Kryptonite.

A super hero (heroine) should never divulge their weakness.  Unless, of course, that super hero wants others to feel more secure in their own “areas needing improvement”.  I suppose it could even be categorized less as an expression of weakness and more as gallant leaps outside the comfort zone.  I mean, let’s think about it.  In order for a super hero to be “super”, she or he must be constantly one step ahead of the villain, right?  For that to happen, the faithful heroine must keep the training and learning curve alive by exposing herself to new and sometimes difficult situations.  It is possible that within those situations, their may be persons/places/things/scenarios that bring about a less that heroic appearance to the super hero.

For example, Superman had everything going for him - good looks, charm, a good cover in Clark Kent, and he could fly.  He was more powerful than a locomotive, he could stop a speeding bullet with his chest!  He could overpower a room full of 50 villains while leaping over a tall building in a single bond, but put one little colorful stone from the planet Krypton near him and it was all over.  Superman wilted like week old roses.

The other day, I decided that it was time to expand my super hero skills.  I took a flying leap outside of my comfort zone and landed smack-dab in the middle of a pile of Zumbanite.  I should give some very important background information here, in order for the big picture to be crystal clear.

My ventures into the world of rhythm and movement were back in high school when I was in the band and glee club.  There was the jazz band - a wee bit of be-bopping happened there.  I played the trumpet, so not much more than a bob of the head or tap of the foot going on for me.  There was the marching band.  We marched.  One foot in front of the other, head level, rolling from heel to toe on the outside of the foot and squeezing the cheeks (not the ones on our faces) tightly together as though we were holding marbles between them.  There was no room for shoulder swaying, hip thrusting or belly swinging there!  We did, however, “Play that funky music, white boy” and made sure to “get down and boogie” without tipping our boxy feather toting hats off of our heads.  Now, the Glee Club was a slightly different story.  There I had the opportunity to bust some moves in the girls ensemble.  We rocked out with a jazz square or two.

All of that was over 15 years ago, so any “skills” that I may have had simply evaporated over the years.  I have played field hockey, basketball, softball and I even spent some time on the track team.  None of these activities involve any sort of fancy hip or shoulder movements.  These days I am accustomed to linear activities.  I study a style of Martial Arts that involves kicking and punching in straight lines and defending ourselves by using the shortest distance between two points.  It is methodical,  powerful and doesn’t require any fancy hip or shoulder action.

With all of the above in mind, it should come as not surprise that I found (part of) my own personal “kryptonite” - Zumba.  (Really, it goes beyond Zumba to any sort of dance.)  If you don’t believe me, just ask those who were present for the class.  Everyone with whom I have spoken who has participated in Zumba has told me what a wonderful workout it is.  I have no doubt that they are telling the truth, however, I think the key is that you have to keep moving.  I spent so much time trying to figure out which way to go so as not to crash into a wall or another person, that I never quite got “jiggy with it”.  I did, however, get rather winded, but that was partially from the laughter when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror (better to laugh than cry, I always say), and partially from the stress of seeing my heroic self-image crumble to the ground in a puddle of Zumba-muck.   I think that maybe my body just doesn’t work in the way that some folk’s do.  It’s the smooth flow that throws me off kilter.  The feet go this way, the arms go that way and the shoulders and core go somewhere else in between.  My feet wanted to go towards the door, my head wanted to hide under a rock and my core had stage fright and froze right where we stood.  

Every now and again, I would catch on to the movement, but by the time I got the hands and feet coordinated together, it was time to move on to a different song.  The general rule of thumb, it seems, is to just keep moving.  I did my best, but I felt like a hamster trapped in a ball avoiding all of the skilled artists dancing happily around me.  I tried correlating the movements with karate techniques.  When we did the head and chest circle things, I thought of avoiding knife attacks.  This was a slight overkill on my part, but it got my head moving.  Some of the arm movements became strikes, and the fancy feet were just that - fancy (though not at all to be classified as graceful).  The unfortunate part of this mental imagery that I was using was that it caused my mind to wander.  I would then get so caught up in my visualization that I wouldn’t recognize immediately when the rest of the folks changed direction.  I never actually crashed into anyone, but that was out of sheer luck, I think. 

Despite the fact that I gave the appearance (at least I think so) that I have absolutely no rhythm or skill, I think the class was a success overall.  As I made mental correlations with techniques from the martial arts realm, I realized (again) the interconnectedness of all things.  There are styles of martial arts that are meant to appear as dance so that an “outsider” won’t know what is occurring.  Dancers dance to music.  Dance is a form of total athleticism.  Athletes (in many other sports, i.e. field hockey, softball, basketball, football, you get the point) often listen to music before competing.  Musicians, like athletes and dancers spend hours and hours practicing and honing their skills.  People (in general) are entertained and amazed by all of the above, just as we are all amazed by “superheroes”.   

All of these thoughts ran through my mind as I jumped, jived and wailed, bopped, hopped, twisted and turned.  It was not long before I realized that my mind hand wandered a wee bit too far and I was clearly not doing the same things that the rest of the participants were doing.  I can only hope that I wasn’t picking my nose or anything more embarrassing than proving that I have not two, but at least three or four left feet.

The truth of that matter is, however, that in order to grow, we truly must leave our comfort zone at times.  I ventured out into the world of Zumba, got scared, and returned to my comfort zone immediately afterwards by taking a Yoga class.  As much as I “fear” losing my super powers to  Zumbanite, I also recognize the experience as a wonderful opportunity.  Throughout my life, I, like many other people, have done only those things that I have been good at.  I have stayed away from those things with which I did not feel total confidence.  I may never become a dancer or a Zumba instructor, but I am beginning to learn that it is okay to simply have fun and enjoy what is happening at the moment.  It’s okay to have many left feet, as long as those feet are given the freedom to flow in the way that they are able to flow at a given time.  We need not “force” our feet or anyone else’s feet to travel in a particular direction.  We need only trust in the “force” and allow our feet to travel in the direction of our Highest Good.

Look out, Zumbanite, here I come!!!!!!