"I pole dance on a regular basis." "Really? Can I, like, watch...?"

Telling my male friends that I take pole dancing lessons often results in the question that I have included in the title of this post - something along the lines of wanting to watch the routine that I learn. I won't lie - I love telling guys that I pole dance because I love to see their reaction. There's a sense of intrigue that guys display after learning this bit of information about me, and I like the way that feels.

However, this post isn't about a guy's reaction to pole dancing. Rather, it's about the way that it makes me feel when I do it and the freedom and sense of possibility that I experience whenever I spin around that pole.

Okay, so maybe I'm starting to sound like a woman who just experienced an epiphany about the miracles of feminism or something, but I'm serious! Pole dancing gives everyone who does it, I would say, a totally motivating sense of confidence that makes her think, "hell yeah, I'm hot and any man would be damn lucky to have a shot with me."

When I went to my first class, I was nervous, I'll admit it. But that nervousness went away when I saw the instructor do the first move I would learn - the swing walk. It's a pretty simple move, just holding onto the pole and pivoting around it on one foot, but that one move made me feel like I could flip upside down on that pole (a la the girl in the photo) and it would look effin' awesome. Not that I can't do that now...

Soon, I was doing moves like the Firefly and the Butterfly without any feet on the ground. Those took a bit longer to master and, ya, a few times I looked like a fireman rushing down the pole to answer a call rather than a sexy exotic dancer, but it was FUN. And, better yet, I learned to laugh at myself. What's the sense of being serious about it and getting upset when I have trouble with a move? Hell, if I did, I'd have quit long ago.

I'm on to level 2 now, and the move we've just learned is the Tinkerbell. I've discovered that not only do I not have enough upper body strength to hold myself in a static position on the pole, but I also have the ability to shoot myself off the pole. I think it's a very advanced move, and I'm thinking about calling it The Bella. No one else in the class did it, and I think that if I decide to do the routine for someone, he would think I am extremely talented. Better yet, when I did manage to swing around the pole, my feet would hit the ground and make a nice slap sound that, I believe, is actually very sexy!

Contrary to what most people believe, my class isn't taught by a stripper, but instead by a regular woman who took pole dancing classes and then became a teacher. It's fun, and you learn all sorts of sexy moves, including lap dances. Really, though, the best part about pole dancing is that you feel pretty damn good about yourself. What could be better than that?

Love,

Bella