One of the pole fitness classes that I attend regularly is “Intro to Inverts,” which, out of context, sounds like a class for people who want to learn about introvert personalities. Instead, the physically challenging goal of this class is to perform various acrobatic exercises upside down on the pole.
Initially, I thought there would be around ten moves to learn. For a creative person, I woefully underestimated the exponential invert choices someone can make given her skill level and imagination. I like to think of the class as “gymnastics with a pole.”
One of the moves, which isn’t technically an inversion, but can be achieved from an inversion, is superman. Several methods can be used to end up in the superman pose: holding onto the pole with one hand, faced down with the pole between the legs and the other hand outstretched as if flying.
I first attempted this move a few months into my pole journey nearly three years ago. The superman pose exposed many weaknesses in my abilities. Unlike Superman being weakened by kryptonite, I grew stronger in my pursuit.
Over time, I’ve gained upper body strength and flexibility through regular pole fitness practice. Every now and again, I’d attempt the superman. All the elements that go into positioning myself into the pose had improved, but I still couldn’t completely execute the move.
Amazing how close I got without actually getting there. Yet in one class, I’d slid down to where my feet were on the floor. That was the only way I completely twisted my hips into position. Apparently, my shoulder needed to be a smidgen more flexible to hang onto the pole while dangling.
Nonetheless, I celebrated the small success. I happily exclaimed to my friend, who was practicing on a nearby pole that I’d reached a new level in my superman pursuit. Except I kept calling the pose “spiderman.”
Even when I tried to correct myself, I continued to call the move “spiderman.” I joined my friend laughing. I’d spend all my concentration on performing the move. Who cared if I called it the correct thing?
Weeks later in chair dance class, the same friend and I retold that story since there’s also a chair pose where you balance on top of the back of a chair like superman, which is far more achievable for most than the pole version. I performed the chair version of superman on the very first try and never mistakenly called it “spiderman.”
The dance instructor showed us the chair version of the spiderman pose. It was far more acrobatic since you had to balance on your arms on the chair with one knee bent to reach an elbow.
After showing us the pose, another instructor walked in, sporting a T-shirt decorated with little Spiderman heads all over it. I nearly lost it. “We manifested Spiderman!”
Coincidence? Just in case this was part of external forces yet to be explained, I want to manifest other things with my Spidey senses. People always talk about thinking positively and projecting/being the things you want to see in the world.
For the latter part of 2025, I’m going to meditate on having a much better ending to this year than beginning. Lord knows that 2024 ended very poorly for me.