Gavel Babble: Get Your Sexy Back

I would like to introduce a new article series. My friend Miranda “Mandy” is a legal wizard with a unique perspective on love, life, and the law. I enjoy reading her articles and I hope you do as well. Amee

Get Your Sexy Back

Since 2009, my best girlfriend and I made a pact to try things that were completely out of our comfort zone. I don’t like the term “bucket list”… but rather, a “to do” list. Traveling, skydiving, exotic foods and oh yes pole dancing, were among some of the front runners on our list. Unfortunately, everything got put on hold for a while after I underwent back to back abdominal surgeries in August and October of 2009, changed jobs and overall – daily life got in the way. The one constant (besides our friendship) was that we never gave up our “to do” list—so you can only imagine my surprise and delight when each of us received an email from the owner of Pole Fitness Miami, Susan Hilferty, inviting us to take any class of our choosing! It didn’t take long for us to agree upon the “Hot and Sultry” pole dancing class.

I have to say, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect? As hard as my girlfriend and I have tried to keep in shape, we more or less dabble in the exercise arena instead of what we should be doing which is diving right in! Some of the comments on the ride over were “do you think we are going to look ridiculous?” and “What did we get ourselves into?” We were greeted at the door with a glass of champagne to take the edge off. (Side bar: I could have used 2 or 3 glasses but I didn’t want to look like a lush for my first go round -pun intended-!) The studio was dimly lit with upbeat music playing in the background. The studio was divided into two rooms with different themed classes taking place at the same time. Susan could not have been a better hostess quelling all of our insecurities and fears. After talking to Susan for a while, I found out that a good portion of Pole Fitness Miami’s clientele are women just like me with kids, careers, husbands … essentially women that have very little time to do things for themselves.

Our class started out with an intensive 30 minute stretching and warm up routine. We couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed in ourselves when we realized that we were no longer the flexible cheerleaders/dancers that we once were in our 20s. Nonetheless, my girlfriend and I quickly confessed that we have only ourselves to blame for that shortcoming. Next, we learned a “hot and sultry” dance routine that incorporated different maneuvers around the pole. Neither one of us had “stripper shoes” so we improvised with our work shoes. We worked on this routine for the next 30 minutes and I have to admit that if the workout would have gone on any longer they may have had to carry me out! (Side bar: That workout was by far one of the best workouts I have done in years! My legs were Jell-O and I developed a newfound respect for women that have mastered the pole!)

My girlfriend and I have talked about this lasting experience several times since our class. We couldn’t believe what an intense workout you get in 60 minutes… and that we never felt judged by our lack of coordination or fact that we were both completely out of shape. We felt accepted, welcomed and encouraged to return again for another class. What I found most interesting about this “to do” list experience was other people’s reaction, to the mere fact that I was taking a pole-dancing class. A majority of the people I spoke with thought that in order to take a class like this… it had to be for a man to reap all of the benefits. No one could conceptualize that I would take a class like this for me—which I thought was rather sad. After the soreness wore off and I had an opportunity to reflect on the experience, I realized that doing things like this for yourself can, and often is, so much more rewarding and can ultimately result in bringing your sexy back for you—without the need for approval from anyone else. Sexy is a state of mind which comes from within… it’s not based on what you wear or how well you dance and it’s certainly not based on what anyone else believes about you – it’s your personal believe of who you are. So take a walk on the wild side and put your “to do” list together. Don’t be afraid to try something different. You never know—you might just like it. So that being said, see you in class next week! Court Adjourned.

The Counselor