Today we went to the Bayside Community Center where we joined a group of people for a short zumba class. As a college student lacking exercise, I was happily anticipating this site visit. Upon arrival, we jumped right in with warming up our bodies to get ready for zumba! There were a good amount of seniors attending as well as some middle-aged folks who were interested in being active. I had imagined that the room would be full of mirrors, like a dance room, but on the contrary, there were no mirrors! I actually preferred it to be that way because everyone can then dance without embarrassment or shame. It was fun observing the seniors as well as my classmates do zumba and to be quite honest some moves were difficult to imitate. After a few songs, some of my classmates and I were huffing and puffing due to its intensity. I remember in the beginning I would feel my joints cracking as I do not exercise often (sad times). Either way, we all had fun doing zumba with the great music.
While doing the moves (along with the energetic instructor) I thought about the importance of physical activity among older adults. I noticed that zumba classes like today are avenues of socialization for those attending. It is way easier to meet people when you are having fun dancing (or suffering, depending on the person). I hope that this program will continue to happen for an extended amount of time because community can definitely be built in these classes. I also like how there was a whole Valentine’s Day theme, with everyone wearing red and that even some songs were about love in Spanish.
While doing the moves (along with the energetic instructor) I thought about the importance of physical activity among older adults. I noticed that zumba classes like today are avenues of socialization for those attending. It is way easier to meet people when you are having fun dancing (or suffering, depending on the person). I hope that this program will continue to happen for an extended amount of time because community can definitely be built in these classes. I also like how there was a whole Valentine’s Day theme, with everyone wearing red and that even some songs were about love in Spanish.