Jillian Weddeke has been poling since February of 2021 and loves everything about it, especially the way she feels about her body. “Since beginning pole, I have a newfound love for my postpartum body. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been and my confidence has increased exponentially.”
Jillian attests that pole has given her a greater sense of self. “I’m more than a mother, wife and employee,” she explains. “Pole makes me a happier, healthier person and, therefore, a happier parent.” Plus, by loving her own body, Jillian says she’s leading by example and teaching her girls to love the bodies they are in and use them however they want to.
Setting standards and leading by example are important for mothers of sons too. Tobin Crosby is outnumbered at home with three boys. She says the best thing about being a mother who poles is teaching her boys to appreciate and respect strong women. “My sons know I am strong and goal driven. My pole career not only shows them physical strength but also determination.”
After listening to mothers of all levels of skill, experience, and celebrity, it’s clear that pole offers mothers something that other workouts don’t: space to be themselves. “When I walk into the studio I get to leave my troubles and responsibilities at the door,” says Jillian. She admits it’s easy to get caught up in motherhood and lose some of your identity with small children at home.
Meredith Winston has been running, skating, and practicing yoga for years. Still, she needed something else. She couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but when she walked into a pole studio for the first time in October of 2020, she felt it. Meredith calls it a “glitteriness in the air” that brightened more and more each time she came to class.
Meredith got stronger, of course, but so did her comfort with the nuances of dance. She let herself be vulnerable, sexy, and playful. “It was a slow, subtle build that I had not realized was happening until it was sitting in front of me, like an old friend, in the form of my reflection in the mirror,” she describes. “Pole has helped me find the parts of myself that were cast off over the years, lost to the time and space that motherhood requires.” Meredith says her children now see a better, healthier, happier version of her. Naturally, she shared this glitteriness with her teen daughter by bringing her in for private lessons… as one does when you’re a mother who poles.
The changes in body and mind gifted by pole dance are so impactful that mothers can’t help but share these gifts with their children. Mothers who pole lead by example. They model self love and acceptance. It’s starting to sound like mothers who pole and pole moms are basically the same thing.
In the conclusion to this four part series, these mothers who pole/pole moms will do what they do best: give you their most heartfelt advice on training, priorities, and the pressure to bounce back after baby. As you would with any physical exercise program, consult your physician about pole dancing while pregnant.