Belly Dancing for Fitness

My new favorite way to work out? I'm trading in my sneakers for a hip scarf and going for a shimmy instead of a jog.

Belly dancing has been around long before Shakira hip-circled her way into our hearts, dating back thousands of years. Recently, I gave it a shot myself at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center. Instructor Jehan, who teaches belly dancing all over the world, had me working up a sweat minutes into her open level class at the dance studio, starting off the session with a relaxing meditation before taking us step by step though snake arms, ribcage circles, and hip circles, thrusts, twists, figure eights, and shimmies. And after spending an hour discovering muscles I didn't know I had, she even had the class (a group of women with years of belly dancing under their belts and unlimited patience with my less-than-graceful flailing) go through a choreographed belly dance. Despite shimmying until my hips and abs were screaming, I left feeling centered and energized

Besides being a great physical workout, it can be a spiritual one as well, Jehan told me. "It creates a hypnotic flow in the body which awakens all the energy pathways and the emotions. It is a path self discovery and transformation, as an empowering healing art." I probably need a few more classes to get my movements away from "awkward and pained" before I get closer to reaching hypnotic self discovery, so I'm getting a little help with Jehan's Sacred Bellydance Instructional DVD.