Where do I begin… my journey in fitness started almost longer than some people are alive, 18+++ years to be specific! Movement has always been a large sum of who I am. I started as a ballerina at a young age in South Africa where I was born. That movement transpired onwards to competitive swimming in my later youth when I lived in Saudi Arabia with my family, then graduated to Cheerleading where I was Team Cheer captain for the SAIS-R eagles at the International School I attended in Saudi. In my earlier adulthood I gravitated to running & running vast distances competitively soon after I married and moved to the UK then onwards to Canada. Running alluded to starting up in local gyms for cross training whereby I then started loving the art of groupfit classes. With that passion in my blood, I integrated my love for movement into the love of inspiring others to enjoy the art of movement together and licensed to become a group fit instructor as well as a personal trainer. I wanted to spread my love for movement to all others around me.
In the duration of teaching classes, I soon became versatile at teaching a large variety of formats, one which included Lyra, one of the most interesting and entertaining formats I had ever at that time come across in fitness. I certified as a level 1, then level 2 instructor and taught this for two amazing years over in the Toronto area. In early 2023, my husbands company relocated us to Florida from Canada and work in fitness industry was readily available to me so I went straight back into teaching groupfit classes down here in Southern Florida. The one format I had not gone back into teaching was Lyra but with that said I had decided to visit local aerial studios to explore that avenue. I was fortunate enough to come across this gem of a studio which was fairly new to the area-Girl Next Door Fitness. I almost want to say, once I started visiting this studio-the rest was history but there is so much more to it. I fell in love with Pole instantaneously. Where had this sport been all my life, how had I not discovered it sooner is still a question I impose on myself. The owner of this gem of a studio (Salis) was extremely welcoming-she had filled her studio with her love and passion for pole and truthfully it was infectious because low and behold I was now obsessed with this sport. A sport that encompasses all disciplines literally, into ONE! Strength, flexibility, endurance, power. NEVER and I mean NEVER in all my years of fitness had I ever come across a sport that allows a FULL variety of health benefits through one single craft. Needless to say, the mental benefits of this sport are immense. On the pole you are virtually living in the moment-you are no where else but THERE on that pole through mind body and soul. Nothing consuming you or aggravating you, it’s a truly beautiful place to be.
From there-Salis saw my love and passion for this sport and gently coaxed me into going into the teaching side of it. I was hesitant and unsure of my capabilities initially but I also knew that similar to my love of teaching groupfit classes, this would be another to add to my repatoire. Without her gentle guidance I would likely not have pursued this avenue and am forever indebted to her for the fact that this is one of the most beautiful, most versatile formats I have ever taught. Under one roof we come together and empower through movements some of us NEVER thought we would ever be able to accomplish, never mind attempt. Such a gift to not just myself as an instructor but to those of us who come together to dance as a team.
Pole is an art that trains both body and mind the importance of holding on and the importance of letting go. At times some pole moves require that you hold on (admittedly for dear life… ha… ha.. ha) and other times you let go and succumb to the move (equally scary). Such fine tuning, all of which can be applied to every day life because truthfully, LIFE is in fact a balance of holding on as well as letting go. Pole will teach you many things…. It will teach you to hold no judgements of yourself because Pole is in fact a very personal journey to each individual. Through Pole you will find strength within yourself that you never knew existed. Through pole, you will find resilience of the mind because just when you think you can’t do a move… well in fact you CAN and just DID that move. It will push you past all limitations because in pole, the possibilities of any given move are endless. Just when you think you have mastered a move, along comes a bigger and better move to master in place of the last move you did. It’ll improve your stamina, your endurance, your flexibility, your strength - climbing alone is hard work neverminded holding a straddle or transitioning to an invert. But most importantly-Pole will open your heart in the most intense way through the grace and the strength that it asks of you. These very words-spoken from deep within my own heart to all others on their pole journey. www.girlnextdoorfitness.com
Thank you for this amazing post.