Pole for All!
Being a bigger girl, I thought I’d be a fish out of water at pole dancing. No way can I lift this body off the ground and hold myself on a pole the size of my ARM. First day trying out pole I could only lift myself onto it and hold myself up, and don’t even talk about the knee pain – I was like, “Oh, no, I am way to geriatric for this.” But, the ladies convinced me to join them and here I am, almost one year later having the most fun! What I found was that you succeed much more than you fail. Every day you show up is winning! I appreciate that it doesn’t have to be a fast paced journey – I have been in intermediate for almost a year now, and while I was often questioning myself in the beginning watching everyone surpass me to level Advanced 1, I decided to focus on myself and work a little harder on things I am awful at or hate (yes, that means asking to work on Pretty Sit Climb in class, haha). I highly recommend you ladies do not compare yourself to others – you’re doing AMAZING. Even as an ‘OG’ newbie I still have so much room to grow, and see it in myself every week; from desensitizing my inner thighs (HUGE change) to not having to have Chrissy clean my pole anymore after any kind of climb (I always felt so bad). The 11 months I have had at Aerial Dance Studio has changed my life for the better. I may be more regularly bruised than normal, but I can also climb myself up a pole taller than my 6’2” husband stands, and I bet you I could do it faster than him too – *muscles* (We’re competitive so that means a lot ). I find myself going for runs now so I can try to lose weight – a personal preference, you absolutely can be ANY size to succeed at pole. I made the decision, which I listen myself better than my doctor telling me to incorporate cardio after a year of shame. I try to incorporate yoga for flexibility and target weight lifting for more muscles. It’s been a long journey but I love the results! So don’t be discouraged if you think you’re too out of shape or big for being a pole dancer. Work on that flexibility, work on that cardio, and work on that strength, but go ahead and eat that pizza! You got this 🙂
Strong: Physically and Emotionally
I’ve been at Aerial Dance for about 2 years! It has been the most rewarding journey I have ever been through. It took me a bit to even want to sign up. The first time I saw the ladies at Aerial Dance perform was at a Bizarre After Dark event. I thought to myself how amazing and beautiful it was. No way am I able to do anything like that. Like every woman before they even try it, I had those doubts. I actually had to have my sister give me the initial push to sign up. But before we did we also had a pole party for her bachelorette party. After that, I have to say we were pretty hooked! When I think back on my first beginner pole class, I was nervous but yet super excited because I remember how much fun we had at that party. What made the journey even better was the amount of women you meet at the studio. Everyone is so nice and encouraging. Even the instructors are incredible and I’m thankful for every single one of them. Aerial Dance is my second home and I always look forward to going to the studio. From beginner to where I am now, it’s amazing to think of how far I’ve come. I thought to myself I would never have the strength, but here I am in advance one doing all sorts of inverts! I am very proud of where I’m at and where I’ll continue to go. I also would say I am very happy where I am mentally. I feel as if Aerial Dance has given me the power to be happy and confident in myself. I have all the women at the studio to thank for that. I honestly don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t signed up, but I’m very glad I did. What I love about the studio is how encouraging everybody can be. I’ve learned not to compare myself to others. I sadly used to do that a lot. Nobody’s journeys will be the same and we’re all reaching for our own individual goals. I love watching everyone grow! I recently also had friends join and it’s been amazing to watch them thrive. Aerial Dance truly is a women’s sanctuary. I would like to thank Paula for providing such an amazing place for all of us. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for my journey and others.
Overcoming Fears
Learning new tricks in pole can be intimidating, right? You got your whirly-wind up go backwards kind of tricks, go upside down and bend your foot back to your head king of moves… ok I really don’t know if that’s a move since I am only in intermediate but what I can tell you is I was terrified to attempt the forward and backward somersaults. Reading this you’re probably thinking, “Oh, girl, somersaults?? It gets way more intense than that.” Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t scare me – I am anxious to hang upside down for the first time; call me batty! So let me give you a little back story on how I ended up with this silly little fear. I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when it was determined I have scoliosis – a stupid excess curvature of the spine. It came as no surprise to me as it’s a hereditary symptom and my mom has it, my uncle has it, as well as every other one of my siblings and each case is different for everyone; in this case, only my uncle and I have it really bad. By the time I reached the 4th grade my dad and mom drove me down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to be fitted for the Copes brace and learn how to achieve success with their 5 year program; no dairy products – unless from a goat, no potatoes or any carby/starchy food, follow a specific workout video daily, walk on a stair stepper while staring at vertical lines with your head in a harness, “shock” your muscles with electricity currents ‘strategically’ placed along your spine, OH, and do all this while you’re wearing a hard plastic corset-style torture device designed to make you sweat constantly and incapable of taking a lung full of air (OK, designed to lessen the curvature of your spine, but I’m dramatic, alright?). Yeah, it sucked as much as it sounds. Fourth grade, pasta was my favorite food! But I’ll digress because I’m not here to talk about that crappy year of my life – yes, I refused to continue the program after a year, I was too headstrong and stubborn to listen to any of it and be miserable for that much longer. Anyway, it all just leads up to my reasoning. Growing up I was a very active child doing cartwheels and somersaults and running around and whatnot only to find out that wearing the darn brace, I couldn’t somersault anymore! I got as far as rolling onto my shoulders and then I’d just stop in the air and flop to the left or right like a dead fish. I even had a sleepwalking episode where I tried to somersault in my brace, but it just ended in sadness and a bruised foot. So, I never did somersaults again, but I did try about 7 years ago and it ended pretty much the same way – unsuccessfully. Fast forward to my first few months in pole classes at Aerial Dance and then one day my instructor enthusiastically exclaims we are trying somersaults! Basically my entire childhood just flashed before me and that self-doubt crept in real quick! It took some time to get the nerve and I used the pole as an assistant, but I was able to semi-successfully execute a somersault! Learning the slight difference of going over your shoulder and not your neck made a drastic change in my ability to face my struggles and be OK with continuing to perfect the maneuver on my own. So, baby, I ain’t scared anymore! Summing this all up, you too, other Scoliosis Girl, can be an aerial artist. Don’t let those voices inside your head tell you otherwise, and understand that you have great instructors and moral support around you at Aerial Dance. Take the journey one step at a time and just know you’re going to rock it! Maybe my titanium rod fused back won’t let me bend as far back or forward as other girls, but maybe I can and I don’t know it. Just like I didn’t know I could still do somersaults – but hey, maybe if I just stay headstrong and stubborn that I CAN do these things, I’ll see just how far I can bend without breaking.
