It’s time for my bi-annual Jazzercise blog! I took a break from my favorite exercise addiction for a couple of years due to a combination of injury and my work schedule, but I’ve been back since February and wondering (the way you always do when you’re on the exercise wagon) how I ever lived without it.

When I’m not exercising, I sometimes forget what a critical piece of self-care it is for me. When I’m working out, everything else feels better, works better, etc. I have more energy. I love softball, yoga, weight training, walking and running; but Jazzercise keeps me motivated and moving more consistently than anything else.

May is free class month at Jazzercise, which means first-timers can try it out for free. Since people periodically ask me about Jazzercise, I thought I’d share my ten favorite reasons to sweat it out on the dance floor:

1. Working out is way more fun with friends.
2. Where else can you do synchronized group karaoke at 8:30 a.m.?
3. There is always something on my mind I’d rather leave on the dance floor.
4. Because STRONG is my new SKINNY.
5. I have two young boys to keep up with; and in ten years I hope they’re still trying to keep up with me.
6. Because Pitbull goes with everything.
7. That moment when you sweat so much and breathe so hard that the sweat goes up your nose and you’re ultimately just okay with it because what the hell, just keep moving.
8. I work harder and push myself more in a judgment-free zone.
9. No matter what my mood, I simply can’t get through a dance class without smiling.
10. Because when I was a kid, I thought dancing was about talent, coordination, or a certain body size or type. Now I know it’s about having fun and not worrying about anyone’s opinion but my own.

Hope you find your way to a class this month!

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.