Fitness Buzz: July 25, 2007

Sexy Summer Salsa Party
Shake off those Pounds!

If you’re ready to put some sizzle into your fitness routine,
try my "Latin Rhythm" Workout DVD for a routine that gives you a low-impact, calorie burning aerobic routine using smooth and sultry moves of the Salsa, Meringue and the Cha-cha! You’ll learn the basics and then turn up the tempo to combine all the steps into one hot and spicy workout. Best of all, Salsa’s fluidity of style is an antidote to the kind of rigidity that often results from a standard exercise routine. That’s why I think it can round out anyone’s regime.

Many years ago, I took an African Jazz dance class from Russell Clark in Venice, California. With the windows open, an ocean breeze blowing through the room, live African drummers pounding out complex and intense beats and Russell leading us, the experience was tribal, cathartic, sweaty and oh so sexy. 

We would loosen up by isolating different body parts, rotating the hips, butt, stomach, chest, shoulders, spine, neck and head. As we progressed and got looser the drums would pound faster. In time, we were encouraged to surrender to the music and the mood, letting our own instincts take over and abandoning ego and self-consciousness. Everyone in the class who was capable of surrendering used the word “spiritual” to describe what happened in there.

What prompted my memory of those days was the recent Latin Festival I attended. As soon as I heard that irresistible music I couldn’t stop my feet from moving. Nobody else could either; the whole crowd was dancing away. Like African dancing, Salsa requires a real fluidity of movement. Your entire body has to be kept loose, because at various times you have to isolate each part to make the proper movements. You thrust your hips forward, tuck your butt back, rotate your hips, lift one shoulder up, drop the other down and thrust your chest out.  When you dance Salsa, a primal, sexual energy flows.

It’s no wonder Salsa dancing is gaining popularity so rapidly across the country. Women and men are showing up to dance clubs, like the Conga Room in Los Angeles and dance classes in their gyms. Making the time and effort to exercise are both a lot easier when you find something you enjoy. Then exercising doesn’t seem so much like work; it’s more like a fun party.  

I hope you’ll give Salsa try. I’m sure the next time you hear a Ricky Martin song or any of the great Latin bands out there, the music will get you moving and you’ll discover a workout that renews your spirit as well as your body. Just as salsa in the bottle spices up your meals, Salsa dancing can put the spice back in your life.

Get dancing today...