IMPERIAL – From booming beats to pumping arms, the ladies of the free Zumba Sentao® class for seniors complete their dance and chair workouts twice a week here at the El Centro Moose Lodge.

Zumba Sentao® “combines strength and resistance training with innovative dance moves, using a chair as a dance partner,” according to Zumba.com. According to Zumba instructor Mary Sonico, it is one of two well-known Zumba classes offered locally for free to the public – the other is offered at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in El Centro.

While the other is a traditional Zumba class, Sonico’s version of Zumba Sentao® focuses on fitness for seniors, especially those with limited mobility, as much of the class is done seated on metal folding chairs.

“My oldest is 90 years old and I hope she shows up (today),” Sonico IVP said just before a class on Tuesday, Aug. 13. “We have some 83-year-olds, some 78-year-olds, so we’re a pretty older group.”

“The wonderful thing about Zumba is that you can adapt what you do. You don’t have to do exactly what I do,” said Sonico, a senior citizen herself.

“A lot of the exercises aren’t done on the chair,” the coach said. “We do one or two songs to start off by warming up the body — so lots of arms and legs and stuff — but then we get on the chair and do more. And the ladies know there are some moves I might do that they might not, so I keep an eye on them.

“I make sure they stay honest. Like, if they just do a little something here and there, I’ll say something like ‘Ahh ah ah,’ you know,” Sonico said in mock scolding. “You have to get the blood flowing.”

Sonico said her Zumba Sentao® group formed after she discovered a love of Zumba through another Zumba class offered in Imperial at the city’s parks and recreation facilities. She and a friend always went to the class together and fell in love with the dance rhythm exercises.

“I was taking an Imperial class with the instructor, Jessie, and I noticed that a lot of the ladies were late; they missed half of the class,” said Sonico, who is originally from Brawley. “So one day I was curious and asked her, ‘Why are you always so late?’ She said, ‘Well, we have to get off work and we’re from Brawley.’

“(Later) one day Jessie announced that Zumba was looking for instructors. So I just started thinking and went to my friend Barbara and said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s get certified and we can do it in Brawley.’ At that time there was no one (teaching Zumba) in Brawley,” Sonico said. “I finally talked her into it. We got the certification and then we started looking for a place and the Lions Center was the place that took us in and they were wonderful and very supportive.”

Community support for Sonico’s Zumba classes continues. Serving seniors, some of whom are on a fixed income, El Centro’s Moose Lodge was able to offer its website for free, allowing Sonico to offer the Zumba Sentao® class for free to its participants as well.

For Sonico and her Zumba ladies, it’s the love of dance as exercise, music and camaraderie that keeps them coming back.

“I’ve moved away from the typical salsas and cumbias – I have some – but that’s because of the chair and the tempo, so I do a lot of current music,” Sonico said of her music choices. “I do oldies too. I’m a big oldies fan, so I do Temptations, War, Beach Boys and stuff like that. It’s just anything that sounds like it has a good beat.”

“I don’t know how many times they’ve told me they wake up and don’t want to come to class – you get lazy – but they show up and then we get energized,” Sonico said, “and before you know it, you feel good walking out the door to go about your day’s tasks.”

“I’ve been doing Zumba since 2008… and I love it. It’s a good workout,” Virginia Gutierrez of Imperial said of the class.

Gutierrez said she started Zumba to lose weight and lower her blood pressure.

“I’ve lost about 30 pounds and my blood pressure has gone down,” she said. “That’s my relief. I love it.”

When asked what the appeal of Zumba Sentao® was for seniors in particular, the ladies said that not only the physical activity but also the camaraderie factor was part of the appeal.

“I think a lot of seniors stay home and do nothing,” says Guiterrez, a senior herself. “They sit too much like couch potatoes and watch TV. They don’t exercise enough. And this helps them. They really love it.”

“It’s good for your health. I get to meet new people and make and maintain new friendships. I’ve met some of these wonderful ladies,” Sonico said. “In our group, we do this thing called ‘Coffee After Zumba,’ where we go to the little coffee shops in the area… to bring revenue to our small businesses. But it’s a time to socialize and get to know each other on a more personal level. And they have fun, they enjoy doing it.”

New group participants also come to Zumba Sentao® through friendships.

“A friend invited me and I said, ‘Okay, let’s try it,'” said the newest student, Sharline Walker of El Centro. “I’m recently retired and needed something to occupy my time. So I said, why not exercise?”

“These ladies are truly a wonderful group; they’re fun,” Sonico said. “They’re the ones who keep me going.”

Sonico said she is also trying to offer a class for older men, “if I can get them to participate,” she said.

“It’s just fun,” she said.

Sonico’s Zumba Sentao® classes are offered free to seniors on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9 a.m. at El Centro Moose Lodge. Seniors seeking more information should contact Mary Sonico at (760) 425-9921.

El Centro Moose Lodge 1033 is located at 2130 Myrtle Street in Imperial.