What Steven Cousley Does

What is Zumba Fitness?

You may already be wondering what Zumba exercise is truly all about by now. It is a fusion of both dance and an exercise workout, featuring a variety of dance styles. Although the main rhythm is Latin, other international influences are also present in the mix. Knowing the basic principles will help you become better at it and burn the extra calories and fat.

Starting the Zumba workout

Zumba training lasts for about an hour and presents different dance moves coming from regions in Latin America. Some of the included moves are influenced by the meringue, salsa, reggaeton and even belly dance and hip hop. It provides an excellent cardiovascular workout, where you can burn as much as 450 calories an hour.  Zumba workouts can be quite challenging, so it is important that you begin each session by doing a few stretches and toning exercises. These should last for 15 minutes, aim to warm up all the major muscle groups during the pre-exercise.

The Choreography

Start choreographing the Zumba workout by doing samba moves for about 5 minutes. You can use the basic forward and back movements, keeping your heart rate up. After that, switch to merengue dance movements for another 5 minutes. The merengue is composed of 3 basic motions, namely the forward basic motions, the side basic motions and the back basic motions. These can be mixed in any way using variations in the posture as you dance.

After 5 minutes, move on to dancing the salsa for 5 minutes. Begin by tapping on the first beat, then step forward using the same foot. Back on the same foot then dance to variations of the motion. You may include reggae, hiphop, reggaeton and a number of belly dance movements during the workout. Mix the movements using the Latin dance moves. You will realize that the fusion of different dances and rhythms make Zumba exercises truly unique.

Using Interval Zumba Training

One of the principles behind the Zumba workout is that you incorporate interval training. This means that you move from one dance to the next in increments, such as dancing the salsa for 5 minutes, hiphop for 5 minutes, merengue for 5 minutes, and so on. Your heart rate and breathing differs, depending on the movements and demands of the dances. This allows your metabolism to enhance, thereby burning calories while doing the exercise and continuously while at rest.

Although the pace may be too challenging for first time exercisers and older adults, the Zumba Gold is also available, which reduces the beat and pace. Seniors and true beginners get to experience a comfortable and entertaining start. They will be introduced to the steps until they are ready to go with Zumba Basic and Level 2.

Professional Help

If you want to learn the Zumba well, you should join a number of workshops and activities together with certified Zumba exercise instructors. There are now more than 2,000 instructors all around the world, complete with the right skills, knowledge and materials to let you enjoy the activity fully. You can get more tips in forums and the web site. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes and eat the right type of diet to experience the different fitness benefits of the program. Mastering the Zumba takes time. You can also pratice Zumba at home with the Zumba Fitness DVD series. Try to squeeze in 2 to 3 sessions per week to get better over time.

Is Zumba Effective?

Millions have already tried Zumba exercises because of the various benefits and uniqueness. However, there are also a number of sceptics questioning the true efficacy of the program and whether or not it truly guarantees results. Learning about the principles and understanding the fitness regimen will help you determine if it is the right one for you. Here are the tips.

Features of the Zumba Fitness Program

When trying the Zumba training, expect to do a variety of dances such as the salsa, mambo, cha cha, merengue, calypso and other modern forms like belly dance and hip hop. The Zumba Fitness DVD series features a core workout that emphasizes on interval and resistance training. The most popular characteristic of Zumba is the dance moves, since exercisers will be constantly going from one type of dance to the next. The music provides a very unique and exhilarating experience for everyone.

Zumba is approved by the AFAA or Aerobic and Fitness Association of America, the Canadian Personal Trainer Association and the American Council on Exercise. It has over 3 million followers who claim to have lost anywhere from an inch off their waist to hundreds of pounds of fat. The workout generally lasts 1 hour, although there are also variations lasting anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes.

The Benefits of Zumba Exercise

Zumba workouts are considered very effective by fitness trainers since they uses the very same useful principles. It does not boast of new fads, but uses factual and scientifically based approaches. It is a known fact that interval training is highly effective in boosting metabolism. As the individual goes through both fast and slow paced movements, the heart pumps blood more, thereby improving both physical condition and the function of the heart. Changing the pace every now and then nonstop will help you rev up your metabolism. As a result, your body continues to burn fat even when you’re at rest.

Losing the Weight with the Zumba Fitness DVD series

Zumba training can help you burn as much as 450 calories for a 1-hour session or more, depending on the intensity. It is an ideal program for individuals who easily get tired of going to aerobics classes or the gym. Since the routine features more dance moves and upbeat music, you stay entertained and continually shed off the fat without getting bored. The unique approach encourages consistency and discipline to stick to the program. Zumba also helps you meet other individuals battling with their current weight, so you can find an ideal fitness partner.

Zumba exercises will work wonders for your weight if you add a clean low fat diet to your regimen. Make sure you hydrate well by drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. Your performance in the exercises will enhance significantly by following a sound diet plan. In a matter of 2 to 4 weeks, you should see some positive results.

