Week 1 of the 21-Day Sensual Reset™- The Daily Dance Break

by Anita Avalos

Welcome to Week 1 of the 21-Day Sensual Reset, a totally free and surefire way to create greater freedom & pleasure in your body, life, relationship to food, and return to your Authentic Sensuality™.

I am so excited to have you take this journey with me and I promise, if you just try these principles for the next 21 days, you will end the month feeling so much better in your own skin, so much lighter and happier, you won’t want to let go these principles.

Before I get into Week 1’s Principle, I just want to make sure of a couple of things:

1) Did you read my previous post on what this challenge/reset even is? If not, go HERE to get caught up.

2) Have a journal to record your results or better yet, leave a comment on my site at the end of the week bragging about your success.

3) OH! And make sure you have elicited support. Reach out via email, Facebook, or a good old-fashioned phone call to invite a girlfriend to do this challenge with you (For the men on my list, feel free to share this with a woman you adore and SUPPORT HER ON THIS JOURNEY.) One of the best ways is to send them over to my site so they can get these nuggets in their inbox or send them the link for this post.

Ready for this week’s focus principle?

Week 1- The Daily Dance Break and Connecting to Your Sensual Expression

Separating Fact from Workout Fiction

Many of us have been taught that the only way to get results is by exercising really hard and as much as possible.

We have had the phrase “no pain, no gain” etched into our mind’s eye. (Made only worse by those ridiculous “fitspiration” photos of women with 2% body fat alongside “motivational” phrases like “No Excuses!” or “I can control my body. I will beat her.” Whateva! I don’t find that body positive and I love that other peeps are speaking up, like the #stopfitspiration movemement.)

This is never more true than at the beginning of the year, when the New Year’s Resolution hype is at full throttle. Gym memberships go through the roof, and we have all these lofty plans that just get thrown to the side when we burn out on them because they are not sustainable or fun.

Or, perhaps we keep it going, keep pushing hard, only to exhaust our adrenal glands and our joy.

As women, we aren’t made of the same hormonal stuff as men, and that constant pushing of our bodies can lead to hormonal disruption and actually make it harder to lose weight because we are flooding our bodies with cortisol, the stress hormone that can cause us to gain or keep on weight despite our best efforts.

We cannot keep pushing our bodies with “by any means necessary” attitude any longer!

What I often find is that most women are either a) pushing themselves way too hard with no rest in between or b) have come to hate exercise so much that aren’t doing any of it.
We have lost the sense of play, pleasure, and how good it feels to simply be in a body and MOVE her.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

What if we stopped doing painful exercises and started thinking of what kind of movement would bring us JOY!?

How would that shift things?

Think about it: even babies and kids LOVE to move when the music hits them. It’s part of us. As little ones, we love to jump, PLAY, DANCE! We are hard-wired for joy through movement, hard-wired to dance!

While I think under the right context challenging ourselves physically can be fun and rewarding, constantly pushing ourselves to the limit isn’t so healthy.

It lacks balance and builds a negative connection that unless it’s “hard”, it doesn’t “count.”

Aren’t we hard enough on ourselves already?

This is a very masculine approach to exercise and doesn’t speak to our feminine nature.

It’s crazy ironic! Lots of women have been led to believe that they should exercise in part to build a sexy body, thinking this will make them more attractive to the opposite sex, only to cut-off their sensual nature through these very workouts, burn through their adrenals, and lose their libidos.

Or they want to be “stronger”, but lose their joy in the process.

We have to question, is it worth that sacrifice? Is that even healthy? Do we need to push SO hard, day after day?

What about moving to increase our health, vitality,joy, and quality of life?

What is really attractive, what shows strength, is when a woman is in her fullest expression. Dance is one of the best ways to make this happen. Dance allows you take up space, first for yourself and then in the world.

Take a moment and ask yourself when is the last time you let yourself move in pure pleasure and joy? Got lost in the music?

This is what the feminine craves.

Again, I want to say it’s ok to challenge yourself, but if there’s no joy in the mix, you are missing out on a whole lot. While I personally enjoy a wide range of ways to get my movement in, I also check in with my joy and always find time to move in my fem.

The feminine LOVES to move, loves to express herself through the body. She wants to get in her hips, her pleasure. She craves sensual expression. She becomes physically, mentally, and spiritually fit through movement that feels joyful, that raises not just her heartbeat but also her vibration.

And historically, women have found DANCE to be a key way to get in touch with their sensual selves, to express themselves, to create a feeling of freedom, to celebrate and create fertility, to celebrate LIFE, and to have FUN. When a woman dances, there is nothing more beautiful or sacred.

We ladies are simply gorgeous when we are in our flow. When our bodies flow, so does our lives.

You CAN work up a sweat and light up your joy! And this week, I’m going to prove it to you (or rather you are going to prove it to yourself).

Here’s what to do this week:
For the next week, all I am asking is that you take a 5 minute dance break. (Yes, you can go longer if you like.)

I don’t care if you are a “gym everyday at 6 am” kinda lady or “I haven’t laced up my sneakers in over a year” woman. I just want you to commit to 5 minutes of dancing every day this week.

You can do it in the shower (just don’t slip!), you can do it in your bedroom (alone or with some one watching –wink, wink!), in your living room, or in the kitchen. You can do it at the club, bar, or dance class. You can do it alone or with your kids or with your partner. Whatever floats your boat.

The only rule is to have fun.

Pick your “jam of the day”, pump of the volume, and set yourself FREE!

Then record how you feel. Leave me a comment HERE telling me what your favorite dance jam is. Record your experiences in your journal, brag to your girls.

See firsthand what shifts for you when you move your body in the spirit of sensuality, expression, joy, and pleasure. Think about it: even babies and kids LOVE to move when the music hits them. It’s part of us. As little ones, we love to run, jump, PLAY, DANCE! We are hard-wired for joy through movement, hard-wired to dance!

You can always go back to bootcamp, but balance it out with some time in your Sensual Self.

Then, see what else shifts in your life. Do you notice more confidence, light-heartedness? Feel more sexy, sensual, and/or free? Take notice and repot back.

Bonus Points AKA The Live Adventure Component!

If you live in LA, I’d love if you’d meet me this Sunday, January 12th at Brasil, Brasil Cultural Center in Culver City for a FREE Burlesque Dance Class. You can find out more by going here. It’s from 6-7 pm and a great way to take this challenge one step further.

Don’t live in LA? See if there are any local dance classes that look interesting to you and give it a-go!

I can’t wait to hear all about it, and if you need some jams to get you started, here are a few of my favorite booty shaking songs that get me moving (one is shamelessly of me!):

Push It- With Me