Samba Dance Workouts With Body Joy

The nation's getting bigger - the nation's getting rounder! It's a statement that applies to most nations in the world these days. So we all exercise in various ways and for various reasons. The immediate effects of any aerobic workout are to improve physical fitness and overall health. This will be the case whether it's running on a treadmill, swimming, Pilates, Zumba, Ashtanga Yoga or anything else. Any form of movement that raises your pulse rate, makes you breathe harder and work up a little sweat will have the same benefits. You'll also strengthen your muscles, improve your stamina and boost your immune system. It's a win - win situation. Apart from that a regular workout will make you feel great and look great. Is it always a pleasurable experience? Yes, if you get a kick out of going to the gym and performing repetitive exercises. Certainly if you enjoy being part of a team and playing sports such as football, soccer or rugby. Not everyone, however, is that way inclined - but everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the power of their bodies. If you're not one of the people who enjoys running, lifting weights, swimming or playing sports, then have you ever thought about dancing? It takes all your concentration to keep your mind active enough to remember steps and your whole body lights up with the energy of exercise. This combination of mind and body activity creates that great feel-good factor that combines mind, body and spirit in what Theresa Stevens calls "Body Joy".

Get moving and start to get fit to experience "Body Joy". One of the most common pieces of advice for people suffering from depression is to go for a walk. The simple act of placing one foot in front of the other has a very calming and therapeutic effect. It's almost meditative. When we exercise our bodies produce endorphins. In fact any activity that makes us breathe harder will have the same effect. Basically, doing things that make us happy encourages a release of endorphins. The positive effects of endorphins include reducing stress, boosting the immune system and slowing the aging process. How about that? By finding something that makes you breathe more deeply and has you feeling great, you're actually postponing growing old. Combine that with the fact that if you're learning to dance new steps you're too busy to worry about much else as long as the class lasts. And the chances are that you can forget those sleepless nights because you'll be so tired that you'll fall asleep and rest more deeply.

A lot of people also listen to music as they exercise these days. When you take on Samba you get the wonderful music and you get to fully interact with it as well. You become the music and before you know it you forget that you're even working out at all!

You can, of course, nearly get the same effect at the gym. But will you get any "Body Joy"? Well, yeah, of course you'll get a feeling of great satisfaction and all those endorphins you release just through the act of running up the stairs to the gym will make you feel like you're flying. Any physical exercise will achieve that. So let's think about what else you can do in the gym to get the endorphins flowing. You've got your treadmills, your step machines and your rowing machines. As long as you've got Samba music playing on the mp3 over the headphones I guess that's OK. If you want to be a bit more social then you can go to a spinning class or two and maybe even join an aerobics class. Now we're getting close as the combination of activity and music will really add to your enjoyment of the experience. What about if your gym offers a Zumba class? Well that'll really hit the spot and there's no denying it's a great workout in a social environment. But Samba is a real life dance from a real live culture where the people vibrate with its energy at the core of their carnival. Hell, it's even got its own National Day (Dec 2nd).

If you're one of the people who's ever taken out a gym membership and stopped going after a few visits then the chances are you live a busy and hectic life. Sometimes going to the gym is an extra trip we can do without. Even going out to a dance class (most of them seem to take place in the evenings) can seem like an inconvenience but once we're there it's all worthwhile. The social aspect of meeting a group of people is one very good reason for going. If you simply can't find the time to do either then you can learn to dance at home using some of the video tutorials that are around today. Some are straightforward dance tutors and make little reference to the health aspects of a workout with dance. Others are exercise videos that concentrate on aerobic exercise or Zumba and pay little attention to the joyful aspect of dance. Others really embrace Samba and recognize its potential as a healthy workout program that can really help your mind, body and soul. Dancing has always been a joyful experience for me. With "Body Joy" it can become a holistic experience for women and offers advice, videos, blogs and help on everything related to losing weight by dancing!