The Happy Sweat Life

Embracing Self-Care: How World Groove and Self-Acceptance Led to Weight Loss with Karin McCleary

• Lisa Rung • Episode 3

Share episode

Send us a text

Episode 3:  Today I am talking with Karin McCleary, who is based in New England.  You'll learn about how Groove was a key component to transforming her health and learning to love and accept her body.  You'll hear about her fascinating journey from falling in love with Groove to becoming a facilitator.   

Karin McCleary Information:
Facebook: Karin Groove
World Groove Movement Class Finder:
detail search | The World Groove Movement

World Groove Movement: https://theworldgroovemovement.com/
Body Groove™: https://www.bodygrooveondemand.com/

Contact me at happysweatlife@gmail.com for any questions or if you are interested in being interviewed.
Find my World Groove movement classes on Mondays and Thursdays, under my name, at: https://theworldgroovemovement.com/virtual-search/

Contact me at happysweatlife@gmail.com for questions, suggestions, or to be put on the email list and be notified of new episodes.

Find my World Groove movement zoom class on Thursdays, under my name, at: https://theworldgroovemovement.com/virtual-search/

If you're interested in starting a podcast of your own, consider joining the SPI Community. The All Access Pass, in particular, has a step by step course for starting a podcast which absolutely was key for creating and launching my podcast. And equally important, I made connections with other fellow entrepreneurs/podcasters. If you do sign up through my affiliate link, I will receive a commission fee.

Lisa:

Welcome to the Happy Sweat Life podcast. I am so excited today to be talking to Karin McCleary. And just to let you know, she and I met because we are both facilitators of the world Groove movement and she's joined our group that support each other and help improve our teaching. So Karin, maybe you can say how you would define groove.

Karin:

Oh, that's a really good question. So to me, groove is united in rhythm, but individual style.

Lisa:

Oh, I

Karin:

so, yeah, so I have a whole bunch of students with a whole bunch of different abilities and different ways they like to dance. And so I wanna give them that experience that they feel the music in their body and they dance it the way they feel it. And so it's, you know, if everybody's doing 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, but everybody's dancing it the way they feel it in that musical style, that makes me happy. And that's what I think Groove is.

Lisa:

And I can, I can see you already smiling when you talk about it, so

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

that's wonderful.

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

So, to kinda go back when you were growing up, did you dance, did you do movement? You know, what's your

Karin:

so so my story is that when I was six, I started ballet lessons I'm very tall. I'm about, I'm 5 9, 5 10, I don't know anymore. And the, dance teacher within my hearing told my mother that I'd never be a ballerina.

Lisa:

Oh no.

Karin:

And I don't know why she said that. Like I assume it's because I was a tall kid and you can't be super tall and be a ballerina, right? But I took that as I couldn't dance. And so I had a mental in my head that I cannot dance and I don't know how to dance and I'm never gonna be a dancer. Right?

Lisa:

that's

Karin:

Isn't it sad? Right? So no, I didn't really dance and I thought I wasn't a good dancer. And then. But I, I sing, I think, you know, that I think, you know, I've been singing since I was five. I've been on stage, I've been in a number of, of, you know, community theater type productions and all through high school and college was involved in multiple performance groups. And in high school I was in a show choir where you had to dance, right.

Lisa:

okay.

Karin:

I still remember this one moment where I was doing something, I don't remember what I was doing and the, the director made everybody stop and said, watch what Karen's doing. She's doing it right. She's doing the right thing. And I literally froze cuz I'm like, it can't be me. I'm in the back because I can't dance. Right,

Lisa:

What other person named Karen?

Karin:

right. And I was the only Karen in the group. Right. So, yeah. So.

Lisa:

Oh my gosh. I just got chills.

Karin:

Yeah, right. And so I'm like, maybe I can dance. Maybe I can't do ballet, but maybe I can dance. And so at that point I started kind of exploring some nominal kinds of dance, but I was a junior in high school at that point, and like off doing other things, like lots of other things and didn't have a ton of time for dance. But I never again, felt like I couldn't dance, right. I felt like maybe I needed more training in other styles and Through my adult life, just have had a lot of time fun. Had a lot of fun time just going out to dance, right when I was single. And you know, with my friends we would, I lived in New York City for a while. We'd go to clubs and we'd dance was fun, right? That was really one of the only parts of living in New York City that I enjoyed. But that's a whole other story. And then I got married and I had two small stepchildren and like my needs became secondary, so I didn't do a lot of stuff for myself. Had some health issues and gained a lot of weight, like,

Lisa:

Hmm.

