A number of years ago I was talking to a friend of mine about things that we would like to do someday. She told me that she had always thought about taking a bellydance class. We talked about it a bit but neither one of us ever did anything about it. Over the years I would give it a thought or two but it always just remained in the back of my mind until last year. I have been very unhappy with my body shape since I gave birth to my boys. A lot of my problem is that I do not always make healthy choices and do not exercise. At this point last year I was not exercising at all so it was no wonder that I was not losing any weight. I thought about bellydancing again and decided that it was time to learn a bit more about it and give it a try.
Last Fall I went to the local library and checked out a number of bellydance instructional DVDs. I really enjoyed the DVDs and ended up buying a few to help me practice. My favorites were by Neena and Veena Bidasha. I used Bellydance Fitness For Beginners - Arms, Abs, Hips, Buns & Thighs and Bellydance Fitness For Beginners - Basic Moves & Fat Burning for exercising. As for instructional use I used Discover Bellydance which consists of the three DVDs Basic Dance, Beyond Basic Dance and Mystic Dance. While I enjoyed the DVDs very much I felt that I wanted to learn more and felt that a class would be better than just using the DVDs. I did an online search and found Alanna Schultz. She taught in the area and also on the college level. I quickly enrolled in one of her classes and have been taking them ever since.
Bellydance has proven to be a fantastic outlet for me. I got to class for one or two hours once a week and I am able to just focus on myself. I know that sounds selfish but as a full-time mother I have neglected my body and my health and have chosen to just focus on the needs of my kids and my husband. I have since learned that unless I take some time for myself I am not able to be the wife and mother that I want to be. Bellydance has been the first thing that I have done for myself that takes me out of the house since G was born. It is one to two hours a week of time just for mommy. Of course, with my Firefighter's shift schedule he works at least every third week when I have class so I then arrange for either the babysitter or my parents to watch the boys. When I come home from my bellydance class I feel re-engergized and rejuvinated. I feel better about myself as a wife and a mother. Bellydance has helped me to build my self-confidence back up and to appreciate the mom body shape that I now have. It is also encouraging me to improve my body and to get back in shape.
Over the summer I signed up for Alanna's performance class. I went to class once a week for eight weeks and learned an entire routine which the class will be peforming at an art festival. Once the eight weeks were over I continued to practice the dance with some friends that I had made in class. We practiced twice a week over the remainder of the summer. One of the ladies who practiced with us had kids so everyone met at my house and all of the kids played together and the moms practiced our dancing.
Tonight our regular bellydance classes started up again. This time I registered for the intermediate class and it is kicking my butt! Alanna is teaching us how to layer our basic bellydance moves and we will be learning how to dance using a veil. I am determined to continue practicing my dance routine and the new layering techniques that we are now learning in class. By the time I left class tonight my abs, glutes and calves were burning they were so tired but it was a good tired. I am looking forward to continuing to take the classes and practicing at home. The boys like to help me practice. G likes to turn the CD player on for me and M likes to run around us while we are practicing. Sometimes I listen to my CD of the bellydance music in the car while we are driving. Even the boys will ask to listen to it. So, in the end, bellydance seems to be good for the entire family!!
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