Two years ago, I abruptly uprooted my life. I’d seen the writing on the wall, which read: my income hadn’t revived since the pandemic. At least I was already working from home and could take my job with me.
Too bad my social life wasn’t portable as well. I rebuilt it from the ground up. A little more challenging since I worked from home. The first thing I looked into was African dance classes. Not only were the vast majority of classes geared toward students and children, but absolutely no African dance classes were offered. The only adult dance classes I found were for pole fitness.
I’d taken many different styles of dance class and this style had been on my bucket list for several years. Yet, the genre has been so sexualized that I couldn’t find a friend to try it out with me. Now, I had no friends to persuade.
For the first few months, I wore a mask. Didn’t bother me one bit that I was the only one. I was already going outside my comfort zone as the oldest student at 52.9. Plus, I was extra cautious since my parents were in their 80s and had just recovered from a mild to asymptomatic bout of COVID when I’d moved back home.
I’d taken four months of classes when I attended a pole dancing competition as an audience member. That experience helped to tame my inner critic.
Not only did I witness a range of body types, but also a range of ages. So, although I wouldn’t magically age backwards, strenuous exercise would help keep me strong, flexible and energetic. Three qualities normally associated with youth.
Moreover, I didn’t need to lose weight to invert on the pole. That was a limitation I put upon myself because I “needed” to lose 20 pounds. Yet, once I saw women much larger than me effortlessly inverting among all the other acrobatic moves, I knew that all I really needed to do was practice.
Although new skills take me longer than the average student to acquire, with regular practice, I eventually accomplish my goals. No matter how “bad” my performance may seem in any particular class, every effort provides a really good workout. That’s truly the bottom line.