Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Doing something that is just for you

Today I am really stepping out of my comfort zone and going to a Belly Dancing class.  I say that so matter of factly but inside I am quaking.  I have a love/hate...no, that's not right maybe an acceptance/hate relationship with my belly and this is for me swing the pendulum back to the acceptance side.

I have almost talked myself out of it multiple times;  "There's too much to do before my friend flies in on Saturday."  "I am going to look so stupid"  "I am going to miss a week (the class is 5 weeks) when I go out of town for a meeting so what's the point?"  I do the same thing about going to my weigh in each week which is why I pre-paid for this class a few weeks ago.

The ironic thing is that when we were in the Phillippines from '78-80, I took a Hawaiian/Tahitian dance class and absolutely LOVED it.  If I think about that class I can still hear one of each of the tunes (Hawaiian and Tahitian) and I can still remember some of the moves.  I have searched long and hard for a class like that and it seems that Belly Dancing is the next closest thing.  However...at that time I didn't have body issues and didn't mind wearing the somewhat skimpy costume when we performed.  I highly doubt that this new class will lead to performing like that dance class of old but just the thought of putting on the traditional costume strikes fear in my heart.

The classes I have started and will start are just for me.  My pretty darned supportive husband just tells me "go ahead, I don't care if you do this if you will enjoy it."  Now- the morning classes really don't affect him too much and if I were doing this at night and upsetting our routine it might be a different story, but as long as I am happy, he is good with it.  When I go, I get an hour of time to concentrate on something that has nothing to do with work, with bills, with my illnesses or any of the other stresses in my life.  I get to do nothing more than learn something I am interested in, become more in tune with my body and have fun in the process.

Everyone needs a break now and then.  We need time to step out of our daily life and into something that has nothing to do with being a wife, a mom, an employee, a person who has a chronic illness or any other "who I am" label and just be yourself.  Time to do something that you enjoy without interruption.  If we can schedule a little "me" time; be it at the spa, at the park, at the gym or a bookstore; whatever catches our fancy, it will be good for our soul and your peace of mind.  

4 comments:

deb aka murphthesurf said...

I am so jealous. Well, actually so motivated :-) I am coming up with a bucketlist of must do's for me. I, like you, just want to keep on keeping on with my ra. Trying new things shouldn't be out of the picture just because we have ra...if anything it is inspiring me to do more, see more and be more...I'll just take the ra with me on this journey. Hope the class is sooo much fun! Looking forward to some pics of this :-)

Jules0705 said...

Hi Deb! The class was a lot of fun. I move too quickly and am moderately graceless- but it was a good workout! Stepping out of my comfort zone was much easier than I thought. I hope you find something that you want to try as well! Let me know what you find.

Jules

Twists of Feet said...

Good for you for going belly dancing!

Me? I'm riding my bicycle across the country.

Jules0705 said...

Twists of Feet- that is terrific! Hubby and I have been thinking of getting bicycles. It's something we could do together even if it's just leisurely rides in the neighborhood.