There's nothing like a spot of spring sunshine to remind you that your limbs haven't been seen in daylight for a long time. Shedding the layers we've been hiding under throughout winter can be daunting, but instead let it motivate you to move a little more and regain that shorts-wearing confidence.
There are plenty of fun ways to get moving in Leeds.
A morning rave
While clubbing until the early hours of Wednesday morning might not go down too well with your boss, a booze-free danceathon complete with yoga and smoothies might be the answer.
Early-morning midweek mini-festival Morning Gloryville launched in the city last month with plenty of hype and they're returning this month across three floors at Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen on Wednesday March 26 to encourage you to dig out your glow-sticks and rave yourself into the day.
If you're awoken by little ones at what might otherwise feel like an ungodly hour, you'll be relieved to hear that the event is child-friendly and you can take your brood along to burn off some of that inexplicable morning energy.
A burlesque workout
For those who like to move a little more seductively, there's a burlesque-inspired workout on a Tuesday evenings from 8pm at Yorkshire Dance, which cleverly distracts you from the interval training you're doing by integrating props into the session – swoosh a feather boa in the air, shake your shimmy, glide over a chair. You'll be feeling like Dita Von Teese in no time.
BurleX Fitness Leeds
An exercise session with aplomb
If you grew up wanting to be a ballerina, Equilibrium Health's regular Barre Technique classes will encourage you to move with grace, learn to plie and make your legs burn like never before with a combination of ballet, pilates and yoga. Working with the ballet barre, you'll feel like a ballerina in training but your trembling legs will remind you that you're working hard to improve your endurance.
Barre TechniqueSimon Frick
A chance to get high
Get your adrenaline pumping and reach new heights at The Leeds Wall. Start off with the beginners' routes and work your way up around curved overhangs as you gain in confidence. Just remember not to look down or you might find it difficult to carry on. There are introductory sessions, monthly beginners' courses, and if climbing isn't up your mountain, have a go at bouldering to get your arms pumping instead. Who needs the gym?
The Leeds Wall
An Ashtanga Inversion workshop
Do you remember how fun it was to hang upside down as a child? It always offered a strange sense of satisfaction, don't you think? Relive that feeling at Yoga Kula Leeds' forthcoming Ashtanga Inversion workshop on Sunday March 22 where you learn how to safely move into the shoulder-stand, head-stand and other yoga inversions.
The method may be less playful than messing around as a youngster but you'll leave equipped with the skills to turn yourself upside down with less risk of doing yourself an injury. There's a lot more of us to coming crashing down now we're adults!
There's also an opportunity to get your kids moving, too, with CBeebies.