Karin:

and wasn't super active because there was other priorities and I wasn't doing any self-care, like

Lisa:

Oh, wow.

Karin:

none. Right. And. Got to the point where I had to do something about it and my doctor said to me, you need to take care of yourself. Right? This was right before Covid started.

Lisa:

Oh, okay.

Karin:

At the same time, this message was being delivered to me by my doctor. We were moving because of my husband's job, and we moved into this house that we're in in April of 2020. So,

Lisa:

Oh my gosh. What timing?

Karin:

So not only was I in a new place where I didn't really know anybody, but we, there was really no way to meet anybody and there were no gyms opening and there was nothing, right? And I had this resounding message from my doctor that like, I can't stress enough how much the message was communicated to me if I didn't start exercising and eating right and giving myself some self care. My, the medical issues I have, were going to get worse.

Lisa:

Oh wow.

Karin:

So I sat myself down and said, okay, the, the kids are in college. They're here because of Covid, but they're not, I don't need to, I don't need to be mom. Right. I can, I can be Karen. And I took I started this exercise program that I saw on the web that I thought would work for me, and I hated every minute of it.

Lisa:

Oh no,

Karin:

I just, it was like a chore and I was like, okay, this is not working. It's not gonna do it for me. And I was on Facebook and I saw this body groove thing pop

Lisa:

Uhhuh.

Karin:

up and I went, let's try that. I'll give it 30 days. I'm gonna commit, and this is what I did with the other thing. I committed to doing it for 30 days

Lisa:

Oh,

Karin:

and I said, if I like it, I'll do more of it, but if I don't, then I'll try something else. Well, after five days, I, I was like, I cannot go a day without doing this. This is

Lisa:

Oh my gosh..

Karin:

Right. I loved it cuz it was dancing, it wasn't exercise, it was all these different styles of dance. I was learning styles I had never learned before, like Latin Right.

Lisa:

Yeah. Right.

Karin:

And I was having fun. I was having so much fun that my husband had to come down and tell me like, it's time to eat dinner. to stop. Right? Cuz I would just keep going cuz I was having fun. And and the meditation piece of it and the, the circulation pieces of it were helping my mind. So, I have anxiety. It's not the medical condition that we're talking about here, but it is something that I've had my whole life and this has calmed it.

Lisa:

Wow. Wow.

Karin:

And I know I sound like almost like a crazy person, like how many good things this has done, but I really, for me, and I don't believe that every exercise method works for every person. Right?

Lisa:

Absolutely.

Karin:

Somebody else might have loved that other thing that I tried, right? And that's great for them. It did not work for me. So I started doing the body groove app workouts and so I will share with you and I'm gonna send you some pictures that you are free to post. I weighed, I weighed over 220 pounds when I started.

Lisa:

Oh my goodness. Wow.

Karin:

I don't weigh anywhere near that anymore. And I just, committed to doing this every day, and I have not missed a day in almost 600 days. I'm at almost 600 days of, of every day of dancing.

Lisa:

Oh my gosh.

Karin:

I know. So, and I know I've talked a lot. I don't know if I'm, I'm, I, I can keep going in my journey to facilitator, but I don't know if you have other questions, so. Yeah.

Lisa:

I'll just take a minute. I, I kind of wanted to go back to when you started Groove. Did

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

to do any modifications?

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

Were you dancing from a chair? Like, what was it like for you starting out?

Karin:

I did not do any chair dancing. Mostly because I just would pace myself. So I would not, like, I couldn't jump, like I'll, I, I've told Heather this, so I don't, whenever I would see Heather come on the screen. So for those of you who don't know, Heather's, one of the lead facilitators is the master facilitators. I would cringe and be like, oh, it's a Heather's song. And I would be like, all right, you're gonna modify, you're gonna do the song, you're gonna modify, right? And I still remember the day that I made it through so they do a workout of the day every day, which is a series of different things, right? So you can get a taste. And I still remember there was a day when almost every song was Heather

Lisa:

no.

Karin:

I'm, no, and this was about a, probably about a year into my journey and I made it through the whole thing without thinking, oh my God, this is a Heather song.

Lisa:

Wow. What a difference.

Karin:

And I, right. And I remember being like, oh my gosh. Right. So Yeah, when I started to look forward to the Heather songs, that was when I knew I'd really accomplished something. Right. I love you, Heather. So yeah, I, I just, it's, it's interesting and, and so yeah, I did, I did have to modify and mostly it was like, I couldn't jump and I couldn't, like, I couldn't squat, I couldn't, you know, things that I couldn't do. So I would just do like a little, like, you know, if, if it was a squat I would just go down as much as I could go down. If it was a jump, I would pump my hands up in the air. Right. So, you know, yeah, definitely modifications. So,

Lisa:

was that frustrating or you just felt like it was still was progress? You were moving in the right direction.

