Hello Everyone,
Over the weekend I was doing some reading about pole and came across this wonderful article by Irmingard Mayer. Who is Irmingrad Mayer? She is a New York City based pole instructor. She has background in gymnastics and theater. She began dancing in 2009. As her love for pole grew she became an instructor. Mayer believes that pole is a physically challenging sport as well as emotionally healing. She competes in many pole competitions, has appeared on TV shows and films showcasing her pole expertise. The article I read is linked below! It is a great read!
11 Things I wish Everyone Knew About Pole
In her article she speaks of 11 things she wishes people knew about pole. Many of these things ring true to how I feel about pole. Pole dancing helps all its participants to build strength with your body and mind. Pole helps you reach goals you didn’t even know you wanted until you began to practice the art of pole. I never in a million years thought that I would be able to do a pull up. Now I can do a couple in a row! I am not saying that I am by any means super strong, but I am stronger now than I have ever been in my life! (YAY GO ME) I am continuing to work on my physical strength as well as mental. I found that through pole I am using the phrase “I can’t” less. My vocabulary is changing to “look what I have accomplished so far”. I am becoming a more positive person because of pole.
Mayer speaks about the various types of pole. There are three major categories sport, art, and sexy as Mayer defines them. This is one of my absolute favorite things about pole. It has very few limitations as to how a person can express themselves. You can dress up in a costume, incorporate other forms of dance with your pole routine, and the list goes on! You adjust pole to your personality to meet your needs and goals.
For me pole is a way for me to recenter myself and to relax, even on the bad pole days. I have been practicing my Inside Leg Hang Prone, This invert scares the living day lights out of me, but I was able to successfully complete the invert twice on my opportunity side. It has been something I have been working on for many months. I have also been working the Vortex Spin trying to make it more graceful. Take a look. I still have more work to do, but I have found that I am more comfortable doing this spin forwards rather than backwards.
Grace is something that has never been my strong suit. For example, last week I fell down the stairs going to let my dog out, ended up with a skinned knee and a bruised arm. See not so graceful, but when I go to pole I feel like it helps pull what little amount of grace I do have out.
As I continued to read Mayer’s article I found that I have yet to come out of my pole closet. I find that I need to be comfortable with a person before I share with them that I take pole classes. I am not ashamed that I take pole classes, it is that people may judge you regardless of knowing who you are and why your practicing pole.
I am a teacher and pole for some has a negative reputation. I know that many instructors have faced similar situations. If the wrong person gets word of you taking pole classes, it could be the difference of losing your job or continuing to take pole. Before I became a blogger for Aerial Dance I had to reflect on if I was truly ready to make my poling hobby public. To be honest with you, I am still nervous to tell certain people, but I am becoming more and more bold. I absolutely can not wait to showcase my skills at the Christmas show. I feel that this will give me the boost I need to come out of my pole closet. My close friends and family will be there to support me as I continue in this journey.
So I ask you this week, why do you pole? Share with me in the comments!
References