MY DAY: BELLY DANCING

Not every workout is for everybody. I know because I have been exercising for several decades now on a regular basis. Some of the exercises are ok, some are not. But one thing is constant, I make a commitment every year and keep it. I have had the threadmill in the house and its looks tired and tattered. The workout video. The gym membership. Kickboxing. The walk in the mall. My yoga class was the worse. But, what fun is all this??? Now that the new year is almost half over, I am bored with the norm, and think I will take up belly dancing. Costume and all. Yeh. Belly Dancing. So, off to the computer to be enlightened. The internet is so fabulous. I could not believe the stuff under googling belly dancing.

Here are some of the more fine points. Belly dancing is all about rhythm. You have to know how to move and what feels good, whether it’s when you are stepping to a sizzling beat or in your own zone on an elliptical machine. It is no secret that dance can help you get fit, but now experts are telling us that it can do so much more. Through belly dance and other forms of rhythmic movement like the Nia Technique and striptease aerobics, women can improve their overall health and even fall in love – or at least make peace – with their bodies and their inner spirit. The best part is you can get into your 2009 clothes.

Dance forms like hip hop and salsa (love salsa) are especially popular because they are styles that celebrate, accentuate and celebrate your curves and rhythms. That, I might add, happen to come natural. So many people think that belly dancing is designed solely to please men because it is so sexual. It is a sensual dance, but I found that it had deeper roots. When you are belly dancing, you are using your abdominal and low back muscles to “rock and roll” your hips. You are also massaging the womb, ovaries, kidneys and liver. All of that shimmying and shaking helps pump the lymphatic system. What you say!

This is getting better and better. The best part of my research was that belly dancing mimics the moves women make naturally in childbirth. It is a dance with roots in sub- Saharan countries. And it is a serious exercise that is giving out new diplomas. For example, you can now attend a striptease aerobics class, stripology. Some dancers are blending the moves into leg strengthening, squats, (ouch), pilates with the quarterback snap. Anything that makes your body more flexible, limber and stronger is for me.

Ok, I am convinced. I am ready to enroll. Where is the nearest belly dancing class?

Do, let me know. Come and join us. We can have our own tribe. Be assured that there are plenty of dance classes. Stumbled up on one this week at Southwest Center Mall in the “Community Room”. Of Course with Edna Pemberton at the helm.

Ester Davis is a writer and celebrated television host/producer. Follow us on Facebook.com/esterdavis. Comments: estyler2000@aol.com