Zumba for the mind and body
Nikole Gavriilidis
Issue date: 2/24/10 Section: Life
Have you checked your BMI lately? There are many sources and charts available for people to calculate their BMI, or Body Mass Index. One way is a chart located in the student-athlete planner that all Mount athletes received at the beginning of the school year. However, the number that may read as your BMI in the student-athlete planner may give you a false body image.
"A woman who is 5'3'' and 130 pounds of all muscle could be considered obese according to the chart. It just doesn't make sense," said Mount's Fitness Director, Lisa Martin.
The fact is that health insurance companies establish these standards to categorize us which can lead us to have a negative effect on our self-esteem and body image.
At this past Monday night's free Zumba class, information like this was shared prior to the class. The information session also educated students on body image and body intelligence. When discussing the factors that influence body image, the false height to weight ratio measurement was just one of the many factors which is responsible for creating negative self-image.
Other factors include such mediums as tabloids, advertisements, movies, and television. With such constant images of super-skinny female models and über-fit muscular males pervading our everyday lives, it is hard not to succumb to what is viewed as socially acceptable and genuinely beautiful. Such strong stimuli can cause us to second guess our own beauty and deem ourselves as inferior.
"We have a lot of negative influences in our lives, but we have to battle them from the inside-out," said Martin.
Starting off Love Your Body Week, the free Zumba class did just that.
"The point of this event is to have fun, feel comfortable, and discover what your body can do and love it," said Martin.
So with the music pumping, students broke a sweat and kicked off a series of events sponsored by the Women's Empowerment Program.
The Zumba class, which incorporated both mental and physical exercises, was organized by Assistant Director of Residence Life/Women's Empowerment Program Director, Katherine Chronister, and her junior intern, Kimberly Horchner, both worked with Martin on the project.
Even though someone may not have the rhythm, Martin encourages them to step out of their comfort zone in order to become more aware of their bodies and how they move through space. "So what if you can't dance?" Martin said. "Be comfortable in the skin you are in."
"A woman who is 5'3'' and 130 pounds of all muscle could be considered obese according to the chart. It just doesn't make sense," said Mount's Fitness Director, Lisa Martin.
The fact is that health insurance companies establish these standards to categorize us which can lead us to have a negative effect on our self-esteem and body image.
At this past Monday night's free Zumba class, information like this was shared prior to the class. The information session also educated students on body image and body intelligence. When discussing the factors that influence body image, the false height to weight ratio measurement was just one of the many factors which is responsible for creating negative self-image.
Other factors include such mediums as tabloids, advertisements, movies, and television. With such constant images of super-skinny female models and über-fit muscular males pervading our everyday lives, it is hard not to succumb to what is viewed as socially acceptable and genuinely beautiful. Such strong stimuli can cause us to second guess our own beauty and deem ourselves as inferior.
"We have a lot of negative influences in our lives, but we have to battle them from the inside-out," said Martin.
Starting off Love Your Body Week, the free Zumba class did just that.
"The point of this event is to have fun, feel comfortable, and discover what your body can do and love it," said Martin.
So with the music pumping, students broke a sweat and kicked off a series of events sponsored by the Women's Empowerment Program.
The Zumba class, which incorporated both mental and physical exercises, was organized by Assistant Director of Residence Life/Women's Empowerment Program Director, Katherine Chronister, and her junior intern, Kimberly Horchner, both worked with Martin on the project.
Even though someone may not have the rhythm, Martin encourages them to step out of their comfort zone in order to become more aware of their bodies and how they move through space. "So what if you can't dance?" Martin said. "Be comfortable in the skin you are in."
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