Karin:

Yeah, I mean, I felt like the instructors are, the facilitators are so good at being like, you know, do what your body can do. That was another thing that I think really kept me going. I never felt like I. I couldn't do something, I just felt like I did it my own way. Right. And I, and you know, it, you can't get it wrong. Right?

Lisa:

right.

Karin:

Nobody cares what you look like and you can't get it wrong. And so, you know, now when I'm, and just kind of tying this in when I'm teaching, I try to make sure that I'm telling people like, look, if you can't skip March, if you can't March, walk, just. Sit in the chair and move your arms, like, just move. So yeah.

Lisa:

That's so neat. I, you know, I was, I'm reminded when you were talking about like that, that feeling of getting through Heather's classes and stuff, like how people post about their non-scale victories on Facebook

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

and, and I just love that you know that there are so many other ways to measure your progress and

Karin:

Right.

Lisa:

feel, good about what you're doing.

Karin:

Yeah. And I will say that I really wasn't focused on my weight. I was focused on my health.

Lisa:

Wow.

Karin:

My doctor was also not focused on my weight, which I know is unusual cause I know a lot of doctors out there are very weight focused. She was focused on me being healthy and her philosophy, we talked about it recently actually, because of how much weight I have lost. She's like, my philosophy was if you were focused on being healthy, you would lose the weight. And if I focused you on the weight, you wouldn't lose the weight.

Lisa:

Right,

Karin:

And she's right because I was focused on getting exercise every day. I was focused on the what I was putting into my body. And, you know, to talk a little bit about that because I think it's important that people realize I didn't just lose all this weight and keep eating the way that I had been eating. And the way I was eating was not healthy. Let's be honest. I did change. My husband and I did change the way that we ate, some for his health, he has horrible, had horrible acid reflux.

Lisa:

Oh, well.

Karin:

And at night he couldn't sleep because it was so bad and his doctor said, you need to stop eating so much at night. So we flipped the script. We eat our biggest meal at breakfast. We meal prep on Sundays, and we prep two different types of breakfasts, and that's what we eat for our breakfast during the week. We have a moderate lunch, and then dinner's really small. He might eat a bowl of cereal and I might have peanut butter toast and an apple, right? Like

Lisa:

Wow.

Karin:

but, and then I focus, I focus on eating a lot of vegetables. So I eat carbs, I eat ice cream, I eat chocolate, I drink wine. I have scotch in moderation. So like I don't keep ice cream in the house. We are very lucky. We have this amazing ice cream place right down the road from us. If we want ice cream. We go out and we have, I have a scoop of ice cream and it's enough, right?

Lisa:

Right.

Karin:

But I do keep chocolate in the house. Yes. And I have that if I want something sweet or I have a piece of fruit or, and I know it sounds like I'm making it sound super easy. I know that change is hard. It was really hard for me,

Lisa:

Mm.

Karin:

but I don't feel deprived the way that I've chosen to do this. I don't feel deprived. So,

Lisa:

that's so wonderful.

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

love that it was you and your husband working together to

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

make the change.

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

much easier when your partner's on board.

Karin:

True. And guess what? He sleeps through the night now, so you know he's not cranky anymore.

Lisa:

Wonderful. So let's see. Maybe if you can keep going on your story, like where you went from there. So, so you were doing the body Groove on demand app. Were you, were you active in the Facebook group or,

Karin:

I, I was a little active. I wasn't like a super user, but I posted, there's a few posts out. There's actually one that resurfaced, like somebody posted on it recently, which I looked at, that was like a year ago, and I'm like, oh my God, look at me. Right.

Lisa:

Quite a difference.

Karin:

Quite a difference. So I, I found out that there were live instructors for the World Groove Movement, which Body Groove app and World Groove Movement are two kind of separate but united things, right? They're both run by the same company. And I started taking, I. A class on a weekly basis with Miranda, who's also one of the master trainers. And slowly found other people teaching like Johnnie Anderson, who's amazing MIM, who's amazing, and MIM McGregor

Lisa:

Mm-hmm.

Karin:

started taking those classes and Miranda encouraged me to go to facilitation training.

Lisa:

Oh, okay.

