Pole position / by vanessa

Yesterday we had the Grand Opening at Your Neighborhood Studio and so much fun! 6 or 7 of the students in my class yesterday were brand new to yoga. I love teaching beginners because it reminds me of what it's like to do anything new -- say move across the country -- it's unknown and yeah there can totally be this "f this" moment, but the staying, the commitment is most the battle and then once you commit it's like life, err, your practice, just gets sooo much lighter and easier. Oddly, committing lifts the burden.

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Speaking of beginners, I also took my first stripper class yesterday. Yes, many yoga teachers expand their repertoire by branching out into other forms -- say AcroYoga, Thai Massage, that sort of thing. Me? Poles. Several months ago my massage therapist was like: "You know what you need?" Tiffany's diamond cross necklace? "Pole dancing," she told me. I laughed. I might actually have coughed -- or some other audible decoy ratting out my embarassment. I brushed off her suggestion because I'm just not that kind of girl, but then the S-Factor kept coming up again and again, so I decided to try it out. Plus, EVERYONE is doing it. Except for guys. Which, okay, yeah, is a sizable percentage of the population, but excluding them? EVERYONE is doing it.

Anyway... I'm sure you're curious -- it's not. A workout, that is. For the record, you don't actually spend that much time with the pole -- at least in the first class. Mostly you learn to stick your bum out, which is counter to almost every yoga pose I know so I was a s-l-o-w learner. Or frigid -- not sure which. But, it was pretty fun. So much fun that I'm not eating for a month since I shelled out $300 to buy a class series. Which is good b/c I'll need to slim down to look good in the G string they give you after finishing Level 1. (Level 1 has a whole new meaning for me.) At bootcamps we get t-shirts with Gandhi quotes like "Preach all the time; sometimes even with words" and "My life is my message." In martial arts you earn colored belts. Stripper class? G-strings so small they don't qualify as articles of clothing.

I was talking to my friend the other day and told him I was taking this class. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked. "Uhh no. Should I?" And if I wanted one, pole dancing lessons apparently aren't the way to get one. The instructor, who rocks the pole like she was born around it, was exceedingly vocal about just how single she was.

I highly recommend moving to LA. You end up trying (and subsequently defending) things you previously ridiculed others for doing.

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I am the happiest I've ever been. I'm far from perfect, have bouts of second-guessing and insecurity, get pissy when I don't eat, can be impatient, have doubts, etc. and yet holy cow, imperfection has never felt so good. It's like no matter what happens, I know I'm on The Path. Drama has become so infrequent that I'm actually surprised now when I create it.

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What's the difference b/w expecting miracles and expectations? Is one rife with possibility and the other, agenda? Is it intention?