# 55 - Jumping Jack Flash

Our group of women at the Efrat Women's Health Center are going to be graduating IY"H soon from the Healthy Living Program Level I. And our instructors have been trying to get us ready to live in the real world - learning what exercise is like in normal exercise classes (maybe we'll want to attend one), learning how to make healthy food choices and how to get back up if we slip, and much more. The Center is trying to help us become independent, so that we can graduate and feel confident that we can still be healthy without our constant connection to the Center.
Recently at the Efrat Women's Health Center our exercise instructor Daphne Kupietzky introduced jumping jacks into the routine. Jumping jacks, you may say, scratching your head. So what!
Well, when my group mates and I first began the Women's Health Center, there was no way at all that we could get our both feet off the floor, and there was ABSOLUTELY no way that we could even attempt to do a jumping jack.
We used to throw our arms up jumping-jack style. But instead of doing the jumping jack move, we'd alternate tapping each foot to the side. Right. Left. Right. Left.
This was a pathetically-out-of-shape woman's jumping jack. Daphne kindly called it a beginner's jumping jack, but we knew the truth.
So last week when we included the "real" jumping jacks in our interval training, I don't know who was happier or prouder - Daphne or our group.
As we popped effortlessly :-) into the air, she said, "Look at you. Look how far you've come. Look what you're doing. You wouldn't even have thought it was possible almost six months ago."
Boy, was she right!
Then to add to the praise. Daphne said, "When we start the next level session (we're graduating from Healthy Living I to Healthy Living II, IY"H), we're going to exercise with weights."
Wooooow.
B"H, we've come a long way, baby.


One more change I want to remember. During our Zumba class with Tanya Richardson, a song popped up on the computer and Tanya quickly went to take it off our Zumba line-up. "No, why. Leave it," we said. It's always fun to dance to a new song.
"No," Tanya explained. "This will be too difficult for you to keep up with."
"Come on," we said. "Give us a chance."
She did, and we zumba'd all the way. Tanya echoed Daphne's enthusiasm. "Wow, who would believe that you could do this music number? I did!!! Good for you."
So, we're doing our jumping jacks and our energetic zumba, and we're feeling, B"H, great!!!