Karin:

So, And I was really reluctant to do that. I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, I can't do that. Like, that's not, that's what, and, and then Chelle who I think you've already interviewed and who's part of our, our little group of people that support each other, she messaged me on the side and it's like, look, I didn't think I was gonna teach either, but I took it and I got so much out of it for myself. Like, I think you should go. Right? So I was like, all right. What can it hurt? Right? I take a class, I learn more about these dance styles and whatever. Well, after teaching my practicum class, I was like, I. I'm freaking hooked on this. This is awesome. I love this. So, as you know, I've started my a, a Tuesday night groove on Zoom. So I do it every week and I love it. And I have now gone through I've passed my advanced Level one certification and my FIT certification, and I'm getting close to filming my practicum for my advanced level two certification. So, I'm apparently like a junkie on groove.

Lisa:

Yeah. Well congratulations on all those accomplishments.

Karin:

Thank you. Thank you.

Lisa:

Obviously you've really embraced the groove truths and lifestyle.

Karin:

Yeah, I do think that there's something to that, right? The whole no one cares what you look like. That has really resonated with me through my life. Not just when I'm dancing, right? Because you know when you're dancing and you're telling somebody to do like a shake or whatever and you're trying to get them to be weird or whatever, that's one thing. But I've kind of embraced that in my work life too.

Lisa:

Oh,

Karin:

Not about necessarily the way that I look, but the way that I'm acting. Like I just kind of don't care anymore. And I do, but I don't mean it like I don't care. But I, I have. I'm much more apt to speak up and say something that might be unpopular in the office because it's virtual. So and, you know, in the right way. I don't like just blurt it out stupid stuff, but like in a politically correct way, which has spurred some really great conversations with my leaders and my boss and my teams because I think people feel like they can open up a little bit more because I'm being more open. So,

Lisa:

Right, right. Absolutely.

Karin:

Yeah. And so that's kind of an interesting side effect of groove and the groove truths.

Lisa:

Yeah, I mean, I think that whole message of just sort of embracing where you're at and who you are is part of that, of that message of, you know, nobody cares what you look

Karin:

Right. Exactly. Exactly. And I also think it helped me lose weight because I just kind of accepted my body and said, this is my body.

Lisa:

That's a big one. That's, that's really hard to do when you're not so happy with your size.

Karin:

right. I just kind of said, this is the body that I have and I'm gonna love this body because this body deserves to be loved. And I really believe that that mindset allowed me to lose some of the pounds. Not all the, some of it was hard work, and some of it was diet, but some of it was just allowing myself to be happy where I was. So,

Lisa:

I just have this image of this triangle, you know, where each one leg is supporting

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

another, you know,

Karin:

Yeah, I think that's true. Like, yeah, right. I, I think that's apt. That's a, I actually kinda wanna create that image now, but yeah.

Lisa:

Oh, well, I have to say from experience that I, you know, I do love your classes, and I think one of the reasons I like it, which I've said before to you, is that I just feel very safe. You know, I feel safe to kind of be a little crazy, to kind of try out different moves, crawl on the floor, you know, whatever it is that I'm in the mood for at that time, and that. doesn't always happen. I, I tend to get triggered a lot with dancing because I have such a of mixed, experience with it. Yeah. I do think that, yeah, one of the great things about the training and the advanced training is really helping the facilitators to create that safe space for people, you

Karin:

I agree, and I always love, like when I observe in class and I see you doing something that I know you're exploring, and then I, and I'm like, oh, I love that, like right. So like, I don't remember a couple weeks ago you were, you went down on the floor in one of the songs and I'm like, oh, I love that she's doing that. Right. So so I think I'm really happy to hear that you feel safe and I feel like to me that's a huge goal because I never want anyone to feel the way that I felt when I was six years old.

Lisa:

Right,

Karin:

Right. And I think, you know, I have some students who come who do their own thing in their own way, very much on their own. And that's great. I want them to have that experience. That's their experience, right. So,

Lisa:

I, yeah, I mean, the other thing I was thinking about too is that, dance can bring up emotional triggers you know, we, we need to be responsible for our own, but certainly you can talk to an instructor about it if something's,

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

bothering you. or whatever.

Karin:

Right. Well, I mean, you know, I asked, I asked at the beginning of class this past week like, Hey, is everyone okay with profanity in songs because I had one I really wanted to teach that had a lot of profanity in it, and everyone's like, yeah, that's fine. And we had a, I think everybody really had a good time with that song.

Lisa:

Yes. Yes, yes. I don't even remember. I mean, I remember like a couple swear words in it, but not a lot.

Karin:

Yeah. If you really listen to it, the F word is in there about 10 times.

