Dangers of Perfumes & Scented Products While Exercising

     So you're just trying to make yourself healthier by going to Zumba class, but now you realize you've entered a chemical danger zone.  In the beginning of class, the woman next to you, though three feet away, smelled nice and you didn't really mind.  But about 20 minutes later, she's getting warmer and chemistry is making her perfumed body lotion even stronger.  To top if off, your heart is beating faster and you're breathing harder so those sweet smelling chemicals are now circulating through your body quickly.  If you're a student, you could move to another corner of the room or just leave and you're wise to do so.  Inhaling perfume products or powders during exercise can lead to serious health problems.
     I've had students complain to me after class that they got a migraine because the woman next to them had to much perfume.  One student told me she had to leave class because a woman walked in late with enough perfume to trigger her asthma symptoms.  At the gyms, I always see signs that read, "Please refrain from using any scented products."  In the past, all I did was sent out general emails asking students not to wear perfumed products to class.  Then something happened to change my tactics.
     About three weeks ago, a student came to my class with such a strong scent of perfume that could be smelled from more than 10 feet away.  If I were a student, I would have moved as far from her as possible or even left the class early.  Being the teacher, however, I had to remain close to the center of the front row and I surely couldn't just leave.  I became so distracted and light headed that I started to forget routines that were otherwise easy for me.  I went home and felt light headed, heavy chested and "poisoned" for the rest of the day.  For the first time, I felt like my job made me less healthy, not healthier.  Through email, I confronted her, told her I loved her but politely asked if she could wear less perfume next time.  She said she hadn't been wearing any perfume but she had put a new body lotion on, and yes, that lotion did seem pretty strong.  She apologized and said she wouldn't use it again.  That's when I started educating myself about perfume.  The first thing I read is that inhaling perfumes can affect your short-term memory.  That would explain why I couldn't remember my routines that day.
    I was fine for a couple weeks.  Then, last week, I noticed obvious perfumed scents coming from two different students.  When I started to experience the same symptoms again, light headedness and inability to remember my routines, I decided that I didn't want to poison myself.  So I canceled my 1 hour class after only 40 minutes and asked everyone not to wear scented products to my class.  It was an act of tough love, but I had to make students realize that I won't teach if I notice perfume.  One lady thought it was her fabric softener or scented deodorant; she promised to change them.  Another claimed she didn't use perfume because she was allergic to it but she was using a corn starch baby powder on her armpits.  I went home and read about corn starch and baby powder and found out that the powder gets in the air and we inhale the irritating particles  As a result,  I made a new waiver that reads, "I will not wear scented products or powders to class." All my students initial this statement and sign the new waivers.  Plus, I've posted a sign about perfumes at the studio and on my website.
     The next couple days were hard for me.  I seemed to have developed a heightened sense of smell.  I was noticing everything, and everything was distracting me from teaching.  I even worried I wouldn't be able to teach Zumba anymore.  I even noticed all the detergents and cleanser smells at the grocery store.  Luckily, I could walk away from those.  I might have developed hyperosmia.  I read that this increased olfactory acuity can be triggered by environmental factors but can also go away if the environmental factors are removed.  So I went to Whole Foods and purchased fragrance free shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, deodorant and hair mousse.  I was desperate!  I even borrowed a small air purifier from a dear friend and brought it to the dance studio along with another fan to blow the air around the room.  If all these efforts don't work, I guess I can shell out for a larger air purifier for my studio. (update: I just bought this: Winix PlasmaWave 5300 Air Cleaner Model)  I read that if you apply deodorant in front of one or even fart in front of it,  the fan will kick in and start purifying the air.  Having it helps me psychologically.
     At one class, a concerned and long-time student told me she hadn't put on any perfume that morning, just for me, and she asked me to smell her to make sure there was nothing.  I didn't notice anything.  Twenty minutes into the class, however, I suddenly noticed perfume coming from her corner of the room.  That's when I learned that increased body temperature strengthens any perfume you are wearing.  Perfume Originals, a perfume manufacturer, admits, "Increased body temperature causes perfumes to expand and the scent becomes stronger."  When I asked the sweet lady after class if she could wear less perfume next time, she was annoyed that before the class started, I had told her that she didn't smell of perfume.  That was before I knew about this perfume chemistry
     At another class, one student admitted she had applied perfume at 8AM, went to work and came straight to Zumba after work.  "Am I supposed to take a shower before I come to Zumba?"  Where are you putting it on your body?  If it's just a small area, can you wash it off?  If you're getting warmer, and the fragrance is becoming stronger, the people next to you will be suffering, no matter what time you put the perfume on.
    My husband suggested I was having a reaction to cleaning products used in the studio, but the truth was I only had problems at particular classes that particular students attended.  And if I taught another class right after it, with different students, the air seemed clear, and I felt fine.  One friend gave me advice to spray Febreze in my my studio before class to kill any other odors in the air.  Well, Febreze itself is just a another chemical that traps the odor molecules.  Let's go green and have clean air quality Zumba!
     It's hard to imagine how much your scented shampoos, hairsprays, lotions, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, etc can disturb others until you have had an experience such as I have had in the past few weeks.  Even if it doesn't bother you, note that many of these products are made with synthetic chemicals that can lead to all sort of problems for you and your neighbor, including lung cancer, pneumonia and yes, hyperosmia.

