Do You Zumba - A magical story

Most people know how much I love Zumba .

And well if you do not know - know it now that I m complete Zumba holic. 

Since Childhood I was never into sports or fitness and believed exercise isn’t my cup of tea. However in the year 2011 at a dance institute near my house in Mumbai I was introduced to a unique Aerobic like fitness named Zumba. I went for a trial session and enjoyed every bit of it. I enrolled for a month with my 2 left feet and sooner started getting a hang of it. I had never danced before but still slowly started picking up the steps. I enrolled for another 3 months and started seeing my body transform to a leaner version. More than just the body change I also felt more fresh and energetic due to the exercise. I laughed More smiled more and had absolute fun. However by 6 more months due to lack of awareness and lack of registrations they shut down the Zumba class and my heart broke into million pieces.

2012 was the year I went through a lot of spiritual changes too but worst was I learnt to live without Zumba. By late 2012 I found another class in Shivaji park led by an awesome instructor . I barely did 10 sessions but still enjoyed it. That class too shut and again I was Zumba less .

Those were my days as an Investment Banker working in a reputed European Investment Bank as an analyst in M&A and Advisory.My responsibilities at work increased and so did my work hours. I started spending lot of time in office , more on my blackberry and returned home tired and exhausted with faulty food habits, irregular food timings and many dinner drinks lunch parties at work. I had no time for forget Zumba but also for basic breathing. 

One day I was feeling panicked at work due to handling multiple projects and being bombarded with more work than I could take. Ofcourse I had asked for it as I wanted to prove I am an over achiever and the star performer of the team. But in that zone I felt completely blank once. It was around November 2013 and I was mentally exhausted. I went to the washroom and sprayed cold water on my face and took a break from my multiple screens and even more excel sheets. I was proud of myself and exhausted completely at the same time.

My phone rang then it was none other than my boss and I realised she was reaching out to me as we had a call /meeting with our overseas team based in London 15 minutes ago. I ran to the meeting room still panicking. The meeting hadn’t started and she probably felt I was not keeping very well. I really was feeling lost in the meeting as if I was missing something. My mind was so full I couldn’t take a word. Luckily it was a Friday and I went home and crashed on the bed. 

Saturday early morning I woke up and had the first thought join Zumba back. I immediately googled but the classes were either in extreme South Bombay or Andheri and Powai . The classes in Prabhadevi and Bandra were at a time where I used to he in office like 9 am in morning or 6 pm in evening. I worked almost 9 am to 9 pm everyday.

I remember calling 6-7 instructors again but nothing worked in my favour. Another few weeks months passed with no Zumba and my crazy work hours. 

In February 2014 I finally read about a Zumba class and joined too. The class was great and the instructor gave many exercises but it wasn’t Zumba. It had functional training, Yoga and some amazing sessions but it wasn’t Zumba.

I finally let go the desire to go Zumbaing and got back to my Investment Banker life. In May 2014 somehow I bumped into a Zumba Class that too at Prabhadevi - 10 mins walking from office and closeby home too. I joined the class which was led by 2 awesome instructors - one of them was the same instructor who took the amazing class in 2012. I was happy but again the class was about to shut due to less people. But the instructor gave me a choice to join their class in Khar early morning 8 am. By now I was hooked on to Zumba  and due to amazing support from my instructors and the team I started doing steps right and in rhythm.I used to travel all the way to Khar in the morning for class and post that used to go to work. I started enjoying Zumba more n more and due to the amazing instructors I got better at Zumba too. I continued till early 2016 and now was a seasoned class participant. I smiled more , my skin started glowing again , my body became lean and fit.My instructors and co batch mates always told me it us great to have me in the class with my extremely high energy and a big smile.Meanwhile in 2015 I had quit my full time job to follow my passion to be a trainer, speaker and coach. However due to some personal challenges I couldn’t do the regular classes of Zumba.  I had also made up my mind to do a trainer certification with Zumba to be an instructor. 

Now a fantastic thing happened. My instructor also started taking Zumba at a gym  at Shivaji Park very close to my house- barely 10 mins walking distance and now since now I was a freelancer could give my time to Zumba. I started the class and was rocking it. But barely in a few weeks I got an unexpected hiccup. 

