are you depressed? dancE for your health
pRACTICE SESSION WITH (1) SITTING (1) STANDING ZUMBA GOLD sTUDENT
74yr old Grandma Shellie, The Zumba Gold Queen (aka Dr. Shellie) has taught Zumba Gold in health clubs, meeting rooms, recreation centers, Assisted Living faciities, Independent Living facilities, Skilled Nursing Care, Adult Day Care Centers, Parkinson's meetings, Senior Centers, outdoor Latin festivals, schools, private parties and even on the beach.
The passionate, pulsating Latin music entices people of all ages. Setting self-consciousness aside, Zumba dancers move with reckless abandon as their bodies naturally move to the Latin rhythms. Whether you are in a good or bad mood or have aches and pains, you get into the dance. Dancing and music has been proven to alter your moods and reduce pain because it changes brain chemistry.
Grandma Shellie doesn't give medical advice. That's the role of your health professional. She is a reporter relating stories shared by Zumba students in her classes or who she's danced with at workshops or events. Grandma Shellie openly shares her own personal experiences. When Grandma Shellie is stressed or depressed, she dances. This is her therapy and this appears to be the therapy of many women who suffer from mild anxiety and depression, frustration, anger or impatience.
Grandma Shellie, known as The Zumba Gold Queen in Florida, Arizona, NY and VA, personally does not take any medications of any kind, including over-the-counter. She prefers natural medicine, herbs and homeopathic medicines as her first choice of treatment. If that doesn't work over a period of time, she will go to her health care professional for consultation.
Dr. Shellie (aka Grandma Shellie) doesn't advocate that people should stop using meds to reduce anxiety or anti-depressants, if prescribed by their health care professional. Zumba Fitness is her medicine.. when she's tired, she gets energy from a Zumba class. When she's sad...she's happier after teaching/taking a class. When she's angry she'll work through it after a Zumba class. She says she can think more clearly and resolve the issue, after dancing.
What are the physiological changes going on in your body to alter these moods and cause changes?
“Dance gets you into your body,” says Nancy Cassman, a dance/movement therapist and founder of Express Your Self, a dance and movement center in Boulder, Colo. “In our society, people sit at desks and on couches all the time, and we’ve become very brain-oriented,” she points out. “Dance bridges the gap between the brain and the body so that you tap into your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental being.”
Cassman believes wholeheartedly that when you start moving your body, you’ll start moving the energy in your life too. One reason is that dance releases endorphins, so it functions as a mood enhancer. Part of her work as a movement therapist is exploring how and where people experience emotion in the body. In dance movement therapy, movement - especially the sensual, rhythmic response aroused by dance and music - is used as a way of bypassing the conscious mind and making contact with the inner emotional world. Through dance, hidden emotions can be expressed in a nonverbal way and accepted by the conscious self.
A modest amount of regular exercise effectively relieves mild to moderate depression, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2005;28:1-8). The results of this study add to the evidence that exercise can relieve the symptoms of mild to moderate depression in people using no other treatment. Furthermore, these findings show that the amount of exercise currently recommended by public health officials of 8 calories per pound per week is effective, but an amount of exercise that expends less energy is not. Based on these findings, healthcare providers can offer current exercise guidelines to people with mild to moderate depression: at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most days of every week.
"Mild to moderate depression is a leading cause of disability and premature death in the developed world, second only to heart disease. Symptoms include depressed mood, loss of interest in activities, body weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, fatigue or loss of energy, and inability to concentrate. Antidepressant medications are often prescribed to treat depression, which usually work by increasing brain levels of serotonin or norepin-ephrine, chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that calm or excite the nervous system and improve mood. Although they are generally effective at relieving mild to moderate depression symptoms, some of these medicines can cause serious and uncomfortable side effects, including sexual dysfunction. Other treatment approaches include psychotherapy, dietary changes such as sugar and caffeine restriction, herbal remedies such as Saint John’s wort, and exercise. A number of studies have found that exercise can reduce the symptoms of depression, and one study found that it can be as effective as medication in treating mild to moderate depression.
Lui Tucker says: "Okay, let's have a show of hands! How many of you have had a really rotten day at work and gone dancing knowing that you're going to come out of dancing feeling better? And how many of you have had some sort of difficulty with a parent or spouse or spousal equivalent or child (or boss or co-worker or subordinate) and gone dancing knowing that you're going to get at least some temporary relief from your stress? And, lastly, how many of you have suggested to a friend who is out of a relationship or out of work or out of sorts, "Hey, come to my dance class with me!" – knowing that your friend will meet new people, network, or otherwise get a dose of social connectivity to boost the spirits?
You can do Zumba Gold standing upright or we can do Zumba Gold in a chair or wheelchair, as shown in this photo from a Chair Zumba Class in Delray Beach, FL. People have reported working up a sweat, reduced pain and more happiness after a 1 hr class.
That's what is so wonderful about this form of dancing that we all have chosen as a pastime – in addition to being enjoyable, it's therapeutic. It is good for your body, good for your soul, good for your mood, and good for what ails you! Sometimes, as it turns out, it is also good for your job, good for your social world, and good for your love life!
Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 602-708-9018
Facebook: www.facebook.com/grandmashellieteacheszumba
Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 602-708-9018
Facebook: www.facebook.com/grandmashellieteachszumba
ORDER ZUMBA GOLD DVDs HERE
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 602-708-9018
Facebook: www.facebook.com/grandmashellieteachszumba
ORDER ZUMBA GOLD DVDs HERE