I have had the most amazing weekend of pole. It’s hard to know where to start because so many amazing things happened. Even using the word amazing is problematic because I am concerned about the use of hyperbole. Oh really Trish? Another amazing pole session? Was it as amazing as the last amazing one or the amazing one before that? So I am going to go out on a limb and say this weekend for this humble blogger was life changing now you have to admit life changing doesn’t happen all the time.
We had a new teacher Ali and I don’t normally handle change well. However previous teachers have said you should try new teachers because they may give you a different way of looking at things that your regular teacher hasn’t. New teachers also shake things up and stop you being complacent.
So I rocked up to Friday’s class and I shared this class with Tania (couple of years of pole and can do a cool pencil trick) and Megan (can do just about every trick you can imagine on both sides). I thought that’s cool, I’ll let these two eagles soar and I can pick up stuff on the periphery. I like the periphery, the central spot light is a hot and demanding place.
Well Ali wasn’t having any of this. She kept challenging Tania and Megan and then she kept rocking up in front of me and saying ok I’ll spot you, let’s give it a go. I thought it only fair to let her know that I may be in intermediates but I would be low intermediates. Ali didn’t seem to mind and I managed to do moves that I had not done before.
So this is the thing with a new teacher, they will focus on things that you may not have given much attention to. I’m going to put my hand up now and admit something. My name is Trish Morton and I don’t train both sides. There I said it. Ali’s class was a world of both sides, even just climbing a pole on your less favoured side is a challenge.
She asked the wonderful question of “what is your favourite move?” I don’t think I quite ran over Tania and Megan in my race to answer but I’m petty sure they knew what was coming. My hand shot up before I had even thought about it, “Ayesha Let’s do Ayesha”. So because Tania and Megan are truly lovely people they did not object and off we went practising our Ayesha.
Every move Ali does is gorgeous, she demonstrated an Ayesha from a dive and it was slow and controlled. Curl your legs in, find your balance point and then extend your legs. As Ali came out of the demonstration she did something that looked suspiciously like an Iron X and up went my hand again. Ali can you Iron X? Yes she said and I thought Ali is ok in my book.
So I tried Ayesha this way and had a little success. It was better than it had been before but it wasn’t there. I was happy we had just practised it.
At the very end of the class Ali said something that surprised me very much. She said after saying that I had done well in class that I needed to stop talking down about myself. Now Stephanie from other classes had said something similar previously but it hadn’t hit home until I put her comment and Ali’s together.
I had to go out and run an errand before the my next class started so that gave me time to think about the comment. To begin with I thought, she’s mad, I am the power of positivity, I tell other people off or at least pull them up when they speak down about themselves. I was gobsmacked to think that I was doing it myself. I had always thought I was just being honest about my abilities but was I? Maybe I was one of those people who speak down about themselves. Ok I thought I’m going to fix that up right now.
This is going to be such a long blog for anyone to read. You might want to stop here and go and have a break I still have a ton of stuff to get through.
I had a one hour break while they held a beginner class and by the way congratulations on that Sky High Pole and Fitness, the class was full, there wasn’t even a pole for the instructor, she had to share.
The next class on that fateful Friday night was a dance class run by Ali and the routine was to Christine Aguilera’s Express. Now I need to give a little preamble here.
When I started pole I did not have a good body image. Pole fixed that. I am now comfortable in my own skin and that’s a lovely place to be. Something I have always wanted though and have been curious as to whether I could ever actually achieve it, is,
drum roll please,
sex appeal.
There publish and be damned I say. Is sex appeal something that can be learnt or is it just a natural thing that some people have and some people don’t? Is it a mental thing, is it an asset thing, is it size or shape or age? What is it and how do you get it? Think Sophie Lauren, Audrey Hepburn, Adelaide’s own Nona Mona, these ladies all have it and I want some. So when Pole first started Exotic classes I thought way you go Trishy that’ll see you right. I bought some kick ass boots and then I promptly never tried on the boots and never went to the exotic class. Fast forward to Friday night’s class.
The routine Ali was offering was a mini burlesque beginner routine and to me that sounded like a sampler of the Exotic class. Bec from gym very kindly came with me and we stationed ourselves at the back of the class.
The routine was easy and it was fun and it was a bit sexy. There were these bits when you kind of popped and I thought, this is a life I don’t often experience. This was a world away from dogs, cats, birds, horses and donkeys. It was fun and I was still dancing as we left the studio and went to our cars. I was still dancing in the kitchen making my cocoa that night and I was still dancing the next day doing my chores. I was setting up the horse feed singing Express and still doing pirouettes. So it doesn’t matter if you’re old, if you’re scarred, if you’re not particularly co-ordinated. You can still have a lot of fun doing these routines. This was a life changing concept for me.
A couple of funny things to share. One was that Bec and I went to the back of the class and then Ali rotated the class so that suddenly Bec and I were at the front of the class when everyone faced the back wall and I thought, mm that strategy didn’t work well. Then Bec said the funniest thing and I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing it. There was a tricky move and I said to Bec just fake it if you can’t get it. Bec is a stunning red head who is super strong. She doesn’t miss a beat. She says if I can’t get a move I’ll just get my tits out and no-one will notice. I nearly had a heart attack I thought that was so funny.
Now what this dance class did for me was to show me that no–one apart from the teacher is watching you when you’re in class, all the other students are concentrating on their moves. You can be shown sexy moves so sexiness and sex appeal can be learned. How well you learn it is your own business but it is not the purvey of the naturally inclined. Important point number two is and I hope you are paying attention because this one is gold. Whether you look sexy, whether you can act sexy or come across as someone with sex appeal is one thing. The real gold in my humble opinion is how the dance makes you feel. I felt pretty dam good about myself after that class and I knew that I didn’t look different. Something had changed on the inside. I had been given a pass to something I hadn’t had before. It was life changing. I predict there will be more dances in the paddock while feeding the horses coming up. Pole is magical, it is transformative.
Ok suggested break number two, cup of tea and a biscuit???
Saturday morning I was back at pole and Ali was taking the class. She asked the, “What is your favourite move” question and with a force of will I never knew I had I kept my hand down and she laughed and said yes Trish the Ayesha. We did a lot of both sides training again which seriously messed with my head. We did some very pretty chopper to butterfly combos and I got leg hangs like I rarely have got them before. Finally because I knew I only had a certain amount of strength I said can we do Ayeshas now. Yes Trish Ali said you can do Ayeshas now.
So I practiced what Ali had told us Friday night. Go up slow, dive, curl your legs, find your balance and then extend and oh my god the Ayesha was mine. It felt rock solid. I could never understand why I couldn’t get it because I am strong, that is one of my strong suits (ho ho). So it’s strength and balance. Nail those two and you can have the move.
I have wanted the Ayesha for a very long time. I got Ali to take my picture and I will get it printed out and stick it on my fridge. This is a move that I wanted, didn’t have and have now got. It was mind blowing. There is now a very real chance that I will be writing a blog with me doing an Iron X. OMG!!!!! Who knows there could be a hand spring in my future maybe a full pole drop. I feel like the world is my oyster. What do you want? Work for it and you can have it. I left that pole studio feeling invisible. How much would you pay for that feeling? Good God people all that happened in one weekend. We did iguana stuff but I don’t care I only had eyes for the Ayesha but Tania is going to show me her cool pencil trick I quite fancy that.
Thanks for reading
Thank you Universe for Sky High Pole and Fitness, it’s a magical place.
mort532 