More Effects

Zumba training provides people with mental, physical and social advantages. You get to meet new friends by joining classes. Exercising leads to improved self-esteem and confidence so you feel better about yourself. Zumba is a great stress reliever. Ideally, you should go to class 2 to 3 times a week or more, depending on your schedule. The different dance movements also help you improve flexibility, balance, strength and coordination. Even those who live very sedentary lifestyles or are confined in a wheelchair can finally burn more calories with the fun Zumba workouts.

What’s Your Creative Habit?
Want to write a memoir or novel but can’t seem to get
started? Want to create a memorable painting or performance
but you’re too busy to work on it? It can be frustrating
when your creative fire just never seems to get lit.

Fire Up with Creative Habits

To ignite a daily fire in the fireplace requires that you
bring in the wood and place it in the hearth, then strike a
match to set it ablaze. In the same way, to ignite your
creative fire you must have certain habits and rituals that
will fire up your enthusiasm and energy, allowing you to
plunge into the joys and mess of creating an artistic work.

In her book The Creative Habit, the famed choreographer
Twyla Tharp says emphatically that creativity has much less
to do with talent or genius than with hard work. Tharp, who
is in her late sixties, illustrates by saying she gets up
every day at 5:30 a.m. and heads to the gym for a two-hour
workout with her trainer. She says that, because of this
kind of dedicated habit associated with her creative work,
she is able to feel confident when she has just five weeks
to create a new dance for a major performance venue. She
has prepared her body and her mind well, beginning with a
daily ritual.

It’s the ritual of calling the cab that actually gets her
in motion, she says. The well-established routine of making
the call gets her past the resistance that might arise
about being too tired or otherwise reluctant to put herself
through the hard routine at the gym.

Set Up Habits and Rituals That Inspire You

So, what are the daily or frequent habits and rituals that
activate your creative productivity? Here are five examples
of habits you can borrow from successful artists, along
with rituals to set the stage for each habit:

Habit #1: Be observant and make a record of what you
observe.

Ritual: Carry a notebook and pen or pencil with you
everywhere you go to do a quick sketch, jot observations,
or make a note of dialogue you overhear.

Habit #2: Study the work of artists you admire.

Ritual: Keep a set of books by your reading table or
bedside and spend 15 minutes or more reading before going
to bed. Or check out the arts calendar each Sunday and
select a show to attend.

Habit #3: Practice, practice, practice what you want to get
better at.

Ritual: Set a specific time to practice each day or on
certain days. If you begin with a specific activity such as
sitting in a certain place or turning on a certain light,
you set up the habit to take on a life of its own.

Habit #4: Take time for solitude to give your muse a chance
to play and have its say.

Ritual: Have a pen by your bedside and pick it up as soon
as you wake, using it to record your creative ideas before
you engage with other people (even before your coffee).
Your muse will soon get in the habit of showing up for the
appointed time. Or plan a weekend a month when you retreat
to your bedroom or a quiet getaway place, and always start
the weekend with a set activity such as lighting a candle.

Habit #5: Celebrate your successes. You may need
encouraging memories to offset the many disappointing times
you may experience.

Ritual: Create a screensaver of an art piece of yours that
you’re happy with, or display a testimonial quote from an
admirer.

Being creative is most satisfying when it moves from an
idea in the mind into the actual creation of an artistic
work. That happens more easily and more often if you have
habits and rituals that light your creative fire. When
starting or renewing a creative habit, build in a ritual to
start you off each time you do the activity. Be sure to do
the ritual every day for at least 30 days to make it stick.
That ritual, faithfully practiced, will become like a book
of matches you can count on set off that creative spark.

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Learn about free teleseminars by Pat Samples on inspired
living, body wisdom, and creative aging at
http://www.patsamples.com . Her new book, The Secret Wisdom
of a Woman’s Body: Freeing Yourself To Live Passionately
and Age Fearlessly, has been called by AARP’s magazine
“what our generation wants to read.”

Make Money Online:  Crawling Before You Walk

I guess you’re bound to have heard the old saying “You’ve got to crawl before you walk” plenty of times, there aren’t many instances in life where this doesn’t apply, and making money online is no exception.

Along with “Head down, bum up”, although not a pretty sight, these two age old adages form the very backbone of what you need to know if you are wanting to make money online. And, contrary to what you may think or read on the internet, the other lessons you need to learn have always applied to offline marketing, and been around since Adam was a boy.

You see, there are no ‘secrets’ to making money online. Internet Marketing is all about mindset. If you’ve been online for any length of time, then just like me, its likely that you get a heap of emails every day expounding the virtues of all these programs designed to make money online. Probably the only difference between you and I is that  it didn’t take me long to figure it all out. I learned to look outside the box.

