Skip to main content

What's In Your Gym Bag?

Yesterday I drove to Orlando so my dad could take care of my tax return for me. I also stopped by to see my friend, Sarah, at her new gym.

Sarah has recently started taking pole dancing classes. I have been intrigued, especially after hearing her for weeks rave about these classes and how she feels while taking them. She's thrown out words like, "Alli, I've never felt sexier" and "I climbed a 16-foot pole tonight" (said with the same enthusiasm I will expect to hear after she climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro.) How could I not want to know more about this?

I walked through the well-covered door of Vixen Fitness in Orlando and was greeted with deliciously feminine pink walls and a dimly lit room lined with two rows of shiny silver poles. Everything about this place screams, "GIRL!" and for the first time in my life, I think I felt completely comfortable with that.

The class itself was enjoyable and challenging in ways I never dreamed imaginable. I wasn't sure I had the upper body strength to hang on the pole, but I had enough. My spins weren't exactly graceful, and my hands were too afraid to try sliding down the pole, but I did manage to get in a fireman spin (including one with my leg sticking straight out), a hook spin, and (my favorite) a backward angel. The climax was a full routine during which half the class walked around the room with fake money to throw at us.

Um...a woman stuffed fake money in my bra last night. I never thought I'd say those words!

All in all, the class was a completely enjoyable experience. I am sore this morning in places I never knew existed (like the outside of my left knee), but I'll take that in exchange for what I witnessed last night. I don't think I've ever been part of such camaraderie among women before. Everyone was so supportive of each other, and while some in the class were clearly better versed in the art of pole dancing, there was no sense of competition there. We were just there to celebrate our bodies.

We were women last night. Beautiful. Sexy. Somewhat graceful. It was femininity in it's purest form. (All we needed was some chocolate and a few hours to discuss men, but Sarah and I took care of that later.)

Comments

Awesome. As someone who has pole danced for three years I still get excited when I read about other women experiencing it for the first time and really enjoying it! There is something so very important about having a space for us to fully explore andcplay around with our sexuality and feel powerful and string, rather than judged our fearful. I'm glad you had such a good time!
Christy said…
What. Great. Fun!

Popular posts from this blog

Pardon the Interruption

It's 10:00. My race clothes are laying across the top of the dog crate. I've already consumed my all-natural sleep aid. The alarm is set for 4:45 in the morning. I should be sleeping, but my mind is spinning at an unnatural rate. Remember this poem ? The subject of that poem married just a few weeks ago, and I just finished looking through his wedding photos. It's a strange feeling. Not one of loss. Or Regret. Or even wistfulness. I'm thoroughly happy for both of them in a way that will seriously not make sense to most of the people I know. I suppose there will always be an odd sense of knowing in a situation like this. I know the feel of those lips. I've seen that look in his eyes. What I felt for him was real and pure and drives the feeling of satisfaction that is currently overwhelming me. I love knowing that he's in love--even if it's not with me. I even saved my favorite photo to my computer because the image stirred something in me that needs to be sti...

On Muchness

A dear friend confessed to me last night that he had lost his muchness and found it again. I confessed the same and even admitted the ridiculous series of events that recently sapped my own muchness. That little confession seemed to do wonders. It's so easy to fall out of step with myself. In fact, I do it quite naturally. Growing up in a Christian home, I took to heart the instructions to love my neighbor more than I love myself. Oh, wait! I just checked the scripture. "Love your neighbor as yourself." I may have been doing this the wrong way. I ended 2010 with the resolution that I would no longer make decisions out of fear. I am starting 2011 with the resolution to make decisions based on what I want. I've struggled with this because I've always believed that I should consider the needs and wants of others before my own. I'd like to think this is a valiant approach, but the truth is that it only leads to martyrdom...and I don't think I was given the opp...

TMI and Tidal Waves

As usual, it's been a busy week around these parts, and none of my activities this week involved running. If my grandmother could hear at the moment and complete a sentence without hacking up a lung, she'd ask me what's wrong. I'd have to confess that my eczema has flared up in this oh-so-cold-there's-ice-on-my-car south Florida weather, and my skin is so itchy that I have bruises up and down my limbs from all the scratching I've been doing. There are some days I'm relieved to know men with calloused hands. (Before you take that last comment too seriously, remind yourself that I am writing this at 9:30 on a Friday night.) Anyway... I met up for coffee with someone last night who proved to stoke my creative juices. I'll spare you the details of the conversation, but I did have to stop him mid sentence to point out that that particular conversation will most definitely become part of "La Isla Encontrada." Fortunately, he agreed to it, and I fully...