The Gift of Movement

It always amazes me how stuck people can be in their own bodies. How uncomfortable we are with them. They're not good enough. Too fat, too thin, too lumpy, too whatever. I admit it. I have too much cellulite, my stomach curves where I sometimes wish it didn't, and my lumpy bits are a little bit lopsided sometimes. But despite these things and my occasional bout with negativity, I have a body I can move. I can touch it and feel sexy, and I can look in a mirror and see beauty. And I don't even mind being a little bit overweight and pole dancing - I love that when we get students who don't start out fit that I can prove that anyone can do it, and you don't have to start out with a stereotypical sexy body to be sexy.**

This is the gift that pole dance has given me, and it's why I love teaching it. I even think it's the same reason I loved dancing as a kid - I discovered that moving with feeling gives me joy.

I just finished teaching a four week introduction to pole dance course, and I struggled with this one. I was sick for their first class and I felt like I had a hard time connecting to them. They seemed to be having a hard time with some of the movements, and I started questioning my ability in instructing them. After this last class, I no longer doubt my ability. It just took a little longer with them, and I think they were a little uncomfortable with their own sensuality.


But it's amazing what heels and a little red light can do.




As soon as I changed the atmosphere of the room, the girls in that class were completely different dancers. No longer did they worry about what they looked like while they were moving - and in not worrying about it, they suddenly had the moves they were struggling with. I was amazed at the difference. They went from being uncomfortable and unsure of how to move to confident and having fun just by turning some lights off and me giving them permission to not do everything perfectly as long as they did everything safely. I am truly grateful to be able to share that with them. To show them that they can be at home in their bodies, even as I'm still becoming comfortable in my own.














**I didn't realize that I was actually ok with it until I had someone who had come in to ask questions about classes say to me 'oh good, I'm glad you're here. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do it because I'm too fat.' After she left, we joked that she had called me fat without even realizing it. And truly, I wasn't insulted. I was glad I could be there to break her preconceived notions about whether she could be sexy and dance or not.