Lisa:

Oh,

Karin:

Well, what's really funny about that is when I was. Practicing for the class, like learning the song. I was like singing along with it

Lisa:

Oh.

Karin:

and I told you, my husband like listens to that kind of music all the time and he like, he could hear me upstairs. It was funny. He like, is everything okay? I'm like, oh yeah, I'm just doing limp Biscuits on. He's like, what? So.

Lisa:

And I think that's another thing that's really great about Groove is they really try to put in a lot of variety of

Karin:

Yeah

Lisa:

styles.

Karin:

Yeah. Yep.

Lisa:

So, so what are some of the ones that you've taught or like to teach or?

Karin:

I surprisingly, I like Latin. I, I've never, I'd never really done it before, but I really like. teaching it and, and dancing it. I do like the rock and roll ones. Like I love that one. I like the Florence and the machine one. I do Paris and the, I don't remember the band, but the boom boom one that the, the, yeah, I don't, you know what I'm talking about. Boom, not boom, boom. Shake your room. But the other one where you stand on the spot and you do the boom boom with your hips. I, I like that. I don't know. There's not one that I don't, I don't really love teaching the country ones cuz I don't feel comfortable in that genre. I probably should do it more so that I feel comfortable. But I love it when someone I'm taking with is teaching it because then I get to explore it. Right. Um, yeah, I can't really. I can't, can't really think of anything I don't like to teach. I feel like I'm better at teaching certain styles

Lisa:

Uhhuh.

Karin:

and I'm working on the area, the ones where I feel less comfortable and confident so that I can, and I think, you know, I like to try to have a variety in my class. So for a couple reasons. Like one, everybody gets to dance to something that really resonates with them. Two, it makes the class more interesting to me. If you do the same style throughout the whole class, I, I kind of, I personally get bored. Like I want the different styles and and it, it gives you more like different steps. There are different things you do with your body throughout that, that I think, you know, give you that variety of movement that people are craving. So.

Lisa:

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Which kind of makes me think about the fact that in groove, you know, it's not really choreographed. There's

Karin:

Right. Yep.

Lisa:

like a couple you know one two cha cha

Karin_interview:

Yeah,

Lisa:

know,

Karin:

There's different rhythms, right? Yes, exactly. Yep. And so then we try to get, we try to get our, our students or our participants to feel that, like we talked about earlier, feel how that does, how does it make your body feel? how does your body wanna move? What is the music inspiring you to do? Right?

Lisa:

Right,

Karin:

I think that's, again, part of why I stayed is they made it individual like it, it felt like I was making my own dance. right. I.

Lisa:

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Which I think is also, like you were saying, it's much easier to adapt it because you only have a couple things that you're sort of

Karin:

Right,

Lisa:

trying to follow

Karin_interview:

right.

Lisa:

the rest is up to you in terms of

Karin:

mean,

Lisa:

you make it and how much your arms you use and all that other.

Karin:

right. And it's the, one of the other groove truths is I can't do it for you. Right. If you want a really hard workout, you should be able to have one because you are dictating how intense you're making the movement. If you need a softer workout, you get to dictate that too. I mean, I've taught, I've taught two classes of restorative, And I really like teaching that. I think you missed both of them.

Lisa:

Yeah, I think I did.

Karin:

Yeah. And I, one of them was because because Chatta who comes to our class sometimes was like, she's like, I really need to just have like a relaxing, I'm like, great, I'm, I have this restorative, I've been working on, let's do that tonight instead of what I had planned. Right.

Lisa:

great.

Karin:

because I think she and Marissa were the only ones that showed up that night and. And then the other one, I don't remember when I did it, but I did it sometime. And I feel like if you advertise it as restorative, then it's more about that calm, being calm and relaxing and gentle. But otherwise, if you're teaching a regular groove class, there should be like some raising of the heart beat right of your heart rate so that you are getting a little bit of any way of a workout. And I think in the beginning, sometimes I want a little overboard on that, but I have learned how to modify that.

Lisa:

That's great.

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

in terms of injuries, what was your experience, you know, was it easy to kind of, I mean, did you have any injuries as you were doing it or.

Karin:

I didn't have any as I, as I was doing it, but I do have an ongoing challenge with my hip. So I was born with my, one my left leg turned all the way in. And

Lisa:

Oh gosh.

Karin:

So when they corrected that, whatever they did, I was so little, I don't even remember anymore. It just kind of the position my hip flexor is in on that side sometimes gets really, really tight. And sometimes I can work my way out of it and sometimes I can't.

