A chat with Samanta Servina, Zumba instructor and aspiring psychologist   ‘Physical exercises like Zumba can be a very powerful tool for mental health during the pandemic’   |18 August 2021

Zumba, created by Colombian dancer Beto Perez in 2001, has taken the world by storm with its colourful and vibrant moves and clothes. As Seychelles’ first licensed Zumba instructor, Samanta Servina believes that physical exercise is potentially one of many ways to deal with mental health issues and has inspired several of her students to get their Zumba licenses and start their own ventures.

Having spent a couple of years abroad to pursue a Masters in Psychotherapy, the aspiring psychologist is back in Seychelles where she has resumed her Zumba classes while simultaneously advancing her career in psychology to better help others.

Let us learn more about Samanta in the following interview.

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.

1. Hi I am Samanta, I am 26 years old. I grew up in Seychelles as a child and spent my formative years in Manchester, UK. I would describe myself as passionate, different, ambitious and an outside the box thinker. I am passionate about psychology and mental health, particularly academic psychological research. I have a Master’s degree in Psychotherapy and my thesis is published on the Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy research. I am about to graduate officially. I am currently a mental health content writer and I also work with organisations on different projects on a consultancy basis. Other times depending on their needs, I tutor psychology university students, which is a role I really love as well.

Aside from my psychology-related career, I also live a colourful life as a Zumba instructor. I have almost 5 years’ experience as a Zumba instructor teaching abroad and locally in the Seychelles.

Q. How did you end up becoming a Zumba instructor?

1. It is a bitter-sweet story really. I was going through a fresh period of grief after my mum passed away when I was 20 years old, during my very first year at university abroad. At that point I had learnt about depression and how exercise can help with lifting mood through literally helping the brain to release feel good chemicals. I was desperate for ways to cope with grief, so I joined a gym. At the gym I ran into a Zumba class and decided to join.  One class and I was hooked.

I was always at the front of the class, trying to be the best and to impress my instructor. I should mention I also grew up in Manchester attending hip hop dance classes, so I had a good foundation which helped me to be good at picking up all the steps pretty quickly. My instructor took a liking to me and began to mentor me and take me with her on stage at different gigs. Through mixing with other Zumba instructors, they all encouraged me to get licensed. So, I did… and the rest is history.

Q. Why Zumba?

1. Why NOT Zumba? It’s not just a dance-fitness programme, it is a time to literally dance, sweat, laugh, meet people and just be one with the music and, for just one hour, you get to forget about everything else. The bonus is that you burn calories, and you can lose weight with intensity and consistency.

Zumba saved me during a really hard time in my life. I have met and spoken to a lot of clients in my years of teaching, and I tell you that just as Zumba saved me, it is doing the same for a lot of other people. Not just for tragic life events like mine, but it can make a big difference to a bad day.

Q. What was your thesis about for your master’s degree?

1. My Master’s thesis was based on the exploration of how individuals experienced mental health problems during the lockdown of 2020. I used a thematic analysis method, which means that I was searching for common themes in people’s personal reports, as opposed to running statistical analysis. I found many interesting themes on how people actually might have experienced the Covid-19 lockdown in relation to their mental health.

Q. How are you planning to integrate your thesis into your Zumba classes?

1. Well from any research paper, there are recommendations that can be drawn from the findings. I think one of the greatest findings from my study is that the lockdown presented a wide range of ways for people to experience mental health challenges, sometimes in ways that might not be typical.

As a professional and due to ethical guidelines I do try to keep my mental health and Zumba career separate. Nevertheless, I can mention that my research in addition to the wider literature suggests that physical exercises like Zumba can be a very powerful tool for mental health during the current day, where we might not necessarily still be in a lockdown state, but many of us are still dealing with consequences of the pandemic in one way or another. This helps me to have good grounds to continue to provide high quality Zumba classes to my participants and incorporate as much mood-lifting experiences in the class, as possible.

Q. What is next for you?

1. I have reached several personal milestones already when it comes to what I do. I have managed to complete a Masters level degree in a field that I love and I have been blessed with great success in my Zumba career with increasing local and international recognition. From here, I would like to continue to make progress and upgrade in every sense that I can.

I want to continue to pursue my career in mental health and research by extending to practice with further training. I would also love to enhance my Zumba classes by adding new and exciting sub-programmes in what I provide. Whether it is through mental health or Zumba, I want to continue to provide the best service for the benefit of other’s well-being and their mental health.

Compiled by Elsie Pointe