PUBLISHED IN [GHOSTWRITTEN]

Ugh…exercise. It’s a chore, right?

It sure was for me. (Dear God…was it ever.) I was the teen who had to have the perfect body…and I worked for it, every single day. The results paid off.

But then came real life: a job, my marriage, a home, kids, even two cats who owned the place.

Suddenly I didn’t have two hours a day to sweat to the oldies anymore (or whatever Method du Jour I’d devised to punish my body into staying what I considered “hot”).

Sadly…I’m Lazy (Yes, I Said It)

The problem is, I may just be the laziest person on earth. Yes, I, Miss Two Hour Workout, HATE exercise. Hate it. Always have.

I was able to hang on through the sweat and the pain and the when will this be over? rebellious little sneaky thoughts all the way through my twenties and into my early thirties, and then something just…snapped. I couldn’t do it anymore.

Then one day, my sister (and all-time bestie) dragged me to something that changed my life: a belly dancing class.

Dancing for the Totally Uncoordinated? I’m In!

Of course, my sister is one plane trip and I’ve-got-to-hold-down-a-job from Dancing With the Stars.

I’m two left feet from not falling into the punch bowl during Whip/Nae Nae at a wedding line dance.

But whatever. I love my sister more than one little trip to Urgent Care, so I agreed to go along.

And…holy…um, holy wow. (Caught myself just in time there.)

I LOVED it.

If I Can Do It…Well, You Know the Rest

The above might be the single time in my life that I’ve used a cliché and meant it. The very first time I did a hip lift-and-drop (you’ll learn it too…it takes, like, two seconds), I transformed from that person who hated exercise to an exotic, sinewy, gorgeous dance lover.

And those are two things I never thought I’d say: that I love dance now…and I love exercise.

Belly dancing is truly transformative. It’s actually a collection of basic moves. Once you have them down, you can be as simple or complex as you like, and you move to the music however you like.

But the magic is in the way you feel doing it. You don’t feel like you’re working out. You don’t feel as if you’re engaging, and tightening, your core (but you are). You don’t feel you’re strengthening your thighs and calves and sculpting your arms (but you are). You don’t think you’re lengthening your entire body à Pilates (but you are).

At first I didn’t notice these changes. But over time, as I shimmied and snake-armed and knee-dropped around the house going through my day (yes, I was immediately addicted), I realized my body was changing.

And so was my health.

I was getting stronger. Leaner. My endurance was better; I was no longer tired by the end of my day. And I was having fun. I began doing belly dancing videos I found on YouTube. I taught my kids to do it and we had little recitals.

Today belly dancing is my go-to not just for health, but for the wonderful, transformative, and dare I say it? Oh heck, why not…sexy way I feel. Give it a try. Right now. Just five moves.

You’re going to love it…just like I do.