ZUMBA - ePortfolio Assignment

So I am technically a returning student and, given that it's been years since I last made an ePortfolio entry, I have elected to post my Zumba class entry here, on my blog. At least until I can find the website that all my other classes were presented through...

Which means that you (few, nonexistent. Mostly my mom and sisters) get to read my impressions on my Zumba class! :D Which I really, really enjoyed!

Maaike Bennett                              HLAC-1035-003-Sp17                                  4/22/17

What did you learn about “lifelong wellness” from taking this General Education class?

I learned that exercise can be really, really fun. And that whether we are healthy or not is largely based on our choice to be so. Whether it be in actively participating in class, keeping track of what I eat, or making sure that I don’t become dehydrated. The only one watching out for my health is me, so assuming that everything will be alright when I am not putting forth any effort of my own is a false concept. So the first step in having lifelong wellness is in the choice: am I going to be healthy, or am I not? If I am, then I have to do something about it.

How would you apply this information to your life?

I actually took two physical education classes before I served a mission in Japan for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (currently I am considered a returning student). One of those classes was Social Dance, and in that class I learned that dancing is a partnership—one person is always in the lead, and one person always must follow. They can’t both lead or follow at the same time, otherwise they don’t get anywhere. And relationships are the same way—there has to be a balance, and we can’t be in charge all the time.

That being said, in Zumba the situation is a little different—it’s definitely still dance, but there are no partners involved!

So I suppose the life lesson from this class is about the individual. That it’s important to be able to strike out on your own and try new things, even when they are scary and you have no one at your side.

Additionally, one thing that was said at the beginning of the year stuck with me for the whole semester: that whether or not we did the dance perfectly didn’t matter. Only that it was an approximation of the correct move, and that we were putting our best and most enthusiastic effort into it. In that way I’ve been able to enjoy the class without the added stress of feeling like a failure every time I mess up on my footwork or can’t keep up with the beat (a stressful point from my other dance class). I've tried my best, and felt a little silly sometimes, but have been happy in my efforts.

Life is exactly the same way! We aren’t going to get it right every time, nor are we always going to be able to keep up with the group. But that’s okay—we are all human. The fact of the matter is that we need to find joy in life and companionship with those that are around us (I feel regretful that it took as long as it did for all of us to start talking in class. Which, I suppose, is another life lesson).

What is your intention to continue to practice what you have learned in your life and why?

The healthiest I’ve ever been in the last ten years was as I served my mission, walking and biking and keeping active. I really want to continue that habit and just try a variety of different sports and exercise activities, to get back to that point where I felt alive and didn’t have to worry about certain health conditions brought on by a lack of exercise.

I feel like Zumba is an excellent start in finding that combination of exercise and joy, resulting in me feeling good and happy at the end of each day. I will probably take another Zumba class in the future, or at least another dance class (maybe Swing this time?) and in between I will focus on riding my bike as much as possible.

Being healthy really can be fun, and I think that if I can keep that as my focus then future steps will be easy.

General ideas for improving this course?

I really enjoyed all the dances that we learned this semester! But we only get to meet once a week. So based on the desire to become more healthy throughout the week, I think that it would be really wonderful to have a resource through Canvas with demonstration videos of the dances so that we can continue to practice them in preparation for class on Saturday. If that’s not feasible, then links to any other suggested online resources (other Zumba dances the teacher likes) would be fantastic.

An available music list would also be great!

Exercise/Food Journal App that I would Recommend:

I tried out S (Samsung) Health for this class. It was free and really helpful. It allowed me to keep track of my eating, sleeping, a variety of types of exercise, and even had preset goals for me to work on! Although a little buggy sometimes, it still did a good job.

I do wish that it had the option of creating my own goals instead of being limited to the ones they had present, but that’s one of the few things that I disliked.

I think my favorite feature was probably the sleep feature, which helped me realize how much sleep I was getting…or not getting. And that a lot of my problems with work and energy had to do with having a poor sleep schedule.