When you’ve been married as long as I have, you are constantly looking for ways to keep things fresh. I believe continuing to search for creative and innovative experiences is key to helping your relationship remain energetic.
Marriage can quickly turn stale if we are not working repetitively to improve individually and collectively. It’s been my experience that the best periods of marriage were the results of doing something my wife and I had never done before.
Traveling has always been both therapeutic and preventative. Normally when you travel, you are able to cast aside the mundane things that keep you from connecting, so that you can focus on what really matters.
Unfortunately, we can’t travel every day. But we can keep moving and have new experiences that give us an opportunity to keep stepping in the right direction.
Chicago Style Steppin’
One new experience which has provided a positive step is Steppin’. Having grown-up in the Chicagoland area, the dance style known as Steppin’ was not foreign to me. Yet, until recently, I considered Steppin’ as an “old folks” activity.
Steppin’ was what my momma and her peers did on Saturday night which, in part explains why I refused to learn to step. I love my momma as much as any son loves his mother but I never wanted to spend my Saturday nights hanging out at a club with my momma. What man wants to party with his momma? What man wants to do the same dance that his momma is doing?
Besides, there was just no way that I was going to put on a suit, listen to the likes of R. Kelly and sashay around a ballroom. Nope not me! Not going to hang out with my momma wearing a twenty-first century Zoot Suit.
Steppin’ Is More Than Dancing and Obnoxious Suits
A short time ago, I gave Steppin’ deeper consideration. I put aside the reluctance associated with doing what my momma and ‘them’ were doing and recognized that Steppin’ might provide some of the elements to keep a marriage fresh and healthy. With a little prodding, I was forced to acknowledge that there were several ways Steppin’ shared the goals and objectives of marriage.
1. Brain Power – The New England Journal of Medicine reports that participation in leisure activities such as dancing has been associated with a lower risk of dementia. Apparently, Steppin’ is not just about dressing like Cab Calloway and dancing to R. Kelly.
According to the “Study” dancing integrates several brain functions all at one time. Dancing stimulates your kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional brain functions which further increases your neural connectivity. Simply put, Steppin’ can increase cognitive acuity. Steppin’ makes it possible for you to remain smarter than everyone else. Most importantly, Steppin’ makes certain that you remain smarter than your spouse.
2. Libido – Who needs a blue pill when you have Steppin’? Steppin’ as a method of exercise can be a useful way to help raise testosterone. Listening to good music, holding your partner close and moving rhythmically might do more than just change your outlook on the day. Steppin’ might be just what the doctor ordered to lift more than just your mood, if you get my drift.
(I just had a terrible thought. Please don’t tell me this is the reason my momma and ‘them’ step. Oh God, erase that image from my mind already!)
3. Weight Loss – The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports that 37.9% of African American men 20 years and over and 57.6% of African American women 20 years and over are obese. The CDS’s findings are not only startling they are absolutely reprehensible. We owe it to ourselves, our families and our communities to take our health seriously. There is no reason for so many of us to be obese!
Fortunately, we have the power to change the statistics reported by the CDC. Steppin’ can play a role in improving our health. The Journal of Physiological Anthropology discovered that low impact aerobic dancing such as Steppin’ is a useful mode for weight loss. Moreover, the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that low impact aerobic dance like Steppin’ when combined with proper diet and nutrition is as an effective form of a weight loss plan as jogging and/or cycling.
There’s More to Steppin’ Than I Thought
If you haven’t given Steppin’ a try I encourage you to do so. Although I only shared three benefits of Steppin’, I can assure you that there are additional ways Steppin’ can help you and your relationship. My suggestion is that you find yourself a qualified professional Steppin’ instructor who possesses the ability to help you learn the dance and share some of the wonderful supplementary benefits about Steppin’.
Learning to Step may not be as easy as counting 1, 2, 3 but Steppin’ might increase your mental acuity, raise your libido and keep you fit and trim. I’m sure you would agree that those three things alone are steps in the right direction.
BMWK: Have you ever tried Steppin’? What city do you Step in?