Member Spotlight: Chiara

Right before Christmas, we’re delighted to bring you a dose of inspiration with our Member Spotlight with Chiara!

Like many of our members, Chiara is balancing a busy life and career, which means she spends a lot of time sat at a desk. In spite of this, she still takes a few hours from her week every week to show up at the studio. Within 1 year we have watched her transform and literally go from strength to strength in terms of her physical ability and strengthening her mindset, which is also another phenomena that we notice among our members.

Chiara will share with you her story and how having a non-judgemental mindset is a huge key in unlocking your potential:

“I’m an illustrator and I spend 90% of my time sitting at a desk in front of a screen.

When I decided to try pole I was looking for a physical activity that wasn’t the gym, but I didn’t think I could have found something like pole dancing.

I knew about pole dancing but I’ve never seen it as something that could have fit me but I really like wanted to be a better version of myself, physically, emotionally and mentally so I decided to give it a try.

I did a lot of sports when I was younger like swimming, volleyball, dancing… But I didn’t continue with any of them as an adult age.

Most of my time is focused on working and drawing, even if I love my job, Pole dance is the only and true space for myself.

When I started pole dancing at IPDA I wasn’t exercising since two years, I was really rusty when I did my first lesson and I remember well that I wasn’t able to climb the pole, even few inches from the floor.

At first I thought it wasn’t for me but I enjoyed that lesson so much that I didn’t want to give up; I wanted to be good at it and I’m glad for the decision I made more than a year ago.

I feel a lot stronger and I’m more confident, not only in my body but in my possibilities as well.

The way I see my body is different, I don’t judge myself as hard as I was doing before and I’m really happy to see the improvement in the other awesome members of IPDA.

I’m motivated to improve in pole dancing, in performing as well, in wearing heels and express my sexuality in this awesome sport pushing myself out of the comfort zone even more.

My goal now is to improve my strength and flexibility trying to believe more in my possibilities and not to compare too much myself with the others.

I love the IPDA environment made by great people, supportive and friendly which makes even the worst day a lot better. The teachers are great in helping you understand the moves in a lot of different ways. There is no competitiveness, everyone is genuinely happy for your results and so are you for theirs.

I’m glad I found out about IPDA when I was looking for a new way to exercise and learn something new; I recommend everyone to try pole dancing, it’s not just a physical activity, it is a balm for the mind.

Don’t be scared thinking you are not fit enough, sexy enough or things like that, pole is for empowering people and give them a new way of expression no matter your size or gender.

Take your time to learn, don’t judge yourself and be kind if you can’t get that move right away, it takes time. A great part of pole dancing is the journey.”