I want to preface this post by saying I’m not a professional and I’m not aware of the science behind how healing dancing/movement is. I’m sharing my own experience in how dancing has healed me.
Before I ever went to a pole class, I was really disconnected from my own body. I wasn’t athletic, I wouldn’t stretch or dance often (even for fun), and I really didn’t see anything wrong with it. I didn’t think it was something I needed to be doing but thinking about it now, it’s crazy how long I’ve been in this body and I’m only recently starting to understand it.
I believe so much of my feminine energy was able to emerge and blossom once I became focused on dancing, stretching, and moving. Before getting into pole dancing, I was so much more tense! And I hadn’t even realized. I think it felt normal because everyone around me was at least a little tense. Most of us were full-time college students working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, stress feels normal in that environment. I wasn’t aware of the gradual jaw tension I would feel throughout the day or how often I would walk with my shoulders feeling tight. All that stressful energy stayed circulating inside of me because I didn’t realize it needed an outlet.
That stressful energy followed me in all areas of my life. I couldn’t enjoy school or my work, I didn’t have the energy to keep up with friends as often as I wanted, and more. But once pole became a part of my life, all of that built-up pain was able to slowly release. I was able to heal from a lot of things that were holding me back mentally, as well as fix all the physical tension stored in my body. At one point in my life, I was so stressed that I would experience lockjaw every couple of days! And now, I haven’t experienced it in over a year. I truly believe dance is the reason for that.
Dancing allows me to take anything I’m feeling, whether it’s good or bad, and make it something new. I’ve been fortunate enough to dance through any pain I feel and it really does make a difference. Dancing doesn’t “solve” the problem, but it alleviates the physical tension that pain and stress bring. It allows me to solve my problems with a clear mind and a relaxed body. I think with the added physical tension, it’s much easier to make the wrong decision or to not think clearly.
Pole dancing has helped me to reclaim my feminine power by being one with my body. I know many women can relate to growing up and feeling shame or guilt toward our bodies. There’s shame when you’re a child and you’re first starting to hit puberty, when you’re a teenager and older men make inappropriate comments, when you’re in the working world and have to deal with looks from male coworkers, the list can go on. Because of the shame a lot of girls grow up with, it makes it difficult to even want to connect with our bodies. It’s even worse for women who grew up in religious households. But when we do finally get to know our bodies, our power falls back into our own hands.
Related: How Pole Dancing Made Me More Spiritual
Pole dancing has also helped heal my own mental image of my body. One of my favorite things about pole is that you go from caring about what your body looks like, to caring about what it’s capable of doing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a full-body workout and you will look different, but you don’t even care for those reasons! Instead of working out for a flat tummy, I’m working out to have fun. Getting a more toned body is just the icing on the cake. This isn’t to say pole dancing alleviates all your insecurities relating to your body, but it does drastically reduce them.
Related: How Pole Improved My Way of Thinking
I could go on and on about this topic, but I’ll leave it here with this: before connecting with my body, I was stressed, tense, and misguided. After connecting with my body, I feel confident, patient, and powerful. I would love to hear about your experience with the healing powers that pole dancing, or any form of movement, has made in your life, and if you also grew up experiencing shame and guilt toward your own body. I’m best to reach via Instagram DM!
Have a great week.
