Have you heard of XaBeat? Maybe not, but do you remember step aerobics classes from the 1990s? XaBeat is similar, a choreographed routine set to current pop or hip-hop music. It is without the step but if you find a class get ready to sashay, Charleston, squat, and grapevine among others moves. I love it because anyone at any level can do it and you are almost guaranteed to have a smile on your face and get a great workout without even realizing it.
I stumbled upon XaBeat when I was working with a trainer at a local gym. The music was blaring from the studio, and I decided I needed to check it out. After my first class I fell in love with it. Class offerings were limited so I began arranging my schedule around the class. It didn’t matter if it was a weekend or a weekday, I made a point to get my dancing in. Or in healthier terms, my workout in. Has there ever been something that you loved so much you designed your life around it?
When the pandemic began, my gym no longer offered the class. I missed it so much that I started searching for available XaBeat classes online. The first one I found was 900 miles away through the Laramie, Wyoming, Community Center, but with Zoom the distance was not an issue. The first two months were free, and I was able to join sometimes but since it was in another time zone my attendance was spotty because it conflicted with my work schedule. Soon they started charging $10 per class and since the timing wasn’t ideal, I went searching again. I found another option called Spring Valley XaBeat in a little town in Wisconsin called Spring Valley. This was in May of 2020, and I have been dancing with them ever since.
The founder of Spring Valley XaBeat, Lori Kapping, also has a health and wellness business called Team BE+. Through Team BE+ Lori holds a weekly challenge. One of her recent challenges she asked us the following question: “What do you love to do that you haven’t done in a long time?” She shared her story of a time when she was asked this question. Her answer was that she loves to dance, and she wasn’t doing it. She dug in and that is how Spring Valley XaBeat came about. She researched how to learn it, attended training, and began teaching XaBeat in her small town of 1,200 people. Three years later she is still dancing, now with several women around the country via zoom. I too love dance, and because of finding Spring Valley XaBeat and meeting Lori I am able to dance at least three days a week and be challenged in my nutrition and my fitness. Lori has brought many positive gifts to my life and has had the biggest impact on me in 2020 and 2021 to date.
Now back to the original challenge question: What do you love to do that you haven’t done in a long time? I do love to dance, but recently, for me the answer wasn’t dancing, I was already doing that, and it is a part of my life. The answer for me was watercolor painting. I painted all through high school and college, but for some reason I put it aside when I started working. I have been the art coordinator for my daughters’ extra-curricular art program for the last two years. As part of my role, I develop numerous art projects for the children of the school and demonstrate examples. Watercolor is always one of the projects because it is accessible and an easy medium for kids to explore. When Lori asked her challenge question I thought, “I love to paint, and I don’t make time for it.” Fortunately, because of my role as art coordinator I had all the supplies. Inspired by her question, I sat in my sun filled room with a warm fire with classical background music, and with my brushes in hand I painted two paintings just like I used to do. It was had been nearly 20 years since I painted seriously, but my talent was there. As I painted, I had fond memories of paintings of some of my past works, the classes I took and ideas for the future. I felt joyful and appreciative of the challenge and the opportunity to bring joy into my life through painting.
I am grateful for the events of 2020; if it had not been for Covid, I would not have found the expanded access to XaBeat classes across the country, I would not have met Lori, and I highly doubt I would have picked a paintbrush back up. What do you love that you can do today to bring you joy?
This brings me to today’s Star Stunning realizations:
- Be Inspired. Make time for things that fill your cup. A simple challenge can change your life and bring you fulfillment. Embrace things that make you happy, inspired, and motivated. What fills your cup?
- Don’t give up on finding that thing. You may not find what you are looking for the first time, don’t give up. There is bound to be someone else or some organization providing exactly what you are looking for. When you find it, you will know right away that it is right.
- If you love it, do it. Sometimes our biggest hurdle is ourselves. As busy women there are so many demands on our time including needs for the kids, needs for our partners, needs for our homes. We often forget about the needs for ourselves. This is the biggest need of all. If you can do the things you love, you will be rewarded with joy. Joy may be a goal in your life and if it isn’t, think about it, you may want it to be.
- Don’t let time get in your way. No matter how long it has been since you picked up that golf club, ice skates, or paint brush, if you once loved doing it and it came to your mind pick it up again. You will be amazed how easy it is to live in those shoes once again. The key is to keep doing it. If you love it, make it a habit and once you have figured out how to fit it in, it will always fit in.
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