I had attempted it once a few years back when I had just turned 40. After all, I loved the idea of dancing. I could instinctively nod my head and tap my foot to any music that had a catchy beat. I imagined I could be an awesome dancer if only I had a chance.
University of Nevada, Reno student, Janessa Holman, is not only a Zumba instructor but also cancer survior. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 15, Holman talks about her journey back to the dance floor.
She describes not being able to walk up the stairs on her own while she was sick, but nevertheless has defied the odds and returned to dance after nearly a year of chemotherapy.
I’ve never really enjoyed exercise. I don’t like the feeling of being out of breath, and I think sweat is gross. But for weight loss, and for overall good health, exercise is a necessity.
I’ve tried tons of different workouts — from yoga to pilates to HIIT to running. But the one type of workout that I’ve never gotten sick of is Zumba.
Zumba was one of the first workouts I ever really tried and liked. Even before I started losing weight, and still lived at home with my parents, I went to a regular Zumba class twice a week at the YMCA.
How I inspired a fitness instructor and social media influencer to become a writer here on Medium
The 2 guys who were married are both Instagram influencers and YouTube stars from Brazil. I was looking forward to meeting my brother’s friends from South America. We were all going to stay with him for a week.
They needed only ten sign ups to get started. I was the 13th. When the class began a week later, only seven people showed up. The instructor was keen to get started with the small group, despite. A quick look around the class with my hypermetropic eyes, told me all the details I needed. The average age of the group was 35. The average weight, 70 kilos. I could feel six pairs of eyes scanning every curve (or not) of my body when I wasn’t watching. I wasn’t too badly off, having shed a little over ten kilos in excess that I had carried on me, the first time I tried Zumba, six years back.
Are you ever unaware of how much you care about something until it’s destroyed in front of your face?
Maybe you didn’t want the rest of a sandwich, but after your friend pops it into their dumb mouth and chews it, it’s suddenly the most important sandwich in the world, and now it’s gone.
Sometime in the year 2011, nearly two years after my failed attempt at Zumba, I woke up to the gross realities of weight gain. The patellas in my knees hurt, so I dreaded stairs. I looked like a sack of potatoes, so I dreaded mirrors. I imagined only large people as warm and friendly and so I dreaded everyone else. I only wore European and American brands because I didn’t fit into the Asian extra large anymore.
Six people — four men and two women— were arrested in Iran for teaching Zumba, a Colombian fitness routine, and other “Western” dance moves. The six filmed themselves and posted the clips on social media apps like Telegram and Instagram.
I used to be an avid runner, meaning I ran 5–6 days a week, for 2–3 miles per session. I was pretty fit. Not super skinny, not ultra healthy, but doing good. Then with lots of changes in life and location over the past few years, the gym went straight to the back burner somehow. As we’ve settled into our new routine in a new city and state, my husband and I finally decided it was time to get…
