Introduction Around the world, many are facing challenging times as society goes through waves of unfortunate events. Here on the island of St. Maarten there’s no difference, but through life hardships, we as humans adapt and use creativity and acquired wisdom to make the best of any situation. As a community, we motivate and teach each other about different aspects of life that we can all benefit from.
This year PJL is embarking on a campaign the collaboration with persons in the community to research and select several recreational activities to share among the community island-wide. The main goal of this first-year awareness campaign is to help persons understand how actively participating in recreational activities can have a positive impact on the development of the body, mind, and spirit in a healthy way.
Here we introduce you to one of the recreational activities that are done on the island of St. Maarten, Zumba!! What is Zumba.
Zumba is a fitness class that combines dance and fitness moves. Inspired by Latin dance and music, Zumba uses a variety of styles in its routines, including Cumbia, Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Mambo, Rumba, Flamenco, and a Hip Hop. Music selections include both fast and slow rhythms to help tone and sculpt the body. 7 health benefits of Zumba: 1. It’s fun. The more you enjoy your exercise routine, the more likely you are to stick with it. Many people say they have so much fun dancing that they forget they are exercising.
Great for weight loss. Zumba is a powerful exercise with a 600 to 1,000-calorie burn in just an hour.
Tones your entire body. You may feel sore in places you never knew existed, but it gets results. Zumba targets lots of different muscle groups at once for total body toning.
Boosts your heart health. You not only get aerobic benefits (it gets your heart rate up), you also get anaerobic benefits the kind that helps you maintain a good cardiovascular respiratory system.
Helps you de-stress. Turning your attention to dance, and away from the daily grind, is a great way to relieve stress. Studies show that exercise is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and enhancing overall cognitive function.
Improves coordination. In Zumba, your arms and legs are generally moving in different directions so it requires a good deal of coordination. Repeated practice improves coordination and helps you feel more comfortable moving your body.
Makes you happy. Every time you exercise, you release endorphins, which trigger positive feelings throughout the body. I’d like to introduce you to Fabiana Richardson a fun, loving, charismatic, proud mother of two energizer bunnies, T'iana and O'céane. Fabiana a Certified Zumba instructor by night and an employee of The Dept. of Social Services and Labor Affairs Case Worker under the Ministry of VSA by day. And In her senior year at the University of Virgin Islands under the program of Bachelors of Education in Elementary (BAE). Hobbies are Dancing Singing and playing Softball. To answer some of our questions on one of St. Maarten’s recreational activities. 1) As the island is going through its most challenging times of this period, how do recreation activities help you maintain balance in stressful times.
Music and dance are my therapy. So during stressful times, I listen to music and dance to the beat, allowing my body to release the negative energy. 2) Have you suffered from any form of depression or anxiety? If so, how is recreation helping you? One time I fell into a depression due to weight gain. I took a heavy toll on me. Even though I am and will be forever grateful for my babies, after the effect it had on my body made me depressed, so I took actions quickly before it got worse. 3) Not having much time is one of the issues most people seem to complain about, what is your approach when it comes to time management.
I set a daily schedule, if it’s twice a week, or three times a week I make time. Not making time makes things worse and then eventually you lose yourself altogether. 4) How is recreation helping with social interaction.
It helps you to be open-minded and allow yourself to express to others how you feel and if someone else is going through a similar situation, they can learn from the few tips shared. 5) What form of communication do you use to keep your team motivated.
I use social media to bring awareness. Through FB status or WhatsApp status, share videos, etc.
I also use lectures, sip and chat, meet, and greets. 6) What would be your encouragement for others to join recreational groups.
My encouragement for others to join recreational groups is simply to know that you are not alone, and sometimes when you think you have it bad, someone always has it worse than you.
Joining a group helps distracts you from the negativity. 7) How has your quality of life improved.
My quality of life improved when I start not caring what others think or say about my weight. I know it was not going to happen 1 2 3, but I know with self-determination and a supportive team I became a force to reckoned with. Today I am a certified Zumba instructor, where I used this platform to improve my qualities and factors on becoming what I want to be and UVI Class of 2021 future graduate of Elementary Education Bachelors Program. 8) On an island where some resources could be limited, how does your group manage to make the best of the situation.
Be Consistent in whatever you do. You can find this Fun loving energizer bunny Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Bel Air Community Center or you can follow her on Kalaboom Fitness on Facebook and Instagram.
