My best girl, Elizabeth lured me into doing a pole dancing class with her. Only she called them therapeutic pole dancing classes. I sat and scratched my head about it after I impulsively signed up.

I thought pole dancing was what much of us think. Strippers. Sexy. Raunchy. Slutty. Etc. But I was still down to try it, because, well, there’s not much I won’t try at least once.

The therapeutic bit, well, that was completely lost on me. How pole dancing class could be therapeutic–no clue. Whatever. I could probably use tons of therapy in any form.

And as usual, a quick backstory: back in my “acting days” ( I use quotes because I’m awful at it), I was in two plays right around the same time.

A kid’s play where I was Piglet and the play Beirut, where I played Blue.

I fucking rocked Piglet. Because I am inherently silly.

But Blue, she required me to tap into this feminine side. This sorta sexy side. I wore my bra and panties the whole play as my costume. So you’d think something would have clicked and I would have been Blue the sex kitten.

Sadly, no. I was awkward and got terrible reviews (one lady even likened me to a street urchin. Fuck her).  I really did my best, but this “sexy” thing has always eluded me.

Whatever, I still got laid.

Back into this story, Saturday rolled around and it was time for the first beginners therapeutic pole dancing class.

I had actually forgotten most of my preconceived notions. I was pretty sleep deprived, which is a whole other story. We were told to just wear what we’d wear to a yoga class. I was really looking forward to this pole dancing class thingy!

When we arrived at the studio it was so serene. Okay, I thought, we’re totally not stripping in a place this beautiful. There was nothing that made me think of a strip club–not even the poles. Instead the poles looks like apparatuses that with the right amount of arm and core strength could be used as tools in dancing. Much like my beloved blocks in yoga.

We started by introducing ourselves. There were some athletes in the class, some former dancers, folks that did nothing associated with movements and even two of us who self-identified as extremely awkward.

I owned that shit right up front. As with any experience I go into, I was there to do something and it wasn’t to judge. Go hard or go home, I was all in for this therapeutic pole dancing experience.

We all started on yoga mats simple moving our bodies. Hips. A lot of hip circles. I’ve continued doing those since. We found ways to the ground and back up much like a modified child’s pose. It was all making sense. Just move. And find that movement from inside.

Most of all, stay out of your head.

There were no mirrors in the dance studio. WHAT? Right, because it’s therapeutic. It doesn’t matter how you look, what matters is how you feel. What is the movement stirring up inside of you? Are you going to retreat or face whatever it is?

I was feeling empowered, personally. I never expect to be perfect or even good at things, so to enjoy life, I embrace my flaws and have fun.

I actually wasn’t self-aware of this fact. But I’ve taken some really challenging classes in in the last year where the teachers have commented about my “energy” and how great it is. Aww, tender. I’ve never probed these teachers on what they mean. I just assume they are getting the feeling from me that I’m just there to live.

In the end, I found myself feeling really great about what our teacher Bethany had taught us. My major take away was to move softly though life. There is just as much power in that as there is in my usual plowing right through shit.

Even in other fitness related activities, moving softly can get me where I want to be.

So Denver kids, if you’re wanting to give this a try, which I highly recommend, check out Bethany’s studio and her therapeutic pole dancing classes. Please do share you experiences with me!

Also the bruises. ‘Cause, yeah, it’s a work out and you’ll end up with some really interesting foot, ankle and thigh bruises. But hey, it came out to approximately 700 calories for two hours of class. Wha-what! And although my form is awful in the picture above, look how rad that is!

Also, I promise to tell you guys why I know that and all the other fun fitness stuff I’ve been up to!