My Pole Class Journey

Reflecting on after completing ten classes, I can honestly say I almost ran after the first one.

I walked into that room absolutely terrified. Anxious about the people around me, uncomfortable in my own skin, and struggling hard with the mirror standing right in front of me. If I’m being real, I wanted to disappear.

But this is what healing actually looks like sometimes. It puts you in uncomfortable spaces. It challenges every belief you have about yourself. And somehow, it places the right people around you exactly when you need them most.

For the first time in a very long time, I realised I wasn’t being judged. I was being supported. Encouraged. Cheered on.

Somewhere between those classes, something started shifting in me. I’ve gone from feeling disconnected from my body to slowly rebuilding trust with it. From hiding myself to feeling comfortable enough to wear shorts. From focusing on everything my body struggles with to being genuinely shocked at what it’s still capable of doing.

Pole hasn’t just been movement for me. It’s become part of my healing.

The benefits have gone far beyond fitness:
• rebuilding confidence and self-worth
• helping regulate my nervous system
• improving strength, balance and coordination
• creating safer connection with my body
• helping me process emotions through movement
• reducing stress and releasing tension stored in my body
• teaching me to trust myself again
• giving me a space where I feel supported instead of judged

Living with chronic illness, trauma, FND and PPPD can make you feel disconnected from yourself for a long time. Pole has reminded me that my body is still capable, strong, adaptable and worthy of being celebrated.

And maybe the biggest lesson of all my body was never the enemy.
It was just carrying everything I had survived.