Picture an elephant trying to climb up a tree. Doesn’t look right, does it? The elephant is too big and too clumsy and will end up landing on its arse. Now think of a panther trying to climb up that same tree. What would that look like? Stealthy, effortless, sexy even. Now that’s me – the elephant I mean – trying to do a pole dancing class with panthers of the svelte type.
When you think about pole dancing, you have a vision of a sexy stripper, strutting her stuff at a gentlemen’s club. That’s certainly what I associated pole dancing with! However, my fascination and boredom with monotonous gym routines left me devoid of inspiration so I signed up for a class on a whim with no expectation aside from curiosity.
The first lesson found me in a room surrounded by skinny, flexible girls and I gyrated and flexed like the best of them. I was clumsy, I looked like a fool but it was the most fun I had in a long time and the scarring and bruises I got from the several falls, I wore proudly as battle wounds of a war successfully won (i.e. the madness of leaving a warm, toasty house to attend a class in the middle of Winter). Lesson two was no improvement, especially if, like me, you have no co-ordination or rhythm whatsoever, but again, I hobbled out of there feeling elated, excited and motivated. Lesson three was a defining moment, I managed to twirl around the pole AND look sexy doing it. I was reminded of my own femininity and the fact that I am more than just a mother, wife, daughter or sister. I feel emancipated. Powerful. Free.
This journey of self-discovery breaks convention and is best travelled alone. I am stripped (metaphorically speaking) from my comfort zone and thrust (pardon the pun) into a world that is often taboo, misunderstood and underestimated. The transformation of my body is a slow process, my core is being strengthened week by week, my body slowly toning, but my mind……that evolution has been the most dramatic. I now remember how powerful it is being a woman. I am taught that my body is sensual and beautiful no matter what I weigh and that attention can be commanded even with a simple toss of my hair. The uptight, controlled version of me is completely transformed when I enter that class and I feel free to let go of inhibitions.
I know it’s just a matter of time before my body catches up with the sexy goddess that resides within my heart and soul.