 References:  
 Is Perfume the New Second Hand Smoke?
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-seo/is-perfume-the-new-second_b_503114.html
Scent of Danger:  Are There Toxic Ingredients in Perfumes and Colognes?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toxic-perfumes-and-colognes/
Why Go Fragrance Free?
http://invisibledisabilities.org/educate/chemicalsensitivities/whygofragrancefree/
Perfume in the Workplace
https://canadasafetycouncil.org/workplace-safety/perfume-workplace
Scent-Free Policy for the Workplace
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/scent_free.html
Perfume Originals
http://www.eimi.com/perfumeoriginals/perfumefaq.htm

Zumba and Yoga

I love to do a little Yoga right after Zumba.  Your muscles are warm and it's the best time to stretch and relax.  Once a week I go to a wonderful 60 minute Iyengar Yoga class that happens to be right after a Zumba class that I teach and in the same building!  Score!  I'm in love with the teacher.  She relaxes me and constantly makes me aware of my body alignment.  Even if I already know the concept, she describes it with such articulate description that I begin to think about it differently.  From her, I learn new ways to describe stretches to my students.

I always walk into Iyengar Yoga about 5 minutes early so that I can roll out my legs on the foam roller.     
When I first started rolling, the sides of legs pressing down on the roller literally made me scream in pain.  My teacher, however, said that the more it hurts, the more you need to roll.  So I kept rolling, and now it's not so painful anymore.  The t band is something most people don't stretch very well, so it can become quite tense.  Rolling is doing wonders for my t band.  Rolling is also great for you back.  In fact, you can massage your whole body with the roller.

As for Yoga on a regular basis, 20 minutes of Yoga would be ideal for me.  But since I teach a 60 minute Zumba class, I make the last 5 minutes all about stretches, including many yoga stretches, such as downward dog, happy baby, cow face pose, bound angle pose, half lord of the fishes pose, lotus pose, child's pose, extended puppy pose, and various forward bends.

Today I went to a 30 minute meditation followed by a 90 minute Vinyasa yoga class.  During the 30 minute meditation, the teacher asked us to open our hearts and clear our minds.  She told us that if anyone asked us a question at that moment, we would respond with our hearts rather than our minds.  We were to be present to the moment.

While I was supposed to be having such honest, tailored thoughts, here is what went through my mind.  "I'll open my eyes and see if anyone else is opening theirs.  Yes, the girl in the back has her eyes open the whole time.  Oh look at this crud between my toe nails.  Let's see - clear my mind of any unpleasant thoughts-  immediately my worst experiences and nightmares come to mind and I replay them in my head.  Why is my brand new yoga mat so sticky?  If I move, everyone will hear me unstick.  what- is that a new frown mark above my nose?  I wonder what I should make for lunch- do I need to buy anything on the way home?  Listen to this teacher's Russian accent.  Her butt is so perfect.

