Day 29: Pole Dancing Workshop!!!

Okay, so this quote was posted in the restroom at the Pole for the Soul studio. I thought it was awesome and a great boost to see right before class started. (Especially since my car battery was dead right as we were leaving the house and we arrived @ the studio without the extra time to drink a Mimosa before class started, as planned.... Boo!)

I've always been intrigued by pole dancing from a physical standpoint. I've heard it's a really great workout (I concur). But it was more than that, that got me to include this in my -40- things.

I'll just put it out there: After being pregnant twice and having two babies and then nursing those two babies - I just lost that sexy feeling. I don't know - maybe it was the commercial grade breast pump and double pumping, the leaky breasts for like ever, major nippage at all turns, stretch marks, being tired all the time for the first coupla years, and then those pesky wrinkles stared showing up. Need I go on? To say I have a harder time feeling sexy these days is an understatement.

That does not mean I don't think I look good. I'm in great shape for being days away from 40. I don't have that pesky baby tummy everyone complains about. I wear the same size I did in my my 20's. I'm blessed with that.  But it doesn't come for free. I've worked consistently hard at it, and have for the past 20+ years.  My hubs is often very complimentary of how I look, too. But there's a TOTAL difference between looking good and feeling sexy. At least I think so.

So, that's where the Pole Dancing idea came in. I wanted a chance to feel saucy and free. Outside of my normal environment, where I see myself mostly as a "Mom".

Pole for the Soul was the perfect place. The studio is small and intimate, the lighting is good (YES!) and there aren't mirrors. That threw me off a bit, at first. But, I probably would have been horrified had there been wall to wall mirrors. I am so stiff in the hips and not at all "shaky shaky". I think "herky jerky" is more descriptive, for sure! I don't have the "rack" for the shaky shaky...nor do I have that kind of hair that you can just throw about...and look effortlessly sultry.

But the moves we learned were verrrryyyy sexy, yet in a sophisticated way. The instructor was a curvy girl. And, wowzie, was she super hot in how she moved, strutting about in her little hot pant type shorty shorts (cellulite and all, my friends!) And her attitude! That girl had some major chutzpah. I loved it. I'm sure her fiance loves it, too.

We did some floor work and got loosened up and also learned the stripper walk. I think Jeff will like that one. It feels totally ridiculous (imagine dragging your toes on the floor as you step) but it looks super hot.

The last portion of the 1.5 hour workshop was working on the pole. My favorite part. She introduced us to the varying poles: I think there were 7. There was Tall Dark and Handsome (black and thicker in diameter) and then the Skinny Bitch (slightly smaller in diameter, I guess for a better grip?).  I am not making this up, I swear. The poles had names! That is totally up my alley. I opted for the latter. Bring it on, Skinny Bitch.  Bring. It. On.

The advertisement for the workshop said students would learn a "dramatic spin". This involved  combining the stripper walk and a turn/pirouette (all the while grasping the pole way above your head), then leaping around the pole in a spin. It was a bit scary, actually. But total, kick ass fun. I am not really sure how "dramatic" my spin was (NOT!),  but I felt sexy and I felt strong.

EUREKA!

That moment reminded me that I actually do feel pretty damn sexy, most of the time. I like seeing muscles and curves in my body. I'm by nature not a curvy girl; that's where the muscles come in and help out! I'm an A cup, I'm built more like a boy, with small hips and muscular legs. But I feel so much sexier being in shape and having obvious muscles than I do when I'm just thin (read: my early 20's). And that's what I find sexy on other women too. We all have our girl crushes (right? right?) and mine is definitely more on the Kelly Ripa/Dara Torres (remember her in the "Got Milk" ads?) side of the spectrum rather than the more fleshy, Rubenesque side of the spectrum. That's just me.  I know it's not every gal's (or guy's!) cup of tea. :)

The important lesson, here, is that I was able to see that feeling strong and fit is, for me, very sexy. It was a good reminder that while I can enjoy "loosening up" and coming up with some new ideas to entertain Jeff, I am pretty dang happy with what I've got goin' on.

And my girlfriend, Joy: WHOOOOOAAA, she was totally sexy! Who knew? I've known this girl since I was 19. But I had no clue there was a sexy vixen in there. She was on the pole next to mine, and I must say: her spin was quite dramatic. And she had the "shaky shaky" of the booty and hips down pat. I told her so afterwards and she was totally nonchalant about it, saying something like "Yeah, I've always had that in me". And my other friend, Jena, loved the workshop so much, she signed up for classes!

I love that 1) my friends were game to try this with me and 2) that they were able to channel their inner diva(s) and appreciate what they've got "goin on", too.

That, my friends, is the beauty (and the privilege!) of getting older. You worry much less about what you don't have and are more appreciative/grateful for what you do have.

Good Stuff.

There was no photo taking during the workshop, so these are our poses, after the fact. But we had to document this experience, somehow. Shoot! I just noticed that there is no photo of Skinny Bitch. Bummer.