Sure, there may be some programs that will make you money, but who do you think is enjoying real success? Let me answer that: it’s the program developers. For this reason, if wildly outrageous success on the internet is your aim,  you need to learn to be a leader, not a follower.

There are so many squillions of people trying to make money online, and more appearing everyday (I think the daily number is quite staggering). They all have the same hopes and dreams that you do. So, why should people listen to you? Why are you different? How do you think you can rattle their cages?

To answer those questions, you need to take a time- tested and irrefutable lesson from the world of offline marketing, and that lesson is to do what  everyone else DOESN’T do! Find a unique perspective. A way to do things differently than everyone else, so that you don’t just become another wannabe in a sea of wannabes. Stand out. Be different.

Think of the internet as a fantastic vehicle for reaching a huge number of people and turning our world into one gigantic global community. Nothing more, nothing less. Its not magic. Whether you use this vehicle socially, or to make money, there has never been a time in history where we have the ability to be in contact with so many others, in so many places, and where the power of ‘word of mouth’ advertising and recommendations can be multiplied to an unbelievable level.

The potential is incredible. Learn how to use it. Develop relationships with others and nurture your reputation, trust and reliability. It will pay you back a thousand fold.

Have fun! Enjoy what you’re doing. Aside from the obvious benefits of this, there’s a huge added bonus; your passion shines through! People can feel and sense your passion, and when you are genuinely passionate, it rubs off on them. When you’re doing something you love, it’s not work, it’s play!

You are not an island.  It isn’t necessary for you to  try to do everything yourself. The vast majority of big name, successful internet marketing gurus online will tell you the same thing; their success did not eventuate until they found someone they believed in. Someone they trusted. Someone who showed them what to do, notice I said SHOWED them, not told them, there’s a big difference.

Once you find someone that you can model, the sky truly can become the limit.  And it’s not hard, it just takes the ability of being able to sort out the genuine folks that walk the walk, and talk the talk, and both are vital.  No sense having someone who has the gift of the gab, but hasn’t got a clue as far as experience goes.  And conversely, someone with tons of experience but no idea how to explain it is equally as frustrating.

I hope this  information rings true for you, and you’re finally ready to stop procrastinating and jumping on every latest and greatest fad that hits your inbox. Once this happens for you, it will be like another huge realization – you’ll see the light!.

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When you’re finally ready to stop all the frustration,  and credit card statements that make it look like you’re supporting an entire small country,  go take a look at http://www.secretcashrecipes.com – you won’t be disappointed.

By Michaiel Bovenes

Are you lucky in life? (Really, do you feel like you’re a
lucky person?) I don’t mean that you have a perfect life,
but do things just seem to always work out for you? Do
seemingly negative situations end up turning into something
better? Do great opportunities simply fall into your lap?
Do you meet (attract) the right people in your life? If so,
then you are truly a lucky person, if not, you can quickly
increase your good fortune.

I hadn’t thought much about luck until a few days ago, I
was at a coffee shop with a buddy of mine. Sitting deep in
an overstuffed blue chair, I listened to him talk about how
lucky my life is. I never really thought about it before,
but he was right. I put down my cinnamon scented coffee and
nested back into my chair, taking in and trying to digest
his compliments.

Later when I mentioned that I need to find a topic for my
newsletter this month, he immediately said, “Why don’t you
write about how to be a lucky person!” I chuckled to
myself, because I would have never thought about that in a
million years, but it intuitively felt so right. I knew
that the Universe had just winked at me with a confirmation.

He said, “goodbye”, gave me a hug and left his empty
ceramic cup still dripping with foam next to my chair. All
around me, the coffee shop conversations were mumbling in
my ears. I quietly sank deeper into my chair and started to
type. I must have been in a trance, because with only one
refill the article poured out of my Soul and onto my
laptop. I wrote the first draft in less than two hours.

Whether you believe you are lucky or not, most people think
that luck is not real or at best a random activity that
can’t be chosen or developed. You might think that people
stumble into good things by accident. How then do you
explain when a friend calls you at the last minute with
free tickets to a sold out show you’ve been dying to see?
Or when you turn around to quickly drive back home, because
you “forgot something” and a long lost friend is standing
at your door, but had no way to contact you except to stop
by and hope you’d be home. Is this coincidence or something
much more magical?

I believe becoming a lucky person is easy when you
understand the characteristics of these blessed people.
Imagine for a moment that luck isn’t random after all!
There is an attitudinal structure underlying every
fortunate human being. And anyone who is wiling to change
their mental-emotional habits can increase their good
fortune and become lucky.  Years ago, I read an article
about some University research from England. The studied
showed what naturally lucky individuals have in common with
each other. They discovered a set of four qualities that
set them apart from the “unlucky”. The cool thing is that
people who developed these attitudinal qualities started to
increase their own good fortune very quickly! 