Lisa:

Mm

Karin:

so I struggle with things like squats and getting down to the floor because of that tightness in the hip. so it's more of a modification. Right? I was when I was dancing yesterday, I I was feeling great. Like I didn't have any feeling like I couldn't get down. And so I think you did a song, I think, where we were going low and I was like, oh, I'm going so low. This is great.

Lisa:

Yeah,

Karin:

And I

Lisa:

remember seeing you do that.

Karin:

Right. And so that was, that was really f great for me cuz my hips were loose and, and so on. But a couple weeks before that, when I was filming my FIT practicum, it was not feeling good,

Lisa:

Oh no.

Karin:

Not the right time for my hip to not be feeling good when you're doing fit right. right. And so I, I remember noting it in the, in the video and it was one of the things that Heather commented on when she was giving me my feedback. She's like, what's going on with your hip? Tell me about it. Right? So. She, what's interesting is she told me that I needed to stay lower in my dance in general, which I've been doing since then. And since then, my hip has been good,

Lisa:

Really. Now that's interesting

Karin:

isn't it? Isn't it?

Lisa:

Yes.

Karin:

So I'm curious to see if that stays, if it's just coincidence. But I have not had any problems with my hip since I started dancing lower.

Lisa:

Wow.

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

Did she tell you why that would

Karin:

No, she just, she just thought in general, like I, it wasn't necessarily about the hip. It was more about like some of the styles are supposed to be lower

Lisa:

Okay.

Karin:

I need to get lower in the style

Lisa:

Gotcha.

Karin:

in general. Like I need to stay off my toes and get down into my body I loved getting that, the feedback from her. I have like a whole bunch of feedback that like, it's super helpful figure out things to work on and just kind of improve my, my facilitation and my dance. So,

Lisa:

Absolutely. Yes. Yes. So I'm just thinking back to when Chelle was kind of encouraging you to take the facilitator training how, how was that experience for you? Did you find that you had a sort of a change in. Was there any change that happened after going through that that you can recall or,

Karin:

I can't really recall any. I mean, really it was just like after teaching it, like being like, I actually really like this. This is fun. Right? Like it was more, it was more just like, maybe some more confidence in my ability. Maybe. You know, I think the real change came after advanced one

Lisa:

Okay.

Karin:

when I got feedback about that I'm really good at layering in instruction. I think you may have been the one that told me that. So to me that's like so cool. It's cool to think about that I was doing that unconsciously, not even like, that's not even something I planned out. It's just happening. Right.

Lisa:

wow.

Karin:

And so now I'm really proud of that because yeah. So yeah.

Lisa:

Yeah, I think, I mean, I think may maybe I think about your journey, like you've had to sort of layer, you know, as you've gone through it, as you've gotten fitter and fitter,

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

to start kind of at a lower

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

your way up. So I can see why you would be really great at, at doing that in your classes.

Karin:

I mean, I try to think about like what's the, what is the experience and what can I tell people about? I don't wanna say how to move their bodies, but that's the only thing that's coming into my head so that it works for them so they can try different things. right. Um, because you never know until you try.

Lisa:

Yeah. I mean, one of the things I think about too is just thinking too about the injury part is so many people aren't really connected to their bodies

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

don't really know how to move in their own bodies. Yeah. You know, maybe you can talk more about your experience with this, but just, I think one of the wonderful things about Groove is it really invites that connection. And it may take a bit to get there, but you know, you're, you're given that space to kind of, take it easy and

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

you're starting out and.

Karin:

I a hundred percent agree with that. And I kind of go back to what I said about, until I started accepting my body for where it was, that was that connection to my body when that started, right? But when I started this journey, I was so disconnected from my body.

Lisa:

mm

Karin:

I, I just, I was a brain and a body and they were separate. Right? And I think, I think self-care in general, whatever you decide works for you for self-care has to be an integration of those two things. If you go back to the indigenous culture, integration of brain and body were key. And when we started living in a way that separated those things, we started having a lot of illness. Right. And, and because we are not integrated, and I, I believe there is that strong mind body connection that helps you. And if you can't. If you can't maintain it or bring it back, then it, it probably doesn't help you very much in your journey. So, That is one of the things that I think Misty Tripoli does so well, is work that into the whole experience of Groove. And, give us the tools to help our participants work our way. Work their way into that connection and respecting your body's limitations, right?

Lisa:

Mm-hmm.

Karin:

They're there for a reason. Those limitations protect you. So if you have them, respect them and figure out how to gently work out of them,

Lisa:

Such an important message. I'm glad you brought that up.

