As we were walking out of my workplace, after a yoga session, I, my friend and our instructor were talking about people who does crazy yoga poses in public and in photos. My instructor said, actually, most of the difficult poses in yoga are not meant for everyday practice but are supposed to be used for demonstration purposes. Then, from that context, he suddenly blurted out “Just like pole dancing, why do you do pole dancing?” The tone was disagreeing, hence, the natural humanistic reaction, of course, was to defend my motives. I tried to convince him, and partially myself, without thinking much, I replied defensively and mentioned some general benefits of pole dancing and any other sports. I said “for toning, flexibility and I want to compete.”

 I wasn’t convinced with my own spontaneous answers. I had to know for sure what my motives are. I do not want to do things just for superficial purposes like to take photos or just to pose with the pole and wait for people’s thumbs up on my photos. It has to be more than that. I walked home thinking, “Why am I really doing it? What are my motivations for going crazy over it?” It’s time to introspect once again. Well, this is how I feel when I am grooving around the pole;

 When I dance, music possesses me. I move like a river flowing through the rhythm and beat. I am alive. I am able to express myself, as a woman, gracefully and creatively. I am a very good singer too but dancing feels more comfortable.

  Though we haven’t really gone into choreographed pole dancing yet, I can’t stop dreaming of that day that I will be dancing endlessly with the pole. When I lift myself up, I feel glamorous yet strong. I am at my strongest and my muscles can attest to that. I can see that I am at my fittest and due to that, I feel better about myself. I am empowered not just physically but also emotionally.

  When I do inverts I set goals for myself and work brutally hard to achieve it, my bruises can attest to that, and being able to do so makes me feel accomplished. I love challenges and I love overcoming them. When I can do poses that I couldn’t do before, I feel that I’m doing it for all my detractors and those who are skeptical about my motivations and purpose of doing this. I want to prove them that I can rise, literally and figuratively, above them.

 I abhor the stigma that pole dancing is slutty and promiscuous and by learning pole, it makes me feel that I am one with all the women fighting against being controlled and dominated by social norms and restrictions. The more I hear “ewwww” from other people when I start talking about pole dancing, the more urge I have to continue doing it. I am a respectable person who’s doing pole dance. So what?

 Pole dancing is sensual and sexy, just like any dances and arts. I feel free, with endless possibilities when I spin around the pole. I am happy to move around it. I am simply HAPPY!

 Pole dance is not only about selling sex. It is now, widely accepted as a sport. I hope that before anyone judge this activity, why not give it a try first, you might end up loving it, just like me!

Come and let’s learn pole dancing together! http://piaandthepole.wordpress.com/