It's been over
three years since my very first
pole dancing class. I remember walking into the beautiful, dimly-lit studio, instantly intrigued by the high ceilings and rows of poles. Taking a class like this, especially without a friend in tow, seemed a bit intimidating. There are certainly some aspects of it that really
surprised me. Once all was said and done,
I never learned how to go upside down and
I never actually bought my own pole, but it was a really fun style of dance to learn.
* Upper body strength like whoa! I never realized how much your shoulders take a beating in pole dancing. The amount of strength you need to lift your body and spin around the pole is more than I expected. In every warmup, we did specific exercises designed to help our shoulders. It's easy to strain your muscles if you're not careful.
* Class diversity. It wasn't a bunch of strippers running around in slutty outfits. In fact, classes generally ranged from girls as young as 18 to as "old" as mid-40s. Dress code was usually yoga pants and a tank top or t-shirt.
*Walking the walk. Classes were of course based on learning sultry pole moves, but I also learned how to perfect a "sexy walk". While it felt funny strutting towards my reflection in the mirror, it was a fun way to loosen us up during the first class.
*The spins are harder than they look. Pole dancing looks
so easy but it's extremely technical and challenging!
{Watch Tara Karina, my favorite and very talented YouTuber}.
I nailed the beginner
Fireman Spin after a few tries, but the subsequent moves we learned were more difficult! But they really look so simple!
*It's unbelievably fun, but expensive. If you have the chance to try a pole dancing class, by all means, do it! It's a blast. My favorite part was at the end when the instructor would play music for 10 or 15 minutes and let us freestyle to it and practice everything we learned. The cost of classes prevented me from sticking with it in the long-term.
Where to go near Boston:
