Good Friday all.
Happy half-term to my teacher readers. Bet you're glad to be here ;)
So today was an exciting Friday. A few days ago one of my pole-r friends in a community group posted a link to an article.
It was just astounding. In the city of Brighton I've always felt safe. There's always been an environment of acceptance and tolerance. Apparently not for pole dancers. Apparently there's fear that allowing a pole fitness instructor to offer
Happy half-term to my teacher readers. Bet you're glad to be here ;)
So today was an exciting Friday. A few days ago one of my pole-r friends in a community group posted a link to an article.
It was just astounding. In the city of Brighton I've always felt safe. There's always been an environment of acceptance and tolerance. Apparently not for pole dancers. Apparently there's fear that allowing a pole fitness instructor to offer
free lessons at a local sporting festival would bring the council's reputation into ruin.
Queue a petition and celebration: we have managed to get the decision reversed. Apparently pole fitness isn't that scary after all.
What astounded me though, is this - and this was my "reason" given for signing the petition:
"I'm a pole fitness athlete. I'm also a trained professional. I'm married and I have post-graduate education levels - yet this article suggests that despite my many accomplishments, my hard work, dedication and my evident "legitimacy" that I should be ashamed of the sport that has changed my life and given me confidence beyond measure. It insinuates that I do something "seedy" and that it is not fit for public show.
I regularly blog about the benefits of pole fitness and how the sport has changed my life. I have never been stronger or fitter in my life. I believe that the time has come to shake off old stereotypes and accept athletes from all sports with open arms. If you turned our poles horizontal we'd be classed as gymnasts.
There is no difference in our skill level, fitness or dedication to training; I find I am shocked and appalled, as a not only professional, highly educated woman, a pole dancer and as someone who has long thought of Brighton as a sanctuary from typicality of stereotypes in Britain that society clings on to the last vestiges of fear of not only female liberation but also of female sexuality. We are no longer in the Victorian era, it is time to change."
Even for those women who DO choose to pole for a living - they have to WORK HARD for their bodies and to do the things they do.
What Brighton council had chosen to engage in, like a lot of people who don't understand what we do is sport shaming. Body shaming. Pole has given me a community more accepting and understanding than I've ever encountered before in fitness. Everyone is welcome and it doesn't matter what you look like. How heavy you are. How skinny you are. How ungraceful you are. So long as you try.
What I'm really getting at here is what I've been attempting to get at with my t-shirts. Don't allow people to believe that we are scared of what our bodies can do. Don't allow people to think that engaging in shaming our DEDICATION, our HARD WORK, our PASSION is the right thing to do.
Whether you're a pole-fitness freak, whether you're a runner, a swimmer, a lifter or a climber; whatever you do, stand strong with us sisters and brothers because it's time to break that mould.
Anyway
./end rant
It's pole blog time.
Well....actual pole blog time :P
Queue a petition and celebration: we have managed to get the decision reversed. Apparently pole fitness isn't that scary after all.
What astounded me though, is this - and this was my "reason" given for signing the petition:
"I'm a pole fitness athlete. I'm also a trained professional. I'm married and I have post-graduate education levels - yet this article suggests that despite my many accomplishments, my hard work, dedication and my evident "legitimacy" that I should be ashamed of the sport that has changed my life and given me confidence beyond measure. It insinuates that I do something "seedy" and that it is not fit for public show.
I regularly blog about the benefits of pole fitness and how the sport has changed my life. I have never been stronger or fitter in my life. I believe that the time has come to shake off old stereotypes and accept athletes from all sports with open arms. If you turned our poles horizontal we'd be classed as gymnasts.
There is no difference in our skill level, fitness or dedication to training; I find I am shocked and appalled, as a not only professional, highly educated woman, a pole dancer and as someone who has long thought of Brighton as a sanctuary from typicality of stereotypes in Britain that society clings on to the last vestiges of fear of not only female liberation but also of female sexuality. We are no longer in the Victorian era, it is time to change."
Even for those women who DO choose to pole for a living - they have to WORK HARD for their bodies and to do the things they do.
What Brighton council had chosen to engage in, like a lot of people who don't understand what we do is sport shaming. Body shaming. Pole has given me a community more accepting and understanding than I've ever encountered before in fitness. Everyone is welcome and it doesn't matter what you look like. How heavy you are. How skinny you are. How ungraceful you are. So long as you try.