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

so when you were talking about the indigenous did you have a particular like example in mind or, you know, why does that resonate with you?

Karin:

I've always, so I've always been fascinated by like earth-based practices, And I have a couple of of people I follow on Twitter that are Native Americans and they talk a lot about, spirit, my spirit and body connection, and it just really resonates with me. So I don't really have a specific example, it's just something that I feel strongly in myself,

Lisa:

So are there any anything that I haven't asked you about or anything that you like we haven't covered that you'd like to

Karin:

I'm thinking

Lisa:

talk about?

Karin:

I don't, I think we've covered most of it. I just really encourage people to try things and see if they resonate. Because like I said at the beginning, I don't think every exercise works for every body. But I think every exercise can work for everybody if you respect your body's limitations, right?

Lisa:

Right, I like, I like what you're saying about like also giving it a chance,

Karin:

Yeah. Try it.

Lisa:

writing it off for, you know, giving yourself a, a little window of time to, to really fully be in it and see if you, you know, you like it or not.

Karin:

exactly right. Like commit to it for a period of time. Whatever works for you. 30 days for me is a minimum amount of time, whereas for you, it might be 60 or it might be two weeks or whatever, but try something and stick to it and, and see if you like it. If you don't like it, try something else. So, But I, I do think that's the most important thing is finding something that makes you smile when you do it or when you talk about it. I mean, and I'll just share this cuz it's funny, you know, there are times when I'm in a maybe not so great mood and my husband will be like, you need to go downstairs and dance.

Lisa:

Oh.

Karin:

I'm like, all right, see you later.

Lisa:

It's nice he has the answer for you.

Karin:

It usually works like that's the sad part is he's usually right.

Lisa:

right. Sometimes it's really hard to know what's right for ourselves, but sometimes, you know, if you have somebody else that says,

Karin:

And he, and he means it in, and it's in, it's in a, it's a loving intent. It is not meant in a bad way. So,

Lisa:

Yes, I can tell that. The other thing that I think is amazing about the World Groove movement is that the people that you see on Body Groove on demand are actually really accessible. Like you

Karin:

Yes.

Lisa:

you can, you know, you

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

one of their in person or over Zoom and you know, you can reach out to them on Facebook

Karin:

Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, I take Johnnie Anderson's class. I've met Janesa in Johnnie's class. I I've met Miranda. Who else have I, you know, I've taken Miranda's class, Mims gonna be in a body groove session in the, in the winter. She's gonna have a release with, she won't be teaching, but she'll be in Miranda's next release.

Lisa:

Oh, okay. Great.

Karin:

And I've met Dani because Dani's one of the instructors and Heather trying to think if there's anybody else that I've actually like talked to in, in any kind of, oh. Yeah, there's at least one more that I have. And Belle and Belle of course, I've taken taken Belle's classes when on days I don't have to work because her classes are at 10:00 AM Eastern time, so she's great. And she's doing Funky Fridays today, But yeah, I agree that it's nice they're real people. They're on Facebook. Some of them are very active on Facebook and we'll answer questions and we all have the opportunity I think at some, if we want to, to go be in that. Like we just have to speak up. So,

Lisa:

Right. And I think I was talking to somebody else about just sort of the community aspect in terms of encouraging you to keep going

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

I think that's one thing that Groove kind of does pretty well.

Karin:

I would say the Facebook group is amazing. It's super positive. Self-policing. Like if someone says something that's not necessarily appropriate, the group is all over it.

Lisa:

yes.

Karin:

I still remember one time, I, I won't mention any names, but there was someone who posted a video of her dancing to a song, and another person put, I don't like that, that doesn't look right. Or, I don't remember exactly what they said, but it, it wasn't positive. And the amount of other people who jumped on saying that, take that down, telling the other, the person who originally posted how great they are and whatever, it warmed my heart cuz in so many other like, you know, social media things, it's all like negative. So lots of support, lots of encouragement and welcoming of new members. And, you know, this is kind of sad, but I mentioned that you know, when I started this, I was very isolated in Covid, in, like, didn't know any of my neighbors. Didn't have like any place I could go and meet people because of Covid and that became kind of like my community.

Lisa:

Mm-hmm.

Karin:

I mean, I still had my friends from where we used to live and we had Zoom sessions and zoom, you know, happy hours and everything. So it's not like I didn't have anybody. But so. I would get up every morning and dance with the Body Groove app and those were my like friends

Lisa:

Right,

Karin:

And I'd be like, oh look, there's Janessa oh look, there's Irene. Right? And you know, so I felt like I was getting some like interaction with something, right? So yeah, besides my work zooms right. And then the Facebook group was there for me as well, so it was really nice. So I, I do feel like they do a good job with that.

