Dori's Quest: IntenSati, When Cardio Meets Confidence

"Up-middle-down-middle-middle-up-middle-down.”

Patricia Moreno, founder of IntenSati, instructed a very packed class to perform a challenging punching sequence while repeating these words.

As we tried punching up with the right hand, to the middle with the left, down with the right, to the middle with the left, to the middle with the right, up with the left, to the middle with the right and down with the left, Patricia saw us struggle.

She turned off the music. “Stop. Just repeat after me,” Patricia said.

"Up-middle-down-middle-middle-up-middle-down.” The same phrase we had been saying to exhaustion while trying to do the punches. Only now we were standing still.

The class easily repeated the phrase.

“If you can say it,” Patricia said, “You can do it.”

Patricia was right. We did it. The entire room, filled with people of all different athletic abilities, all different body shapes, all different backgrounds and experiences, came together to perform this complicated sequence. All because Patricia gave us the confidence to know that we could.

That is the essence of IntenSati. A high energy cardiovascular workout, IntenSati combines empowering positive affirmations along with high-energy aerobics, martial arts, dance, yoga, and strength conditioning Each move has an accompanying affirmation, such as “I believe I will succeed” and “Every day in a very true way, I co-create my reality.”

It sounds cheesy, I know, but it isn’t. You might go in thinking you will just do the workout in silence, but saying the affirmations takes it up a notch; you work harder (it takes more energy to talk and move at the same time!) and you get amped up by the incredible energy of those around you. The class is so much fun, the energy so infectious, the combinations challenging, the sweat dripping – it is like no other workout.

When Patricia shouted “Desire!,” the class pushed responded: “I want it; I want it; I really, really want it!” When she exclaimed “Love!,” we performed a shimmy. “Passion” meant intense uppercuts. The more you take class, the more familiar these moves become.

I’ve taken IntenSati three times now, and every time I am surprised by what an empowering workout it is. While there is very little strength element to it, IntenSati would be the perfect cardio component to a fitness routine. During that hour, as I said the affirmations, I felt like I could do anything, achieve anything I wanted.

The affirmations are catchy – I find myself thinking them at random times. I can only imagine what it is like for the regulars who take this all the time.

And the more I said the affirmations to myself, both in and out of class, the more I realized Patricia was right. Not just about the punching sequence, but about everything. If I could say it, I could do it.
And that is the power of IntenSati.

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Dori Manela is a writer, content manager and social media consultant. Raised in Queens, Dori now lives in Manhattan, taking as many exercise classes in NYC as possible in search of the perfect workout. She started Dori's Shiny Blog in November 2007. As her passion for fitness grew, DSB turned into a health & fitness blog. With the help of her favorite social networking site Twitter, Dori has connected with other bloggers, boutique fitness studios, companies and readers to share her love of working out.

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