Four Qualities of Lucky People

1. Lucky people are mindful and present. They pay attention
to the present moment and aren’t preoccupied thinking about
the past (disappointment) or fearing the future (worry).
They naturally choose to live in the present moment. This
allows them to notice and seize new opportunities, instead
of being distracted, confused or simply unaware.

2. They value their “intuition” as much as “logic and
reason”. They tend to look at both the “bigger picture” and
also the details of the “little picture” in their lives.
They’re open to an intuitive sense of possibilities (bigger
picture) and how it can fit into their current situation
(little picture). They are neither stuck in the details nor
dreaming about the future. Instead, they simultaneously
bring these two perceptions (awareness of the big and
little picture) the possibilities and on the one hand, the
actuality of their lives, on the other, together. This
offers them a way to set goals and make a plan that works.

3. Lucky people have a positive relationship with the
future. They are hopeful about the unknown (future) instead
of being fearful. Even though they don’t have all the
answers, they’re naturally optimistic and open. They refuse
to fantasize about what could go wrong and instead focus on
“what can go right”. They feel positive even when things
appear to be negative. Simply put. they don’t let
negativity get in the way of their plans and dreams.

4. They are self empowered and take responsibility. They
refuse to hang out in feelings of powerlessness, apathy or
self-pity. They don’t believe that life happens to them nor
are they a victim of circumstances. They know that what
they think and feel about themselves and the future
matters. They believe that opportunities are a direct
result of their attitude, thoughts, feelings and actions.
Simply put, they embrace their inner power and choose to
live their lives with responsibility.

The study also revealed that most lucky people had fairly
large social circles. They make friends easily and are
socially connected to their community. They’re naturally
outgoing because they really enjoy people and tend to be
non-judgmental. They get involved with their community.
They believe that people are inherently good, beautiful and
caring, which tends to make them popular individuals.

Four Secrets to Increase Your Luck and Good Fortune:

1) Embrace and accept yourself and your life, just the way
it is. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly-accept
everything that is happening in your life, warts and all.
Stop fighting yourself and make a decision instead to
accept things the way they are instead of longing for it to
be different. Acceptance creates the space for change and
healing to occur. You’ll feel more comfortable when you
accept yourself and begin to naturally relax in social
situations. A quick method to do this is to choose to
believe that the world is a friendly place. It is here to
support you and your dreams. Unlucky people believe the
world is “out to get them.” Which world is true? Whatever
world you choose to believe in will be true for you! Both
worlds are possible but only one will become your reality.
Choose wisely.

2) Listen to your intuition and open your heart to feel
greater intimacy. There is much more happening around you
than you can ever grasp in your conscious mind. Your mind
filters out over 50% of the experiences happening to you
right now. However, beneath your conscious awareness your
subconscious is continuously picking up clues about your
future and the possibilities that are there. This is called
your intuition. When you blend intuition with intimacy, you
will experience a deeper connection with yourself and
others. You’ll know what decisions to make and why. You’ll
be more wise and understanding. Opening your heart will
improve your intuition and deepen your sense of purpose.
This naturally leads toward increasing your opportunities
for luck and expanding good fortune.

3 Avoid feeling sorry for your self. Admit the truth- you
are powerful. Embrace a resilient positive attitude about
your self and your life. You know this and have done it
before. Lemons can be made into lemonade when you change
your attitude. You can learn something about yourself from
the worst disaster. If you’ll begin looking for the silver
lining in the dark clouds of your life, your luck will
improve rapidly. What you focus on expands. So focus on
being powerful and seek the good in all situations.

4. Meditate regularly. If there is one activity I had to
choose that I believed cultivated good fortune and luck, it
would have to be meditation. Looking back on my life, I now
realize that learning to meditate as a teenager was a major
turning point in my life. It changed everything
dramatically. My good fortune accelerated once I learned to
relax and meditate on a regular basis. I fully believe that
meditation opens the door to a fortunate and lucky life.

In most studies, I’ve read on psychological well being,
those who meditate regularly (at least three times weekly)
are less nervous, anxious, depressed, and much less
irritable, controlling, or inhibited. They are, overall,
more sociable and self-confident, and felt positive about
themselves and the future. They tend to be emotionally
stable and self-reliant individuals, when compared to the
non-meditators in the study.

I hope you’ll re-read this article many times and let the
truth contained within it, sink deep into your subconscious
mind. This will help change your attitude and attract more
opportunities and greater good fortune in your life.

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Explore my website for great relaxation resources and to
help you focus the power of your mind and visualize better.
Sign up for my free weekly Soul-utions quotes. Try my
guided meditation CDs.  For beginners I recommend, The
Rainbow Meditation, Art of Going Within: How to Meditate
and/or  Escape from Stress.  Visit my site at
http://www.RelaxationMeditations.com .