While Zumba ing to my favourite song ‘La Mordidita’ by Ricky Martin I twisted my foot and injured my left knee and ended up in terrible pain. But more than the pain what stuck me was a fear in the most extreme form. I felt like my dream of becoming an instructor fell like a pack of cards. I couldn’t get up and was limping. I went to my doctor the very next day and he advised no Zumba for next 6 months. I could barely move but thanks to all my support group - my mom and my friends I recovered slowly gradually and could walk but not dance. 

.Now the class was closeby - I worked flexi timings but yet couldn’t go. I was feeling like a fish out of water . 

I now did Access Consciousness in September and simply asked my facilitator Dr Ashish on how to handle this entire situation? His answer was simply “ So what do you want?-  be in the question and go create it. Every molecule of your body changes every single day and you can create anything you desire to. Create that magic”I kept affirming that my knee is already recovered and that I ll easily be able to do my workout and pain is a lie.These all wonderful people were talking the language of Universe to help me achieve my goals.

I kept asking questions. Meanwhile when I connected to my Zumba instructor Shiv he said “Ashwini - only join Class if your knee is better and only if your doctor and Physiotheraphist say a yes”  Although my confidence had shaken being time - I was asking questions. What will it take for me to do Zumba with ease?

 I was asking for a Physiotheraphist too and searching big time. I had my own point of views about Physiotheraphists too as most tell you what you cant do and not what you can. I simply asked the universe- what will it take for me to get a Physiotheraphist who is contributing to me?

A few days later I got a FB friend request from Dr Ridhima Gehi -who is a Mumbai based Physiotheraphist and also a Healer. I accepted this request. A few weeks down at a networking meet- I met Dr Ridhima in person and we just clicked off instantly. Dr Ridhima said she was drawn to my profile and felt as if there was a long lost connection and I realised she was a gift sent to me from the Universe 

Just before leaving for Singapore I told her about the injury and my craze for Zumba and she rest assured me things will be fine. She did a couple of sessions and some tips and I was all set to go. 

I began slowly with my workout routine in Singapore and on 31st Dec 2017 did a Zumba session in Singapore with my awesome sister who herself is a workout freak just as much as a Zumba freak I am. It was so much fun we sisters laughing and dancing to the energy of the awesome ZIN!

Back to India Ridhima kept cheering me up and my morale and told me things are good. I once again enrolled for Zumba class with Shiv and started my routine. 

One day Ridhima said - Ash I think you ll become an instructor soon. Just hold on and have faith. At that moment I asked the Universe- “Universe, please give me a magical chance to be an Zumba Instructor.”

In a week’s time I was training a corporate for team building. The Client then asked me if I can do a 15-20 mins energiser session at the beginning which I readily agreed. Then she asked - “Have you heard of Zumba and can you do something like a Zumba?”

My face just lit up- I had asked Universe and it gave me magic . I looked at her and said- “ Well -ofcourse its one of the best things one can work out too.”As if the whole universe conspired for me to do a Zumba. I took it as a sign from the Universe that I m ready to do a Zumba instructor certification 

So there I was in a client team building session taking a mix of Bollywood Bhangra and Latino Zumba ‘inspired’sessions - was only waiting for my licence to do a proper Zumba session next time  . 

On 18th June 2018 - I got my Zumba Instructor ZIN licence and my dream came true

What else is possible now?

Love to all my readers

What is Zumba

Zumba is an exercise fitness program created by Colombian dancer and cyclist/choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez during the 1990s. Zumba is a trademark owned by Zumba Fitness, LLC

Zumba classes are typically about an hour long and are taught by instructors licensed by Zumba Fitness, LLC.In one Zumba class, a person can burn up to 600 calories, depending on the energy put forth. The music comes from the following dance styles: cumbia, salsa, merengue, mambo, flamenco, chachacha, reggaeton, soca, samba, hip hop music, axé music and tango.

There are nine types of classes, for different levels of age and exertion.

Source:Wikipedia

Ashwini Chube is a Corporate motivational speaker- trainer , wellness coach , Zumba enthusiast and founder of Unicorn Insight Trainer.

Log on www.unicorninsight.com for more about Trainings with them