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The fear of being judged as conceited…
I started poling 20 months ago. Before I started poling it is fair to say I didn't really exercise. I used to swim and do gymnastics as a child, I started smoking young, vowed to give up by 25 and did, then not long after giving up smoking I took up swimming on my own as something to do about 2.5 year ago, I got up to being able to do 50 lengths continuous and then it kind of petered out for me.
I started pole in August 2011. I didn't set out with any goal in mind, it was just fun and I wanted to try it out. I didn't even really know what pole dancing was in terms of fitness, so I really had no goals or expectations.
I have never had body issues, I have always been ok with my body, so getting in shape was not a goal.
I now have body issues, 20 months into poling, I have body issues….in the way that I LOVE MY BODY so much now I want to tell everyone about it, show people the changes and make them see how amazing my body is in terms of what it can do…I now realise that whilst I didnt have negative views on my body, I also didnt have positive ones, I just didnt have anything to complain about or brag about. I now want to get fitter, get more muscle, get stronger, build stamina, improve cardio..etc etc
I have a few weddings coming up this year and am going to Thailand for 4 weeks, I am looking for outfits that show off my figure – bodycon dresses and skimpy clothes because at 27 I want to flaunt what I have. I dont want to hide it under boyfriend fit jeans and t-shirts anymore, I want to flaunt it whilst I have got it.
Anyway, my point is, I feel awesome about my body now and I am proud to show it off, because I may not be the slimmest, tallest, loveliest skin blah blah blah, but I can shoulder mount, handspring, ayesha, plank and under the layer of chocolate and beer I have a layer of pure muscle and I am proud of my body….
BUT, I feel, probably because I am British that I shouldnt showcase myself, that I shouldnt shout from the roof tops how much I love what my body can do and how amazing I think it is, because people will think I am bragging, that I am big headed and worst of all conceited.
I do not think I am but others probably do. I don't care, anyone who knows me, knows that I am simply happy with the product of all my hard work for the last 20 months…there must be someone else who feels like this?
I figured SV was as good a place as anywhere to post this and open up the doors for some body love to flow, lets talk about how proud we are without the shame of feeling conceited.. 🙂
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14 Replies
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I think as we age we do learn to love our bodies more and I don't see it as conceited. I love my body when it has faults or is bigger or smaller. I was just pregnant and my body had changed and some days I felt pudgy in my core, but I still loved it. I think as long as you love yourself no matter how you change than that is healthy. For example, if you took a week off of poling how would you feel about your body image? I'm super glad pole has boosted your self esteem and it's truly amazing at all of the muscle cuts you can get from it! I too love it and would never ever quit:) Keep up being you and don't feel bad for "shouting it from the rooftops";)
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Oh I have taken time off pole and am still happy Organic Angel, I just think that pole has brought me to a point of hapiness with my body rather than a state of neutral. 🙂
I am glad you love your body too, I wish I spoke to more people who loved it rather than hearing about people hating it..
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You say that so well! I have the same body issues now too! 😛
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And that's a good example of the awesome-ness of pole! Not only are you healthier physically, but obviously your confidence is rising too. It's nice to hear.
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I love what pole has done for my body. I wasn't overweight but i had a poochy stomach and basically no muscle definition anywhere except my arms lol. I used to be in gymnastics and pretty flexible when i was a kid. I quit being active like that when i was a teen and then i got injured later and couldnt really work out for 5 years. Then i started working out at the gym about 4 years ago 4-5 times a week for like 2 hours at a time for about 11 months and i got bored of that and got lazy again lol. Ive always wanted to do pole but never got around to getting one until jan of this year and didnt start using it until around feb. In 4 months, pole has given me a great body, confidence, increased sex drive, better mood, and a healthier lifestyle. No gym has ever done those for me, even the great body part Lol. Im always saying "look what i can do" (like a little kid) to my husband and close friends and family when they come over, when i learn new pole moves, get deeper into stretches,and yoga poses lol
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http://sophieologie.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/strong-is-the-new-skinny/
Couldn’t have put it better myself! -
You have a fab body Shona – you're so strong and muscular (but not in a butch way in a very nice way lol) you should definitely show it off! Sod being British about it – if you've got it flaunt it 🙂 (I'm going to stop now because I'm starting to sound like Gok Wan :P)
I finally love my body – I was too skinny until Uni, then too big from the alcohol and bad food (not fat at all, just uncomfortable with myself), and now thanks to pole I'm starting to tone up and accept me for me 😀 YAY POLE!!
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I am totally in love with my muscular and toned body. I love showing it off. I wish I lived somewhere with a beach so I could wear a bikini more often! I figure, why care if someone else chooses to be jealous or uncomfortable with my own body comfort? They can call me conceited, they can slut-shame me, but unless they put in the hours of training I have they cannot understand. So I ignore them. I’ve been slut-shamed at the bar before. I laughed and couldn’t wait to tell my boyfriend. 😛
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I also love what pole has done for my body.
I am stronger than my bf to an extent he can't beat me in an arm wrestle and today I carried three huge and heavy boxes containing a new bed up two flights of stairs by myself. I am barely 5ft2 in height and I would have never been able to manage this pre-poling!https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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I might add, I actually carried the boxes rather than dragging them up two flights of stairs despite them being taller than me! 😉
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Wahooooo loving the body love here guys! I can totally relate to wishing I could wear a bikini more often 😀
Debs you have a totally hot bod, one many women would kill for!! Xx -
Shona I know you and you are NOT in the slightest conceited!!! You are, however, a kick-ass good poler and have a body worthy of showing off!
There's definitely a "British" element here (obviously, as I'm now in Britain) that I never noticed at home (in Australia) whereby here you kinda aren't allowed to shout about your achievements. I find it weird. It's like being confident is equated with being aggressively arrogant. And that's so not the case! Being confident and proud of yourself (whether that's at work, on a pole, at school, whatever) is what gets you places in life, nobody else is going to be proud of you if you aren't proud of yourself. So keep up the self-love girls!
Also, I was always skinny, and never felt proud about it because it wasn't something I had achieved. I liked my body, sure, but it was just luck and genetics that I had a particular figure in an age where skinniness is apparently the Ideal (also, 100 years ago I would have been reviled for being too thin and boy-ish. So go figure). But NOW – I have muscles, and strength, and am a few kilos heavier but finally genuinely am proud of myself… at every available opportunity I want to rip off my shirt and shout "check out these abs and biceps! THEY BOUGHT ME MY HANDSPRING, BITCHES!" because I am so proud of what my body has achieved and the hard work I put in to get it!
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I agree that it's a British thing but do it anyway because doing things that makes you happy attracts better people in your life!
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FLAUNT IT!!! I totally agree with flaunting what you have right now because you've worked hard for it and most of us won't have a rocking body forever. I wish I flaunted my body more when it was at it's peak (nearly had abs and everything). Do it and never regret it 😉
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