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Sunday, May 16, 2010

I'm a guest blogger!

The Pole Dancing Shop posted on Facebook that they were looking for guest bloggers, so I jumped on board!  It's my story, so you probably know it, but I wanted to share anyway.  Enjoy!

http://www.thepoledancingshop.com/news/40/Powerful-bodies%2C-Even-more-powerful-minds-by-Lori-Myers.html 

Powerful bodies, Even more powerful minds by Lori Myers

Posted on 14th May 2010 @ 4:32 PM
lori1-pole-dancing.jpgWhile pole fitness is definitely my shiny new toy, I am not new to the fitness world. I have spent a lot of time and money trying to get myself into shape over the years. I am six feet tall, so regardless of my weight, I've always been a "big girl". I gained significant weight in my 20's while in college. My highest weight was almost 350 pounds. On March 17, 2004 (at age 27), I had RNY gastric bypass surgery at UCSF. I ended up losing 165 pounds.

I am now 33 years old and have put on about 40 pounds. So, I decided it was time to find a new, fun way to lose weight and get in shape. That is what brought me to Twirly Girls Pole Fitness in Pleasanton, California. Clearly, at over 200 pounds, I am not the "normal" vision of a pole dancer. Twirly Girls' owner, Bel, said that when she met me, she immediately thought of a viking warrior. I get an image of a strong woman with long flowing hair, carrying a bow and arrow or sword and wearing a fur-lined bikini. I can live with that image! Because of my height, I am often called Amazon, so it's not too far from something I've imagined before. I may never have the slim, dancer's body, or a super-toned, muscular body but I can always be me. So who am I in the pole dancing world? I am fun and silly. I like to dance crazy to loud, dirty rock songs. However, I think I've limited what I allow myself to do because I've always made the excuse, "I'm sure I'm too big to do that".

jen2-pole-dancing.jpgAt my studio, there is a girl named Jen. She has the most amazing body, flexibility and strength. She can do all the things I want to do on the pole! She's also the size of one of my legs. So, then I started asking myself: Even if I was in the best shape of my life, would *I* be able to do what Jennifer does? I would guess her to be under 5 feet tall and under 100 pounds -- PURE muscle. I'm well over twice her size! Can a six foot tall body hang off a pole and do all the things that a five foot tall body can? Her toned muscles have to hold up a lot less than my flabby muscles do. I'm not taking away from the amazing things she can do! But am I setting myself up to fail by thinking or hoping that I too could hold the poses that Jennifer can?

Recently, I had a conversation with Amber Richard, who is also a tall pole dancer. She gave me a whole new respect for what taller bodies can acomplish. So I have a new mission to get myself into better shape so that I too can do all of the cool pole tricks that Bel, Jen and Amber (just to name a few...) can do. I don't want to hold myself back anymore.

Now I'd love to know... What is holding you back? Is it you? Leave me a comment below!

Until next time, keep twirling!

Lori Myers
Student at Twirly Girls Pole Fitness Studio in Pleasanton, California
http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/
Do you want to become a guest blogger too?

Monday, May 10, 2010

The Lovely Rita's National Kidney Walk in San Francisco

So the day we have been gearing up for finally arrived!  The 5k walk for the National Kidney Foundation -- which is the reason Twirly Girls hosted the fundraiser -- was on Saturday, May 8th.  It was a beautiful clear day in the city (although fairly windy and cold)! 

I joined Rita, her husband (Dave), her daughter (Kate), her mom (Marge), and our friend (Robert), along with other friends (ran into Jim and Mike...hi guys!!!) to walk along the Embarcadero.  We questioned whether it was a full 5k (when we first saw the 2k sign, we thought out loud...no way). 

I'm sure Rita was proud to hand over her large donation of, what I believe was, close to $3,000.  I am touched that so many people came together to make that possible.  We love the Twirly Girls!  Here are some photos of our fun trip to the city!