I've been having a lot of urges to exercise lately. After lots of depression and wanting to do nothing but lay in bed, it feels good to want to move again. I know it won't be easy,though, I've gotten into terrible shape from my inactivity. I bought some dance videos so that I could at least make workouts enjoyable. I got beginner's bellydance, Core Rhythms Latin Dance, and have ordered Yoga Booty Ballet, but that one hasn't arrived yet.
So last night for New Years', I got together with some girlfriends who are also single. We consumed some fruit of the vine, played Go Goddess, which was great, and then after the ball dropped and we watched Ryan Seacrest fill in for Dick Clark, who's still learning to talk again after his stroke, we popped in the bellydance video and had some fun.
I picked up some coin hip scarves on ebay so we'd get some nice jingle when we shimmied. We tied them on and started bellydancing. We felt like a couple of old idiots, and even just learning the basic moves was tough, but we had a great time! I think the hardest thing was that I felt so un-graceful. The girls in the video were so graceful, so feline, in their movements, and I felt like a hippo by comparison. There was a big difference between the movements of their B cups and my triple D's when we did the shoulder shimmies, I can tell you! It also reminded how old I'm getting. The arthritis in my shoulders made me barely able to lift my arms. Boy have I gone downhill!
Despite the difficulties, I still had a good time doing it and want to continue with it. I got a great workout. We did 30 minutes, which was longer than I thought we would manage. I really felt it in my stomach muscles. It looks easy when you watch the video, but it's a lot tougher than it looks, and my muscles got a good working. I did the hip shimmies quite well, which was surprising to me. The best thing about it was that it made working out fun. I felt uncoordinated and clumsy, and I thank heavens that no one saw me, but it was still a blast, and I can see how doing dance videos on a regular basis will help improve my strength, flexibility, and most importantly, my self-esteem.
Dance on, fat bellydancing chick!
