12 | May | 2013 | Fitness & Feta

Today was Mother’s Day, and we celebrated my mom by getting some coffee and treats at Flour Bakery in Cambridge before walking around Castle Island. We had a delicious Greek dinner (obvi) at The Aegean in Watertown, and then my parents and brother came back to my apartment so my mom could open her Mother’s Day presents. The day started out rainy, but luckily the sun came out and we were able to enjoy an active and sunny afternoon. Hope you had a nice day, Mom! Thanks for all you do.

P.S. If you missed my mother’s guest post this morning, check it out! You Zumba fans will especially love it.

Hello, and Happy Mother’s Day to all my favorite moms out there. If you guys remember, last year my mom wrote a guest post on how she makes fitness a way of life. This year she is back to write about her favorite kind of fitness, Zumba! Enjoy!

Happy Mother’s Day! I am honored to be writing today for Fitness & Feta. Athena asked me if I could share some words with you on Mother’s Day, and since I am her mother, here I am!

Fitness has been a major part of my life for 25 years, and I want to say how important it is to find true passion for your workout. I love all the exercise I do, but I am truly passionate about Zumba. It is a great overall body workout that can be done by people of all ages. It might look intimidating or someone might think, “I can’t dance,” “I have no rhythm,” or “I am too old to keep up.” Not the case! Kids to seniors can learn the steps gradually and modify to their ability. There are even special classes geared toward kids or seniors.

Once the music gets going, it transforms me to another place. (Sounds corny, but it’s true). I feel like I am somewhere else just dancing away, maybe at a Latin dance bar, where no one watches or judges. From salsa to meringue, hip hop to country, if you love music, there is a Zumba dance number for you. I am so inspired by the music that I never feel that it is exercise, only pure fun. When Zumba says “join the party!” the atmosphere and camaraderie make me feel that way! Plus, did I mention it torches calories and creates amazing results on the core?

Zumba often holds large Zumbathon classes for charities where instructors come together to donate their time and energy for good causes. How great is that!? Some of these are huge events packed with enthusiastic dancers. I am proud to say I recently took part in various charity events for the Oak Square YMCA where Athena works, Children’s Hospital, Autism Speaks, victims of the marathon bombings, and for ill children and families of other Zumba members. Also, currently the Great Calorie Drive is going on. All you have to do is burn calories by dancing, and Zumba donates money to end world hunger.

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Zumba is part of my weekly workout that I so look forward to. I hope you will give it a try!

Happy Mother’s Day! I am proud and happy to be a mom, it’s the best thing in the world. For my mom, my mother-in-law, my aunts, and godmother: we love you and miss you all.

Do you Zumba? What do you like most about it?

Thanks for the guest post, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!