Pole Therapy - First Class
<<<<<< I should first point out that this is very definitely not me. As if there'd be any confusion hahaha.
So I have been saying to myself for a couple of years now that I would really love to give a pole dancing class a go, I've always been blown away by how strong, agile and graceful pole dancers are, not to mention how f**king hot they look doing it!
So after seeing fantastic posts of two of my fave Instagram posters @tricepsandtoasties and @jammiemrs (If you're into your fitness and nutrition on Instagram then definitely give these 2 ladies a follow) I finally decided to give it a go and signed up for a local class.
There are two places (that I am aware of) that do pole classes in Cork but I decided to go with Pole Dance Therapy, who are based out of Elite Fitness in the Marina Commercial Park, because 1) I have heard amazing things about Marija's class from friends who've been before, 2) it's round the corner from where I work and 3)the Intro class fee is just 15 Euros for a 2 hours class.
The other thing that sold Marija's class for me was it's also aimed at complete beginners. There is, however, a normal beginners class and an intermediate one available on other nights. Having been to "Beginners" classes before I have been surrounded by super fit/superflexible yoga types with an instructor who doesn't really care for those who are just starting out, as long as they get their class filled and I've basically just felt awful and as if I am holding up the class if I've asked questions.
So on a dreary Wednesday evening I drove myself up to the Marina not quite sure what to expect from the evening. The website outlines the rough plan for the class as:
10-15 minutes of Meditation
30 minutes of Stretching
30 minutes of Exercising
45 minutes of Dancing/Practicing Moves
The class was fairly prompt in starting, Marija had us sitting on our yoga mats and did a brief introduction about herself and the class before asking us to do the same and asking us what we were hoping to gain from the class, or for those who had attended before, what they felt they had gained from the classes they had already attended. I myself wanted to improve my strength and flexibility and feel a little more graceful in the process.
We then moved into Meditation with lights low and some relaxing music, it was nice to stop thinking about the day for a short while and focus on myself. Meditation lasted around 15 minutes.
We then moved into stretching, Marija made it clear at the start of the class that we should not try to over-exert ourselves and should listen to our bodies, I did find that I struggled with some of the movements, but didn't feel pressured to force myself beyond what felt comfortable and advice was offered for better form.
From stretching we moved into some exercises, which I can only describe as sensual aerobics. Again, I struggled with some of the moves both physically and with the co-ordination and I did feel myself getting a little frustrated with myself because it made me feel clumsy and not particularly sensual but I know from other interests that I have that I'm not going to be an expert from Day 1, so I had a sort of internal conflict of emotions going on in my head.
After the exercising the class was split into 2 groups, the actual complete beginners and the more experienced girls who could only attend the class on Wednesdays. Our group were shown around 5 or 6 moves that could be done along the wall or on the pole. Some of the moves I got no problem, others were a little more complicated but I enjoyed learning them.
Once everyone had taken a turn on the poles for all moves, we settled in to some yoga, it felt good to stretch out the tensions of the day, there were one or two moves which I am not really flexible enough for yet and we ended the session with a couple minutes more of meditation to reflect on how we felt at the end vs the beginning.
All in all I did enjoy the class despite the feelings of clumsiness/awkwardness, because some of the other girls also had similar struggles with some of the moves.
I also remembered that around this time last year,it was the first time I had set foot in a Currach (traditional Irish rowing boat), and during my initial lessons I was horrendous, our boat basically turned around in circles for 20 minutes instead of going in a straight line, 6 months later I had completed a 22km race (and several more long rows in the run up during training), 9 months later I completed a 22 mile race in London and now 12 months on I am occasionally even let loose as a Rota Captain when the public join us with my rowing club. Having reflected on that, it dawned on me that the only way I am going to feel graceful and more flexible is to keep at it and practice. So that's me signed up for another couple of classes.