many more moms that are going through similar situations and that gives me hope and encouragement to do even more and speak out for those who can't or aren't ready to yet
I’m a single mom of a very energetic 8 year old boy. His dad and I split when our son was three years old so I’ve been doing the single mom thing for five years now. Looking back I can now see what I needed the most was to know that I wasn’t alone. Even though I felt like it, I wasn’t. My Higher Power, God, Universe was with me and had my back the whole time. Some days because of my crippling anxiety and depression, all I could do was say “God, please help me.” He totally did and still does daily. When I get out of my head and surrender and be open to possibilities, things happen that I could never have imagined. When my connection to the Divine is strong, I can believe in myself. I know God doesn’t make accidents and we are all here to serve a purpose. It was hard for me to believe in myself when I felt alone and not worth anything. Even though I was super shy, I joined groups that were positive, uplifting and welcoming. I surrounded myself with people that saw the good in me when I couldn’t see it myself. I started reaching out so i wouldn’t feel so alone. I would go to zumba class regularly. I joined a hula halau to connect me more to my roots and found some amazing .And I found a community online that was all about women empowerment and health. I started taking care of myself little by little and giving myself grace and created my own family and support system. I started dreaming again and investing in myself and my business. Now my tribe has grown even more and working with heart centered people in the growth mindset and abundance energy is so much more fulfilling and I am so very grateful for it all. Now I have the honor to help moms going through something similar. Our story is never the same, but may have some similarities and I believe that I went through my experience to help others not feel alone, give some help, cheer you on and encourage you to connect with your spiritual side.
