When people inquire about my Maple Ridge Salsa Classes and they are trying to find out details, I chuckle when I hear them confess their fears.  I’ve heard every excuse in the book:

“I have two left feet”

“I’m too white to dance”

“I don’t have a partner”

“My wife/husband doesn’t want to come”

“I’ve never taken any dance classes before”

“I’m too fat”

“I’m too old”

“I’m uncoordinated”.

All these statements are purely B-S. 

These are simply excuses.  The only way we can get anywhere in life is by walking right into our fears.  I had those same fears 4 years ago when I started my salsa classes.  The voices in my head started to whisper “But you’re just a chiropractor!  You have no formal dance training!  Your colleagues will laugh at you!  People are going to say you’re just trying to drum up business!  The elite dance instructors in town will say ‘who the heck are you to be teaching???”

I heard them all inside my head and I even heard it on the outside, and I did it anyway.  That was 4 years ago.

While running a busy Maple Ridge Chiropractic practice and a wellness centre, I took the step up and started to share my passion for this mesmerizing, infectious music and dance with my patients and the rest of the community, and boy, has the response been rewarding.

Each and every time, when people become aware of the classes that have come up, I’m met with the same challenges and resistance.  I hear those excuses every time.  I also see people who are going through stressful times, transitional times, people who want to spice things up in their relationships, they want to get fit, meet new people, and grow and expand their consciousness by simply stepping (or should I say dancing) out of their comfort zones.  I see their stresses vanish their confidence in themselves skyrocket.

The best part is when those same people transform before my very eyes from shy, introverted, self-conscious, nervous people, to people who gradually release all their tensions, forget their troubles, move their bodies, appreciate some new music, and  overlook their own “inadequacies”.  

At the end of the course, they are different people.  They’re better people for it, because they thought they couldn’t, but they realize they CAN.  And this confidence transforms into other areas of life– their relationships and careers and I watch them start to take more pride in how they look and feel.  Amazing changes, from an observer’s standpoint.

Men learn to “take the lead” and be more certain in their choices, and women learn to “let go and trust.”  

I’ve discovered that these are not just salsa classes I am teaching.  I’m teaching my students and myself about trust and empowerment in their own lives.  

So you think you can’t dance?  

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, your right.”

-  Henry Ford

Howerver, here’s something to ponder:

“People who dance lead more fulfilling lives than people who don’t.”

           - Dr. Nima

Only someone who has danced would understand what I mean by that one.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

2 Responses to “So you think you CAN’T dance?”