Most of the things I’m asked to do in a pole class seem impossible.
Hang upside down by one leg. Spin and climb, while making it look graceful (not like a monkey).
Trust that somehow your body will know what to do.
That first attempt is usually a nightmare.
Some people can watch the instructor once and understand the movement. My friend Lucia says, “I get the theory,” and she does.
I am not so lucky.
Watching a demo doesn’t help me much.
The minute I’m upside down, I can’t remember anything.
I need auditory cues, the more descriptive, the better. Wipe the boogers off your nose, pee like a dog, pretend you’re sitting on a public toilet. The mnemonics have to be memorable, you know.
Then there comes a moment when you try something new. My body has no idea how to do it, my mind is struggling to comprehend, and then somehow…
…it does it.
It’s not pretty. Often it’s clunky, awkward and graceless. But you do it.
“I did it!”
Tonight I was watching the other girls attempt a very challenging move called the Phoenix.
It’s a power move where you run around the pole and gain enough momentum to go into a spin, launching you upside down to balance your legs in a straddle above your head.
They tried so hard! Around the pole, the momentum, and then…no lift off. Again and again.
I could see it happening, a little bit at a time. They were learning. Getting closer.
I found myself cheering every attempt, because I could see what they couldn’t.
They were learning.
Lucia was having none of it. She demands the most of herself and won’t celebrate until she nails it down smoothly.
I get it. Sometimes I have impossibly high standards, too.
But these days, I want to celebrate.
Those little messy efforts are the precursors of mastery.
It’s easy to forget when you’re in the thick of a challenge. That’s why I think it’s so important to celebrate as victorias penquenas, the little victories.
The little victories are the stuff triumphs are made of.
Yours in love and play,
Steph 🐲❤️
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