What I'm really getting at here is what I've been attempting to get at with my t-shirts. Don't allow people to believe that we are scared of what our bodies can do. Don't allow people to think that engaging in shaming our DEDICATION, our HARD WORK, our PASSION is the right thing to do.
Whether you're a pole-fitness freak, whether you're a runner, a swimmer, a lifter or a climber; whatever you do, stand strong with us sisters and brothers because it's time to break that mould.
Anyway
./end rant
It's pole blog time.
Well....actual pole blog time :P
This week I decided that I'm going to try and make my own hot-pants. I'm SICK of not being able to find the style/thickness/size that I want! So I'm taking it into my own hands. This was further compressed by Charlie asking me why I don't make my own after lamenting about hot-pant suppliers in a discussion about printing onto hot-pants.
After a little indecision, I decided to give it a go.
They turned out ok......they LOOK like hot-pants...
After a little indecision, I decided to give it a go.
They turned out ok......they LOOK like hot-pants...
Trouble is, they only go over one leg. Yeah. Apparently if I'm not using stretch material they need to be bigger.....duh!
Anyway, so, pole related...
Tuesday's training was pretty awesome :D It incurred MANY pole kisses including this one.
Anyway, so, pole related...
Tuesday's training was pretty awesome :D It incurred MANY pole kisses including this one.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not showing you for sympathy. This is a trophy :P
It had finally scabbed over until tonight's practice. Oooops xD
Now on Tuesday, I was asking Karen for a list of things she thinks I look nice doing - since we have a photo shoot coming up. To my open mouthed surprise, she said "Butterfly".
Butterfly.
My nemesis.
Thing is....since the aerial invert, it really hasn't been. It seems a trifle compared to it. So I decided to see how I look in Butterfly.....getting there right :D
It had finally scabbed over until tonight's practice. Oooops xD
Now on Tuesday, I was asking Karen for a list of things she thinks I look nice doing - since we have a photo shoot coming up. To my open mouthed surprise, she said "Butterfly".
Butterfly.
My nemesis.
Thing is....since the aerial invert, it really hasn't been. It seems a trifle compared to it. So I decided to see how I look in Butterfly.....getting there right :D
Naturally, my "go-to" move, the inverted thigh hold was mentioned.
I love this move. I love getting in to it, I love the way it feels, I love the way it looks :D Whenever I'm having a "bad" lesson, I'll always default to this.
I love this move. I love getting in to it, I love the way it feels, I love the way it looks :D Whenever I'm having a "bad" lesson, I'll always default to this.
:D (that's my face - which you can't see in the photo...)
And of course, speaking of go-to moves we had to have another video of the ever present "spin with no name"!! I even found some pink leg warmers for the occasion xD
And of course, speaking of go-to moves we had to have another video of the ever present "spin with no name"!! I even found some pink leg warmers for the occasion xD
Going back to July.... (with the 49 day saga)
Ha! I love the way my body has changed in the past 6 months.
I'm learning to love this body. I watched a video the other day that opened my eyes to the self-destruction hating yourself can bring (you can find it HERE). In the end, there really is no point in hating yourself. One thing she said really stuck with me - "FAT isn't a feeling. You can't be FEELING fat. FAT isn't an emotion". So what are you feeling? I thought on that. On a fat day, for me I feel "worthless". Odd isn't it, how much we can learn to despise the way we look and how that can relate to our very self worth.
So I'm trying something new. I'm loving my body. You know what I love? I love that it's strong, that it can take bruises and cuts and carry on, that it's flexible and that it can do ANYTHING I want it to.
Every day I want to commit to telling myself at least ONE thing I love about my body. Anyone with me!?
Give it a go. Come to the "dark side" with me. Step away and untangle yourself.
What do YOU love about your body?
I'm learning to love this body. I watched a video the other day that opened my eyes to the self-destruction hating yourself can bring (you can find it HERE). In the end, there really is no point in hating yourself. One thing she said really stuck with me - "FAT isn't a feeling. You can't be FEELING fat. FAT isn't an emotion". So what are you feeling? I thought on that. On a fat day, for me I feel "worthless". Odd isn't it, how much we can learn to despise the way we look and how that can relate to our very self worth.
So I'm trying something new. I'm loving my body. You know what I love? I love that it's strong, that it can take bruises and cuts and carry on, that it's flexible and that it can do ANYTHING I want it to.
Every day I want to commit to telling myself at least ONE thing I love about my body. Anyone with me!?
Give it a go. Come to the "dark side" with me. Step away and untangle yourself.
What do YOU love about your body?
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