Well pole dancers of the UK, the glorious day has finally arrived! After four miserable months without them, our beloved pole studios are only fucking opening again! WOOOOOOOOO as Rick Flair would say!
If you’re anything like me you have been religiously monitoring your local studio’s timetable to see just how many classes you can cram in, what’s going on when and just how soon you can burst through the door and launch yourself at your favourite pole once again, all following the rules and correct social distancing procedures of course!
However, like the gobby cow that I am, I thought I had better give everyone a very important motivational pep talk prior to heading back to classes. It’s not the biggest of pep talks, but a very bloody important one none the less, so here goes…
If you feel you have regressed in anyway whilst you have been off the pole do not beat yourself up about it.
We have been living through a global fucking pandemic that has inevitably affected everyone in one way or another, which has had a knock-on effect on our mental health. There has been a huge amount of uncertainty over what the future was and is still going to look like for so many people and at the end of the day, most of us have been doing what we can do to survive and get by as best as we can. Therefore, I am willing to bet that pretty much every pole dancer in the UK, be they a beginner practicing their best Fireman spin or an advanced student trying to master a Fonji, is not going to feel as though they’re on top form when they walk back into the studio, and that is okay. Now is the time to really practice being kind to and rewarding yourself for everything you have achieved so far in this absolute cunt of a year, because right now, we all damn well deserve that.
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I have been fortunate enough to be able to work from home during the lockdown, so was able to attend dance, strength and conditioning and flexibility classes for the first two months, followed by pole classes when my home pole arrived at the end of May. And even after all that, I still don’t feel as on top form as I was at the end of 2019 when I was training three times a week. My grip isn’t as strong as it used to be, my Ayesha is back to a hit and miss and whilst I can feel myself improving again, I’m no where near where I would like to be, but I am determined to be kind to myself and not give myself a hard time about it, I’m a pole tortoise and proud of it. There were days in lockdown where my anxiety and low mood definitely got the better of me, and I opted for making a cosy Netflix nest on the sofa instead of training. There was also the one off occasion when I had to skip classes after a boozy reunion with my friends resulted in a motherfucker of a hangover the next day (sorry Anna if you’re reading this!), but hey, life happens.
Also, if you have been off a pole for four months do no whatever you do put yourself in any danger by attempting the crazy shit you could do pre-lockdown! Use this time to re-visit the more simpler moves whilst your strength rebuilds itself and be god damn proud of any moves you can still do. No matter how small you feel the achievement is, fucking celebrate it anyway. You could also use this as the opportunity to finally train both sides!
We have all, some much more than others, done our fair share of battling demons these past four months, so the last thing we need to be doing right now is battling ourselves because a Gemini hurts way more than it used to. This is going to sound like a load of old hippy bullshit but trust me, pole dance is a journey, not a destination or a game of bingo where you have to tick off as many moves as possible as quickly as you can. 2020 has put a gigantic wall in all our pole journeys and finally we can begin to tear that bastard down, but be patient with your body and as hard as this will be, try not to get frustrated with it if it aches like hell during the process. Heading back to the studio after four months may feel tough but you will get back to your old, wall smashing self again.
Disclosure: The link above is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn commission if you click through and make a purchase.
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