Last night I talked to a good friend of mine as I drove home from pole classes. She was surprised that I’m learning pole and wanted to know more.
She laughed as I told her some of my funnier moments in classes over the past few months. Like my first stretch class when the instructor said, “Sit cross-legged. Now take your top leg, move it behind you and hook it over your shoulder.”
I still can’t do that move (let’s say I’m working towards it), and I still laugh when I think of what my expression must have looked like when she was telling us what to do. Hook my what where?
There are several things I love about pole, in addition to the comedy:
- It gets me moving!
- The instructors are great and I’ve met some fabulous women.
- I’m getting stronger and more flexible.
- I love the sexiness and gracefulness of it.
And my #1 top love about pole is: It’s getting me more in my body than I’ve ever been – and that’s powerful!
I was talking with a client about this just yesterday. She’s starting a yoga group program for help with a very specific physical condition.
What I guided her to do on our call was to clear out some of the body image issues, old resentments and stuck feelings that were also part of the problem.
You see, we store feelings and old traumas in our bodies. Our muscles hold emotions and memories, as massage therapists will tell you.
Here’s an example of what I mean by that.
I was at a stretch class during a particularly turbulent time in our family. In one of the stretch positions, I found tears coming up. In the past, I would have pushed the tears down and waited for a more “appropriate time to cry” – not in the middle of class!
This time, though, I just let the tears come. Some old sadness was ready to be released from my body. By letting it simply happen, without fuss or controlling, the sadness moved through and out.
After class, I sat in my car and cried some more. It was such a gift to myself! I definitely felt lighter afterward and was breathing so much more deeply.
The next week in class, we did the same pose. Not only did I not have tears, but I also went much more deeply into the stretch. My muscle had released whatever was making it tight.
Tweet: We store feelings and old traumas in our bodies. Our muscles hold emotions and memories.
Our body is a tremendous gift to us. It shows us where we’re blocked and guides us to what we need to give attention to.
Next week I’ll talk about why this is important for your business and your ability to lead. For now, pay extra attention to your body and see what you notice. Where are you tense?
