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Five weeks ago, I got certified to teach Zumba classes. On May 1st, I held my first demo Zumba class. On May 3, 2010 – I taught my first actual Zumba class. To date, I have taught a total of eleven classes and helped co-teach a few routines on another Zumba class.

If you asked me six months ago … what I would be doing today … I would probably reply … “Oh, I dunno … maybe … nothing!”

When I was younger – I have always been upbeat, outgoing, and confident. Put a challenge in front of me and chances are – I will jump at it with no hesitation.

I’ve always loved dancing and used it as a way to express myself. Dancing was my life. Dancing made me happy! In high school and college, I was very active in the dance groups in school. In college, I even worked as a fitness instructor incorporating dance in what I teach. As I grew older, sadly, my energy level slowly diminished. I got too busy with putting my family first that I “lost myself” in the process. I put my needs and my health in the back burner and got busy being mom.

I forgot to take care of me to the point where new people I meet have known me to be “always big”. Heck, even my own kids never believed that once upon a time, mom used to be this skinny chick. Since they believe that I have always been “big” they can not imagine me being anything different. Through the years as I watch myself get bigger, the vision of me dancing once again simply turned into a blur.

Don’t get me wrong … my life as a mom has been incredible and a blessing and I will never trade that for anything in the world. But sometimes, secretly … as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I think and I wonder … what if … I never stopped dancing. What would my life be like? I would dream of getting skinnier and being happier and just doze off … dreaming … just dreaming.

When I was younger I was comfortable dancing in front of crowds. I was comfortable teaching people. Twenty years later … the confidence slowly flew out the window until now …

A few weeks ago, I have stepped out of my comfort zone. I am ready to take on a new challenge – to put my needs in the fore front. This doesn’t mean that my family is no longer my first priority. They still are – but, my kids are bigger now – they are now self sufficient and not dependent on mom anymore for everything. I have changed MY FOCUS to taking care of me so I can live longer to watch my babies grow until they have their own babies.

As I teach my Zumba classes, I have found the “old me” once again …HAPPY! The confidence level has gone up. I no longer lay in bed wondering … “What if…” I go to bed excited to wake up the next day to see what will happen next …

I have “muted” the volume of my negative self-talk completely. If before I used to say to myself … “I am so fat and out of shape. I will never be happy.” I now hear this loud and clear … “I look good, I feel great and today is going to be another wonderful day!”

If there is one thing that I have learned in the last few weeks, it is – to not give up on your dreams and that it is not enough to just lay there and wonder … “what if” – Get off your butt and do something about it. Do not let other people’s opinion of you become your reality.

Here’s a video of me really stepping out of my comfort zone. This is a sampling of what I do in my Zumba class. If you are up to it … get off you butt and join me do the “Waka Waka”. It’s pretty easy and a lot of FUN.

If you are in the Redlands, CA area, come and visit me in one of my Zumba classes.

A few people have told me that they are surprised about how quickly I got the ball rolling in terms of getting my classes started. My response is just … I took action! I didn’t wait for an opportunity to present itself to me … I made it happen. It is possible … anything is possible. If you can totally visualize it – your mind will find ways for it to become a reality.