Salsa-ing Through the Day

When I was in college, I joined the Salsa Club to meet new people and be more active. This quickly turned into an obsession. I would go out to local salsa clubs, I became an instructor, and I joined the performance team. After college, I found less time to go out or train, so I had to put my dancing on hold – that was until I started working at Modernizing Medicine!

During my first week, I heard someone mention that Salsa lessons were offered during lunch once a week and discovered the Salsa-squad group. I was a little nervous because it had been quite some time since I danced, but the group was so welcoming that I could have been a total beginner and they would have accepted me. It’s just like riding a bike, right?

Salsa lessons are offered free to our team members through MMfit, Modernizing Medicine’s employee led health and fitness initiative. MMfit offers programs for employees who enjoy leading active and healthy lifestyles with activities including weekly yoga and in the past meditation classes, healthy cooking sessions and fitness challenges too.

Employee health is so important and it directly affects quality of work. After meetings or sitting at my desk for long periods, dancing helps me stretch my legs and gets both the blood and creativity flowing. I return to my desk more energized and focused and with fresh eyes and new ideas.

Our group focuses on Casino or Cuban Style which lends itself well to dancing in a circle of partnered leaders and followers known as rueda, which means ‘wheel’ in Spanish. One person acts as the caller, who announces the move along with a hand gesture that symbolizes each pattern. The group then performs the move together, and it looks like a choreographed dance.

At Modernizing Medicine, when the head instructor, Eduardo, is unable to make a class, I like to help out and teach a new move or perfect older ones. It’s really given me added confidence to put my leadership and instructing skills into practice! My favorite part about helping teach my fellow employees is seeing their excitement when they nail a move for the first time. I can’t think of a better way to get some exercise, make friends and learn cool dance moves all at once.

I became an instructor because I enjoy challenges and learning new skills – an aptitude that comes in handy in both my career and personal life. I think this is a common characteristic that many employees at Modernizing Medicine share and can relate to. We work hard and are always looking for new ways to improve our products. We are most successful when we can find the right rhythm between work and play.

I feel so lucky to be part of a company that encourages healthy and engaging activities, in addition to striving to produce quality products and services to help transform healthcare. By participating in Salsa during my lunch break, I come back to my desk feeling refreshed in body and mind. Office culture helps fuel success, and Modernizing Medicine knows how to keep the rhythm going.