Yes, I'm a fast moving person, with little patience for meditation.  That's why there's Zumba!  Still, as a teacher it's important to challenge myself and visit other classes where more serious yoga practitioners are thriving.  Their dedication, flexibility, passion and concentration are my motivation.  Hopefully, with each yoga class, I can pick up a move or a way to describe a move that I can incorporate into my Zumba stretch.  Attending these classes also turns me into a student.  I'm no longer the best in the room; I learn to feel silly and humiliated and understand how my students must feel.  I go to better myself and challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone.

Find what it is that can enhance your performance and embrace it.  Step outside of your comfort zone and learn something new.

How to Dance Merengue for dance exercise

See the demo video   Here are some of the common steps I do during merengue routines:

Basic March Step:  March in place, but instead of thinking about lifting up your knee, as you would during a regular non-dancing march, concentrate on what your opposite foot is doing- the one that is down.  Really press that foot into the floor- so much that the hip on that sides pops up. Your opposite knee still comes up, but it's not your primary focus.  As your opposite knee comes up, the heel of the same foot always comes off the floor.  The ball of the foot keeps contact with the floor.  Just the heel rises.  The more you can make it rise, the better.  It gives you the look of high arches, which is the goal.  Imagine you're dancing with high heels.

Adding a Twist to the Basic Step:  Combine a hip twist with the basic march in place.  In a hip twist, your hips rotate around your spine.  As you put weight on your left foot, your right hip comes forward and twists to the left.  Squeeze your inner thighs together here.  As you put weight on our right foot, your left hip comes forward and twists to the right.  Squeeze.  Repeat.

Basic Side Step:  Move your right foot to the right on 1.  Move your left next to your right foot on 2. Repeat.
Use your hips to do these steps:  The reason your right foot moves to the right is because your left hip bumps up, causing your rib cage and body weight to shift to the right and push the right foot out of the way.  Then when your left foot meets your right foot on 2, your body position returns to neutral.

Basic Side Step with figure 8:  A figure 8 movement can also be used on the basic side step.  The left side of the figure 8 happens when you step to the right.  The right side happens when you bring your feet together.  Repeat the same on the other side.

Basic Side Step with hip circle:  Make counterclockwise hip circles as your travel to the right.  When your right foot move right, your hips travel left.  As your left foot closes in next to your right foot, do the backwards part of the hip circle.  Do the front part of the hip circle (hips moving left) as you step right again.
Do the opposite when you travel to the left.

Turning Basic Side Step with hip circle:  As you are stepping to the right you can turn around in circles to your left or counterclockwise.  Step, turn and do hip circles simultaneously.  When side stepping to the left, turn right or clockwise.

Turning Basic Side Step with hip circle and shimmy:  Now add a hip shimmy.  It is easier if you only shimmy on 2, as you're bringing your feet together.  It's easier to shimmy the hip of the foot that is up in the air.

3 Step or "side together side together":    Think:  Right, replace, together, Left, replace, together.  123,456  1 is a basic side step to the right, 2 is a basic side step to the left, on 3 the right foot moves left until it meets the left foot.  4 is a basic side step to the left.  5 is a basic side step to the right.  On 6, the left foot moves right till it meets the right foot.  Repeat.

Crossing 3 Step:  Do the same as the 3 Step, but cross your feet on 3 and 6.  Right, replace, cross in front.  Left, replace, cross in front.  Instead of bringing your feet together, one crosses in front of the other.  You can also do a crossing 3 step by crossing behind.  Right, replace, cross in back.  Left, replace, cross in back.  This step can be done to a few different rhythms:  1) Quick Quick Slow, Quick Quick slow:  The cross happens on slow.  2) 6 Quicks:  This will be very fast.  For either rhythm, you can use a basic side step or a basic step with a twist.  If you twist:
on 1) hip twist to left as your right foot steps to right
on 2) hip twist to left as your step back on your left foot
on 3) hip twist to left as your right foot crosses in front
Repeat the opposite on the other side.

Bouncy Side together Side together with figure 8:  1) Basic side step to the right with figure 8 pushoff.  2) Basic side step to the left with figure 8 pushoff.  3) Right foot closes in to left foot.  body becomes neutral.  Same on other side.  This will be fast.  To make it bouncy, push off you right foot at the end of 1 and push off your left foot and the end of 4.

