Manna Project International Nicaragua: Women's Exercise Gets Creative

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Women's Exercise Gets Creative

Having the summer volunteers here had been a huge blessing and help in more ways than one, and the energy and creativity that they bring to all of the Manna programs has been truly beneficial. One of the programs that has specifically been helped for the better is women's health and exercise. I, Megan, am the teacher/leader of this program, and I often time have trouble finding new music or thinking of new routines or activities to keep the women engaged and on their toes. Well all of the girls have been more than willing and excited to help, and the program has in my opinion progressed for the better.
During the first summer session one of the volunteers, Maddy, taught a Zumba class which the women absolutely loved because they all naturally love to dance. For those who do not know Zumba is a dance class that mixes Latin American music and modern pop; so much fun. Then this past week one of the current summer volunteers taught a Bollywood dance routine, which is something that the women and many of us have ever seen before, and was also super fun. Along with dancing, the girls have helped me lead yoga and strength classes as well as a water aerobics class here at the Manna house pool. Even though most of the women did not know how to swim, it didn't prevent them from getting in and getting involved. Another thing that I wanted to incorporate into the program was a bit more focus on health and how to have a healthy lifestyle, and one of the summer volunteers was a nutrition major at school. So she helped me gather some really informative and helpful resources to give the women about eating right and having a healthy diet and living a healthy life. With all of the wonderful help at my fingertips now I am definitely going to miss all of this summer help. They are, however, leaving me with some great ideas that I hope to be able to use in the future.