Tai Chi Strip Tease

C flies through the air on her trapeze. B is training for a triathlon. J rock climbs like spiderwoman. K ice climbs. D kite boards. My sister DDRs. K kayaks. M blocks my feeble attempts at muay thai kickboxing, submits me handily, and is just so cute on her WiiFit. I did the "firefly" (can't wait to put that on my resume!).

I was in the best shape of my life when I was taking cardio strip tease class at Crunch. My arms and back were ripped! It was taught by this flaming fabulous gay man (yes, we danced to Britney) and this very foxy woman who loved to salsa. But, that was ages ago and I started to get really soft (couldn't fit into my jeans in San Francisco).

My friend T told me she was taking a pole dancing class and was on level 3! Levels? There are levels? Each move had a name - I love learning new vocabulary! It's like school (and I was wondering what to do with myself now that I finished B-school)! Now we're talking. My friend N, M and I signed up for an Introductory Class and I loved it.

We checked in at the main office which had lots of fun things for sale. Tanks, bootie shorts, sexy things and 6 inch heels. We then walked across the street to the SYNAGOGUE! Yes, one of the studios is in the basement of a synagogue replete with 5 poles, dim lighting and curtains. We introduced ourselves and talked about why we were interested in the class. What surprised me was how many women said they wanted to learn self-confidence and be comfortable with their bodies. Well, we were about to get REAL comfortable.

It is dark. There are no mirrors. I could barely make out the instructor and that was the point. At Crunch, I was in a brightly lit dance studio with tons of people ogling you through the glass windows. There was even a 60 year-old guy who joined class one day, stripped down to his jock strap and had one of his nuts fall out while we were doing our floor routine (he was escorted out of the class)! So, no, there's none of that at SFactor.

It was so women focused. Our minds couldn't fall into the trap of criticism and negative thought because you just couldn't see a damn thing and could just let the music take over and do your own personal best. The instructor talked about our bodies as "her" and "she" - "let her feel the music, release the tension, play and feel her curves." She was so encouraging and encouraged us to cheer for each other as we started to learn the pole trick.

I got to try it 3 times. I swung in the wrong direction the first time, sort of got it the second time and could not get my ankles around the pole in time so basically flew around my third time. I also can't walk! Cardio Strip Tease went so fast. At SFactor, most of the moves are slow and you have to engage your core and every muscle just to keep from falling over. I feel like I did the "S-walk" like a drunk person and had to stop myself from tipping a number of times. We don 6 inch heels for class 3 and I'm afraid.

At the end, we did a really hot floor routine and the instructors gave us a little show of what we could do when we graduated from level 6. *Drool*

Check this out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=u6KnUW9N3Zo