I was really quiet on the blog front last week. I had really bad flu and felt really stressed and down about life in general. Sometimes you don’t have answers for these things and they just happen. I just felt at a bit of a loss with life and was way more teary than usual. It’s so easy when you’re in that space to get drawn into an even darker place. I didn’t show up to a couple of appointments (still need to send my apology emails) and I turned my phone off for the first time… possibly ever! I had my ticket to a Body Positive Dance class that was due to premier on Saturday. I had decided to give it a miss and dwell in my own darkness. But thanks to having one of the best friends a girl could have (ToodalooKatie) and being encouraged to rise from my feelings… I went and well… it was epic. Simply epic.
Body Positive Dance – Class #1
The Body Positive Dance class I went to was organised by Ashleigh Owen, and I didn’t know what to expect. I turned up to a hall full of beautiful people in all shapes and sizes. Starting at 2pm it literally was time to shake it all out. Ashleigh taught us a routine to Bruno Mars Uptown Funk – yes I know, one of the catchiest tunes ever! The hour flew by. Literally it passed in a blink of any eye. By the cool down time, I was hot and a little sweaty but I wasn’t in pain and I was in such a good mood. Surrounded by confident women, feeling great and being in an non-judgemental environment was just so liberating. All I can say is that you NEED to come and if you’re not in London then find your local class OR set your own class up!
Body Positive Dance – Class #1
I have grown in confidence in the past 12 months more than I ever imagined and classes life this, a really needed to encourage people out of their shell and to stop the stigma that fat equals unhealthy or lazy. This is not the case and this bunch of dancers proved that. It felt great to work it and work out at the same time without feeling like I was being compared or that I wasn’t good enough. Yes some moves were a little more stretching than others. Thats the point – progress in every shape of the word. Also, in the words of Ashleigh… why wait to do something you love. So you can be slimmer, look better, feel more confident? Why wait? Do it now. Grab it with both hands and make a difference to your life. I love dancing and now I feel like I am ticking off so many things on my life list.
So you can get a grasp of just how much fun the class was take a look at the video – (At time of writing it’s had over 20k views on Facebook and has just been launched on YouTube!)
For details on the dance class check out the Facebook page here and / or contact Ashleigh on twitter here.
