Pole dancing has probably been one of my favorite take aways of Aerial Dance so far. It combines dance, acrobatics, and gymnastics on a vertical type of pole. It has been such a fun and empowering experience for me and has been a great way for me to stay fit and in shape so far in my fitness journey. It requires a lot of strength, flexibility, and endurance but there are a lot of benefits to it!
I have found that my core muscles have gotten so much stronger throughout doing this! My balance and coordination has definitely gotten significantly better as well. I feel so much more confident since I have started to do this. I used to be so ashamed of body and now I feel much more body positive and confident in my skin. It truly has helped my self esteem significantly where I always had used to struggle with that quite a bit. It has been a huge help with stress relief for me as well and a great way for me to express myself through dance. It has been such a fun journey to try and the music is always so upbeat and fun, it makes you want to move which is great!
Aerial dance is about so much more than just the physical strength that is required to do the moves, but also about mental strength. It takes a lot to be able to mentally push yourself and tell yourself you are able to do something, even if you are not so sure that you are going to be able to do it. When I first started aerial I was not sure I was even going to be able to do any of the moves, but the more I decided to stick with it the better I have gotten! The moves I thought I would never be able to do now are actually starting to come naturally to me! The moves are challenging and different all the time so you are always doing different things but also building up your muscle and strength along the way as well.
When I started, it took me out of my comfort zone quite a bit but in a good way! I have so much higher self confidence and have gained so many friends along the way as well. I am so much stronger since I started and it is always so much fun to come to class every week! It has transferred over into my day to day life as well because I am much more aware of what I am eating to make sure that I have the proper fuel in my body so I can do all the things I want to do. It has helped me tremendously to overcome a life long battle with an eating disorder and to learn to love myself again. I truly don’t know where I would be today if I had not given this a try. I am so happy for my progress and excited to see what is in store for the future.