Stay-at-home mom, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
The shimmy in her hips and bounce in her step keep Ellen going back every Tuesday to her hour-long hip-hop class. Last January, after yet another boring Spinning session, she found herself riveted by the grooving going on across the hall. “Everyone was laughing and smiling,” Ellen says. “It just looked like fun.” She joined the class, hugging the back corner at first. But soon she was bopping to the kind of “music with an attitude” that her mom used to make her turn off. “It’s like I’m a kid again,” she says.
Her three daughters now think their by-the-rules mom is a bit cooler. And Ellen agrees. Dancing feels indulgent, a sexy treat that lets her take a breather and remember that she’s so much more than a mom. And she revels in the breakout feeling of being fed by the music. “I know I’m exercising—it’s very cardiovascular, and I have more energy and stronger muscles—but I completely forget about that. I just feel the dance getting into my body.”
