Monday, 26 October 2015

BODY, SOUL AND POLE DANCE

Getting to know my body and its limits has been an interesting journey thus far.

I know exactly what I want my body to be able to do and likewise, what it shouldn't.. but to be honest, I want no limits, I want it all.


My fitness Goals evolve every so often as I change habits and I have found that with my past schedule not allowing me any time to write, I still made time to feed my body and soul - That level of Commitment to myself impresses me. *shrugs to self*
It is with that same level of commitment that I have decided to embark on this new challenge in search of pole dancing classes.

Yes, okay, I get it, the Zambian society is probably frowning at this, jaw dropping piece of news. I know it is probably socially UN-ACCEPTABLE perhaps because it is associated with strip clubs and night clubs, but really it is just a form of performance art that combines dance and aerobics centered on a vertical pole - and recently has become a form of fitness.. and guess what.. it is my fitness goal and I am willing to put myself through it - *smiles at the thought*


I have read that pole dance requires a lot of significant strength, flexibility and endurance and that clearly ticks every box on my fitness goal for the coming year.

Pole dance basically involves athletic moves such as climbs, spins and body inversions using the limbs to grip *shrieks with excitement*. I may seem excited but I also know the amount of work that will be required of me and my body. My upper body and my core strength are required to attain proficiency and the training will apparently be very laborious. I am Ready!


Fitness for me is a lot about what I want to feel like on the inside which will definitely reflect on the outside... and with Pole dance, I am promised that very combination. 

 And NO, I have not YET found a class or any clue where to start but as soon as I do, I am jumping to that opportunity, best believe. I have this one body and I need to know what flying in it feels like. 

So Good luck to me right? *bites nails*

Friday, 23 October 2015

Man in the Arena





  


I recently read the most amazing quote entitled "Man in the Arena", an excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In a Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23rd April, 1910 by Theodore Roosevelt.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 

My thoughts are simply these that; I would rather be the man in the arena, the one that knows what blood, sweat and tears taste like than the critic who dare knows neither victory nor defeat!



To me, this is really about choosing to be the fearless version of myself; the one that opened a company that had its ups and downs because she wasn’t certain how to, the one who still went ahead and fought her way up through hard work, planning and strategy, the one who got her fitness back, the one who studied long hours with no sleep to get her school out of the way, the one who never gave up because the economy seemed nuts and everything was falling apart. The one who does and eventually becomes everything she ever dreamed of. 

I want to forever be that fearless version of myself.

The battle between the great me and the average me - ashamed to say that the average me has won a lot of those battles. When asked what my biggest fear is, I would say it has been the fear of my true potential - of finding out where exactly I belong in the food chain... but really and truly, with great power comes Great RESPONSIBILITY, could it be that that is my greatest fear? 

 So many questions, but at least I am asking them.


Again I say, I would rather be that man in the Arena, because the Arena is a training ground for who I really ought to be. I will fall and get bruised, maybe more than once, that's a given. But the arena is where I belong. The pews are too crowded anyway.



 Bless