Belly Dance Your Way to Fitness - Without Embarrassment!

I read Dawn's article on learning to belly dance with great interest ("Physical and Social Benefits of Learning to Belly Dance - Improving Your Posture, Flexibility and Confidence"). I've developed quite a passion for this ancient manner of dancing. Prior to starting to learn to belly dance, I didn't know the difference between Little Egypt and quality "Middle Eastern Dancing." Shoot, didn't they ALL gyrate in physically impossible ways with a bare midriff and gold coins clanking around their hips?

After working at some of the basic belly dancing moves for several weeks, and reading more about it on-line, I've learned a few things. The most amazing revelation for me was that although I wasn't at all embarrassed to watch other women do this, I've spent my entire life sort of hunched over, with less than great posture. But I wasn't aware of that. When you learn to belly dance, the chest is UP, it is OUT, it is a part of the dance! It doesn't matter if you are flat or overly endowed. One learns to dance with a sort of attitude.

As I watched a very good dancer/choreographer demonstrate moves (DVD-Dahlena's Technique - for Basic and Intermediate Dancers 35.00) and attempted to copy what I was watching, my body and mind said "Hey there! You never push out your chest. That's different!" and "Wow! you actually are supposed to move your hips. Weird!" See, like many women, I grew up in the 1950's and many of us with lower self-esteem walked clutching our school books to our chests, bent over the load. The last thing I wanted to do was swing my hips. Someone might make fun of me! So what started out as a defense mechanism became a silent habit, forgotten about ,but firmly rooted in place. Heck, I'm almost 57 years old now, a sassy redhead with a sparkling personality (if I do say so myself). No self-esteem problems these days, yet it took some basic belly dancing moves to bring old habits to the surface.