Article in January 2012 edition of "My Generation" magazine in The American Journal
Zumba: My Drug of Choice
It did not take me long to figure out that I needed to replace my drug of choice with something else when I stopped drinking alcohol. My first favorite brand of alcohol was beer in my younger days. Wine then became my choice as I became more sophisticated in my taste as I got older. As my metabolism waned, as it does with age, I went the route of a low carbohydrate approach when I bathed my taste buds with scotch and water.
I had a friend tell me she lost a ton of weight by stopping drinking altogether. The thought had never occurred to me so I tried it for a couple of months with a slight increase in my weight, so I gave up not drinking! I never thought I had a drinking problem but I knew I considered it to be helpful while coping with various stresses in my life. I referred to my drug of choice as “happy juice.”
Then a very dear friend inspired me to join her in her journey in sobriety when she joined Alcoholic Anonymous. I had often shared good times with her and never entertained the thought that she would ever consider herself to have a drinking problem. I figured that this was just another one of her paths and after a few months she would find that she wasn’t really an alcoholic and we would continue our occasional rituals of imbibing.
I had always gone for fairly long periods of not drinking in my life, mostly because I know that alcohol is hard on the liver. I would give this vital organ a break from time to time and cope with my stresses in other ways. This time I had a different focus and somehow it has made me forge new pathways in living my life.
I found that I have become more open, honest and outspoken. I experienced my brain being more accessible to me. I feel more efficient in the tasks I need to do. I found that I like not drinking at least as much if not more than I like drinking.
It has been almost two years since my friend joined AA and I have seen enormous positive changes in her and our relationship has grown to be deeper and actually more fun. As for me, I don’t miss the alcohol now as I have found another drug of choice: Zumba!
The disco era was my hay day. I often went out dancing in clubs when I lived in Washington, DC. I danced as far south as Pensacola and as far north as New York City. I danced a lot in San Francisco. My friends often referred to me as “Boogie Queen.” I lived in a group house in the ‘70’s known as Boogie Palace where dance parties were budgeted into our household expenses in the same manner as groceries.
While giving up alcohol itself was not difficult for me, it did leave me with the feeling of something missing in my life. I had no regular “feel good” ritual that I could rely upon in times of stress. I did yoga for a while: you know, the hot kind where you sweat and twist your body into positions that for some lead to enlightenment. For myself, I kept looking at my watch to see how much longer before I could go home. I admit, I felt great afterwards but I had a hard time motivating myself to attend the classes.
I happened upon Zumba by chance. A friend invited me to join her in a class. My knees, being as old as I am, were less than enthusiastic with this activity. I found in that first class that I was having so much fun, I forgot about my knees and took great joy in sweating with the new moves I was mimicking of my teacher and fellow dancers. I never looked at my watch and was surprised with how quickly the hour passed. To my delight, my knees were none the worse for the wear; in fact I noticed a slight improvement after just one class.
While having fun, I smiled a lot and laughed often. I was listening to very upbeat music. I found that I was motivated to fit classes into my schedule whenever possible. The effects were far reaching as I smiled while driving to class and I smiled afterwards and was in a very good mood. I believe smiling is a homeopathic dose of laughter. I never considered Zumba as exercise: it is entertainment to me. In fact the motto of the studio I attend is “Exercise in Disguise.”
Out of curiosity I checked into the health implications of doing this activity. This is what I found:
Zumba: My Drug of Choice
It did not take me long to figure out that I needed to replace my drug of choice with something else when I stopped drinking alcohol. My first favorite brand of alcohol was beer in my younger days. Wine then became my choice as I became more sophisticated in my taste as I got older. As my metabolism waned, as it does with age, I went the route of a low carbohydrate approach when I bathed my taste buds with scotch and water.
I had a friend tell me she lost a ton of weight by stopping drinking altogether. The thought had never occurred to me so I tried it for a couple of months with a slight increase in my weight, so I gave up not drinking! I never thought I had a drinking problem but I knew I considered it to be helpful while coping with various stresses in my life. I referred to my drug of choice as “happy juice.”
Then a very dear friend inspired me to join her in her journey in sobriety when she joined Alcoholic Anonymous. I had often shared good times with her and never entertained the thought that she would ever consider herself to have a drinking problem. I figured that this was just another one of her paths and after a few months she would find that she wasn’t really an alcoholic and we would continue our occasional rituals of imbibing.
I had always gone for fairly long periods of not drinking in my life, mostly because I know that alcohol is hard on the liver. I would give this vital organ a break from time to time and cope with my stresses in other ways. This time I had a different focus and somehow it has made me forge new pathways in living my life.
I found that I have become more open, honest and outspoken. I experienced my brain being more accessible to me. I feel more efficient in the tasks I need to do. I found that I like not drinking at least as much if not more than I like drinking.
It has been almost two years since my friend joined AA and I have seen enormous positive changes in her and our relationship has grown to be deeper and actually more fun. As for me, I don’t miss the alcohol now as I have found another drug of choice: Zumba!
The disco era was my hay day. I often went out dancing in clubs when I lived in Washington, DC. I danced as far south as Pensacola and as far north as New York City. I danced a lot in San Francisco. My friends often referred to me as “Boogie Queen.” I lived in a group house in the ‘70’s known as Boogie Palace where dance parties were budgeted into our household expenses in the same manner as groceries.
While giving up alcohol itself was not difficult for me, it did leave me with the feeling of something missing in my life. I had no regular “feel good” ritual that I could rely upon in times of stress. I did yoga for a while: you know, the hot kind where you sweat and twist your body into positions that for some lead to enlightenment. For myself, I kept looking at my watch to see how much longer before I could go home. I admit, I felt great afterwards but I had a hard time motivating myself to attend the classes.
I happened upon Zumba by chance. A friend invited me to join her in a class. My knees, being as old as I am, were less than enthusiastic with this activity. I found in that first class that I was having so much fun, I forgot about my knees and took great joy in sweating with the new moves I was mimicking of my teacher and fellow dancers. I never looked at my watch and was surprised with how quickly the hour passed. To my delight, my knees were none the worse for the wear; in fact I noticed a slight improvement after just one class.
While having fun, I smiled a lot and laughed often. I was listening to very upbeat music. I found that I was motivated to fit classes into my schedule whenever possible. The effects were far reaching as I smiled while driving to class and I smiled afterwards and was in a very good mood. I believe smiling is a homeopathic dose of laughter. I never considered Zumba as exercise: it is entertainment to me. In fact the motto of the studio I attend is “Exercise in Disguise.”
Out of curiosity I checked into the health implications of doing this activity. This is what I found:
- The “feel good” effects from exercise, scientists believe, may be due to the elevation in transmission of chemicals in the brain like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins.
- Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar are believed to decrease dopamine activity in the brain. Spicy foods can trigger the brain to release endorphins.
- Slow-twitch exercises enable long endurance of mild to moderate exercise therefore improving serotonin and dopamine levels.
- Laughing increases pain resistance, according to a report by Dr. Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford. Some researchers claim that the body releases endorphins to release pain while experiencing the emotion that causes tears of laughter and sadness.
- Dopamine levels are depleted by stress, certain antidepressants, drug use, poor nutrition, and poor sleep.
- Positive and healthy experiences improve levels of both seratonin and dopamine. Intense pleasure increases endorphins. (Yet another reason for an active sex life.)
- Studies have shown soothing music results in a release of endorphins.