Every person that tries a class at Phoenix Flight Studio has a reason they did it. Maybe they’re bored with the gym. Or they’re trying to get in shape. Or they want to be sexy for their partner.
The one that always sticks out to me is the one where a woman indicates she wants to learn to be sexy for her spouse. That makes me feel all the feels. I so desperately want to hug this person and tell her that if she sticks it out, her spouse will no longer be the driving factor. It will 1000% be for her and her alone. I feel this one hard because I was there too.
I started pole dancing because I wanted to learn how to dance for my husband. We had hit a point in our marriage where there were no surprises. We’d been together for 10 years and had gotten too comfortable in our routine. Plus, I was dealing with all the internalized purity culture expectations from my conservative religious upbringing. Imagine telling a girl her body could lead men astray, distracting boys and men alike no matter how old I was? I was suddenly supposed to go from pure angel to sexually confident vixen (for my husband only) just like that? I’d been deconstructing my religious upbringing for years and still am doing the work, but knowing now the important role pole dance would have in getting me through, I would have run to a studio sooner and never would have consider my husband as the main reason to go.
The strength I found and the connection with my body; movement was exhilarating. I fell in love with what my body could do. I started celebrating it. Pole was just the start. This joy I felt pushed me to try other apparatuses like Lyra and Sling. The inherent ninja mentality that comes with flying and spinning in the air causes an evolution of self. Redefinition of what you are capable. And that is invaluable. So while you all have reasons why you step foot through the door of a pole or aerial studio, I beg you to be allow one of those reasons be for yourself.