There is such a graceful sensuality with belly dance that definitely highlights the body. It's a great excuse to let go and dance to your heart's content, while getting fit and toned!


Dear Friends,

Today we have Leilah Isaac, who talks about her DailyOM course Belly Dancing Goddess Workout. Leilah is an award-winning belly dancer who has been dancing since the age of three. She loves to perform and teach others so they can enjoy this fun and highly beneficial form of movement.



How much do you want to pay?

$19$35$55

This is the total amount for all 10 lessons

Interview With Leilah Isaac


DailyOM: Hi, Leilah! What makes belly dance unique compared to other forms of exercises?

Leilah Isaac: Belly dance is a celebration of the body. When we think about standard exercise, we are often trying to actively change how we look. But with belly dance, the journey is just as important as the destination. When we belly dance, even though the goal may be to lose weight and tone up, on the journey we will come to appreciate the uniqueness of our body. We can celebrate the way it moves, how it shakes and molds and reacts. We become confident in ourselves even before we reach the destination, and ultimately, we get fitter. Belly dance has a strong root in the idea of isolating the movements of body parts: our hips will be doing one thing and our chest will have a brain of its own. There is a lot of self-control needed with the moves, and each movement is specific.

For example, when we learn snake arms, one can do this by simply waving their arms, but as you'll see in this course, it requires a lot of skill. The movement comes from the elbow and the fluidity comes from the shoulders. The snake arm is completely isolated from the rest of the body. Conventional exercise on the other hand is mainly concerned with large muscle groups. You don't break down the movements to the extent that you do in belly dance, which focuses on intricate muscle isolation and toning. In belly dance, the moves do not always come naturally; it takes concentration and repetition. Nonetheless, your body rewards you when you finally master the moves! For many, belly dance is unique in its connection to femininity. It highlights and accentuates a woman's natural body shape and curves, allowing one to express their feminine side. In many ways this is liberating, too!

DailyOM: Who is the prime student for a belly dance workout?

LI: As I mentioned above, belly dance has a strong sense of femininity. But this doesn't mean it's just for women! Belly dance is literally for everyone. Some of the greatest belly dance masters are men. They may not have the same curves as a woman, but it goes to show that belly dance can be unique and beautiful on any body shape. This is what makes this dance so wonderful. The same movement will look different on me and on you. You'll never shimmy the way I shimmy, but I'll never shimmy the way you shimmy! Both the shimmies will be correct and both unique. When it comes to a belly dance workout, it's for anyone who wants to exercise beyond the monotonousness of a cardio machine. I've nothing against going to the gym, but usually in the process, you're not really learning anything. Your muscles are active, but your brain is not. Moreover, your body isn't being challenged, as you already know these moves.

Belly dance fitness is for those who want to get fit but also want to have fun and be challenged. Belly dance time is your time, and one you can actually look forward to. The belly dance workout is also for anyone who wants to truly understand their body's mechanics. You'll see this the most when we look at belly rolls. This is connecting you to your abs but is far from your standard crunches. You'll start to be able to control parts of your body you never really understood before.

DailyOM: What gave you the idea of combining belly dance and fitness?

LI: I've always been active and obsessed with dance. I used to go to the gym, but it was never something I particularly enjoyed. Then belly dancing came into my life. With all my practice and training, I had less time for the gym, yet I seemed to be in better shape than ever before. When I was dancing, I was first learning the moves and then going full-on when we would dance the choreography to the music. This was translating to some kind of HIIT training: my body slowing down and then going 100 percent. No doubt it was working. Muscles I didn't know I had were toned. I was feeling stretched yet strong, and I had opened up space in my body. When I finally became a fitness trainer, I taught hundreds of different classes, including South American dance and African dance. At the end of the class, I would add my own belly dance track and hand out the hip scarfs. Everyone loved it! It became their favorite part of the class. The students would dance to the tracks as though they had been listening to this music all their life. They gave this part of the class more energy than anything else. That is when I knew there was an audience, and so I started teaching belly dance fitness.

DailyOM: What muscles are we toning and working out in this course?

LI: All the muscles and more! If that is possible. Throughout this course, you'll find that every lesson is specific to a muscle. Overall, you'll be toning up the entire body. At the same time, each lesson will feel like a full-body workout. The very first lesson will be targeting your glutes. I'll be going through where the muscles are and how to find them and squeeze each gluteus muscle in isolation. This is something that we would never normally do. This process of simply becoming familiar with the muscle is already toning it. Then we'll add the actual belly dance movement. In this case it is a hip accent. Finally, after trying out the move in a number of ways and in isolation, I'll add a fully-body toning dance to it. This format applies to each lesson. We'll move on to toning the arms, thighs, and abs. The list goes on, but one thing is for sure: you'll be fully toned. In the last lesson, we'll recap what we've learned. Here we'll go through all our moves and create a dance.

DailyOM: Is there anything special we need to have or to do to make the most of this course?

LI: You just need you! There is nothing to prepare, as I'll be guiding you from the very beginning. These moves are foundational moves and the starting point for your belly dance journey. For this course you don't need props or a mat, but you should have bare feet! You should feel free and feel the ground underneath you. Luckily one can belly dance anywhere, but ideally you should have a little space around you. But if you did want to do a little prep beforehand, you can start listening to belly dance music or Middle Eastern pop songs, which will not only get you in the mood, but it will also give you an understanding of the rhythms in belly dance. You can also see how your body naturally reacts and dances to this music before I teach you. You can wear a belly dance hip scarf if you have one! I always dance with a hip scarf, as it adds to the fun. These are great because they emphasize your hips. It also helps when you shimmy and do hip accents. But it is not something you have to have. For now, you can simply tie any scarf around you. Other than that, loose clothing is ideal. Just make sure you are comfortable.

DailyOM: As well as belly dance fitness, what else do you do to stay fit?

LI: I do the occasional gym session, which includes lifting weights. This is good in general for resistance training to help your bones. I also love long stretches. I have days where I am solely working on my laptop and find myself glued to a chair so stretching is compulsory. I would usually stretch for 20 minutes to an hour after a day of teaching and then 20 minutes on my administrative days. I also live an active lifestyle. On my days off, I will usually take a long walk, maybe hike somewhere or swim. Food-wise, I eat as clean as I can, not just to stay fit, but because in my opinion food is medicine. Otherwise, medicine will be food! So I eat food that aids my dancing. This is because food can affect one's energy and mood. A combination of belly dance, stretching, and good food are the key ingredients to a fit life for me.

How Does It Work?
Starting today, you will receive a new lesson every day for 10 days (total of 10 lessons). Each lesson is yours to keep and you'll be able to refer back to it whenever you want. And if you miss a lesson or are too busy to get to it that day, each lesson will conveniently remain in your account so you won't have to search for it when you're ready to get back to it.

Get Started Now
We are offering this course with the option of selecting how much you want to pay. No matter how much you pay, you'll be getting the same course as everybody else. We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.



How much do you want to pay?

$19$35$55

This is the total amount for all 10 lessons



Thanks, Leilah! She brings tremendous energy to her course and workouts. The atmosphere is fun and lively, so you'll look forward to every workout. Until next time.

Be well,

DailyOM