Pony:  Start with the basic marching step. Add a vertical hip circle.  You reach the bottom of the circle on 1 and the top of the circle on 2.   Bend your knees to get lower on 1 and raise your heels to get higher on 2.  Absorb the rise and fall into your abs so that your upper body is not out of control and remains fairly steady.

Mambo Chasse:  I rarely see students have trouble with this one!  You can step on the mambo or do pelvis thrusts or hip bumps or many other creative moves.  Think of the chasse as a cha cha step.  The count goes
1, 2 = mambo (right foot forward, left foot in place)
3+4= chasse (side step, together, side step)(to the right)
1,2 = mambo on other side (left foot forward, right foot in place)
3+4= chasses (to the left)
On the chasse, you can either skip and not use your hips, and travel a lot OR you can quickly bump your  hips on each of the 3 steps and travel less.  Try both for variation.

How can I protect my knees while dancing?

Here are 10 tips for protecting your knees during dance:  See video at: http://youtu.be/1E96XUHlSCw

1) Reduce your body weight, so less weight will sit on top of your knees.  (easier to do if you can work out without hurting yourself!)
2) Don't wear really old workout shoes.  Shoes lose cushioning after a while.  Replace them!
3) During your warm up, be sure to bounce gently in your knees.  Don't totally straighten your legs and lock your knees.
4) Knee circles can strengthen knees and legs.  Start with your feet together.  Bend your knees till you're in a mild squat, keep your feet on the ground, and draw circles with your knees on a horizontal plane.  Try the same with your feet apart.  Do both directions.  Imagine you're circling a  hula hoop around your knees.  Include knee circles in your warmup, perhaps along with hip circles.
5) Many students tell me they can't do the hip rotator move that is common to hip hop or samba.  It looks like the knees are moving side to side rapidly.  But notice I called it a hip rotator movement.  Your knees are not moving at all; it's like an optical illusion.  It's all in the hip rotator.  The key is to align your knees with your toes.  Let your whole leg move as one unit, from hip rotator to toe, and the hip rotator does all the work.   Maintain muscle tone in your inner thigh to keep control over your leg so the knee stays aligned with the toes.  Also, if you press down into the floor with the ball of your foot, like you want to squish a cockroach, you will maintain pressure in your inner thigh and not let your knee flop around.  It's when you get lazy, do it sloppy, not put foot pressure into the floor and not engage your inner thighs, that you can lose control of your knee and let it wander and twist itself.  Always include a slow  hip rotator movement in your warmup and gradually pick up the speed.
6) If you want to do the chicken move, where your knees come apart and together again, make sure your feet are rocking side to side so that your knees stay in line with your feet.  If you attempt the chicken knees with feet flat on the floor, you will torque your knees and feel discomfort.
7) When doing lunges, don't let your knees go in front of your toes.  Even when you're taking giant steps forward, for example in ballroom waltz, don't let your knees pass your toes.
8) Absorb shock during landing steps.  After a jump or a hop or a big step, take up the landing in your knees by descending more after your foot touches the floor.  In other words, cushion your landing.  Don't let your foot noisily hit the floor: that would be crashing, not cushioning.  Crash landings are too much impact on your knees.  When you do knee raises and the knee is quickly coming up and the foot is quickly coming down and touching the floor again (common in Bollywood), don't think of it as stomping your foot.  Your thigh and abdominal muscles should be so engaged and tense that they stop your foot from crashing just as it's about to touch the floor.  If your muscles are stopping your foot, you shouldn't even hear your steps.  Now the impact on your knees is ever so subtle.
9) Don't jump till you feel really warmed up.  You may need to avoid jumping and stay low impact.  Or maybe you can half jump (let you heels leave the floor).  You can still have a lot of fun and get a great workout by staying low impact (keeping one foot on the floor at all times.)
10) If you have knee cartilage issues, try taking knox gelatin.  Mix it in your juice.  It's cheap and can strengthen your cartilage.
11) Use shoe gliders such as DanceSocks on your shoes if your are dancing on sticky floors.  Sticky floors will not let your twist freely and could injure your knees.