Lisa:

Yes. I mean, I didn't understand at first like why somebody would like screen capture somebody who was on the body groove on demand app.

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

like be like, oh, I like to dance with her.

Karin:

Yep.

Lisa:

yeah, I think what you were saying is you start to sort of pick out people that you, you

Karin:

Yes. Like, oh, I like that person. I've made friends, like I have people, women who come to my class who are from that group and I have a couple of women that I've met, met through that Facebook group that I chat with on a regular basis. You know, I have, yeah, I have you guys that I met through facilitation. I have Carissa who isn't part of our little group, but maybe should be and and, I go to her class every Saturday and she usually comes to mine and we're, we support each other. we didn't go to original facilitator training together, but we've been in every other class together, so, yeah.

Lisa:

Yeah, that's nice. I love all that connections. The other thing I was thinking about was just your example of the woman on the YouTube video, and I think a lot of people have been bullied around, you know, either their weight or

Karin:

Yeah.

Lisa:

can't dance It's just wonderful to have a space where you can be who you are.

Karin:

And you'll have women, or it's mostly women. So I say women, but men are welcome. And we have, we have male facilitators, right? Garnet. Um, So there, there are women who will post, oh, I can't do this move, or I can't, oh, I can only do five minutes a day. And that's all. And people will come in and be like, that's great, right? You do your five minutes every day, and then soon it'll be seven and then it'll be 10. And, oh, you can't do that move. Have you tried modifying like this? Or if you can't do that, try this. Or you know, Just walk. Right. Just keep moving. And it's encouragement and empowerment to do that. Whereas in other workouts that I've done, if you can't do exactly what they're doing,

Lisa:

Yes.

Karin:

you don't feel like you're succeeding.

Lisa:

Right. Right. Yes.

Karin:

and feeling successful in your workout is half the battle at least, right? If you don't feel, if you don't feel like you can do whatever it is you're trying to do. And this was actually the problem for me with the other workout that I tried. I couldn't do it.

Lisa:

Mm mm

Karin:

And you know,

Lisa:

about that, but that's really important. Yeah. That, that feeling of success

Karin:

yep. I mean,

Lisa:

keeping you motivated.

Karin:

I could modify it, but I wasn't given permission to modify it,

Lisa:

Right.

Karin:

and I didn't feel like modifying it made me successful. Whereas in Groove, I was told, Hey, modify. That's great. Oh, you can only walk. You can't run. Fabulous. Right? And it's like, really? It's okay not to do what You're so I, I think that's a key part of why Groove was successful for me,

Lisa:

Mm.

Karin:

because I am very success motivated, and so if I can't do something, it's not like I give up, but I just don't feel happy.

Lisa:

Right.

Karin:

you can feel happy while you're working out.

Lisa:

Yes.

Karin:

You're gonna work out.

Lisa:

Right, right.

Karin_interview:

You're not gonna dread it. You're gonna be like, this is my happy place. So,

Lisa:

Yeah. Such a, such a great point. I really appreciate you talking about that.

Karin:

Awesome.

Lisa:

So to, to wrap up, I would love if you want to share when your class is and

Karin:

Oh, great,

Lisa:

be, get in touch with you

Karin:

So my class is, the only class I'm running regularly right now is on Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM Eastern time on Zoom. So you can take it from the comfort of your own home. And I have an email address of karen groove gmail.com. It's k a r i n groove gmail.com. Or you can go to the World Groove Movement class locator and find me there. And I do have a Facebook page under Karen Groove as well, so you can find that that's the best way to find me

Lisa:

great.

Karin:

yeah.

Lisa:

put all that information in the podcast notes,

Karin:

Awesome.

Lisa:

you missed it, it'll be there.

Karin:

Awesome. Thank you. And yeah, please come. Everybody's welcome. We have a fun time,

Lisa:

Absolutely, yes.

Karin_interview:

Great. And Lisa, thank you so much for having me. I am

Lisa:

my gosh. Thank you for coming.

Karin:

excited to be part of, of this podcast journey and I look forward to helping you out more. So

Lisa:

thank you, Karin as always. Thank you for listening to the happy SweatLife podcast. I hope you enjoyed that interview with Karin and as much as I did and feel inspired to give Worldgroup movement and body groove, a try. Thank you to everyone that has already subscribed. tune in next week for a conversation about ecstatic dance and contact dance.