Why yoga, stretching, and pole dancing are good for you.

I bought my first pole in May of last year and have been hooked ever since. Am I a stripper? No. I am not, but you do not have to be an exotic dancer, or stripper, to enjoy pole dancing; the truth is, it is an excellent, non conventional workout, and it works your entire body.

Yoga and stretching are also excellent for your body, because not only does yoga and stretching increase your range of motion, but it helps burn fat and build muscle tone. Stretching in and of itself can actually help you burn more fat, and is essential to building more muscle.

One thing that yoga and pole dancing have in common, is that they both utilize your own body weight to build muscle, and they are both good for an all over body workout. For one thing, in yoga, you are holding several different poses or asanas for a period of time, some longer than others, and you can also hold any pose for as long as you like. You may think that, because you are holding still in a pose, that you are not getting a workout. You are wrong if you think that, and as proof, try holding the downward facing dog for a few minutes and tell me if you don't feel a burn. With pole dancing you are lifting and holding your body weight, which is why it is one of the best workouts for toning your arms, and you will notice that the more you do many of the basic pole moves, the stronger you will get over time.

First things first, you should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS warm up and stretch before you do any pole moves; not only can you hurt yourself if you don't stretch, but stretching helps keep you from being extremely sore the next day. Secondly, if you are going to do any pole work, you may want to invest in a gripping agent, but you don't have to. There are chalky gripping agents used by professional athletes as well as pole dancers because it keeps you from sliding or slipping and possibly hurting yourself, it can also help you hold certain moves longer without sliding. Even if you do not use anything for grip, the most important thing to remember is to make sure the pole is clean and your hands are clean, also do not use lotions or oils prior to your pole work because, as common sense would probably tell you, this will make the pole greasy and slippery.

One of the reasons I love pole dancing, and stretching/yoga, is because I hate working out. It's boring, to be frank, and I can get a better workout doing a twirl than I can running on a treadmill. Even though I love weight training because I love the results and the muscle you gain, you can actually achieve those same results doing various yoga poses. If you sit in chair pose for long enough your thighs will be burning and also, toning. So there you have it, and below is a pole dance video, I am nowhere near able to do what these ladies can do, but I'm getting there.