Study confirms pole dancing is good for your mental wellbeing: a summary by Fly Together's very own Samantha @elbowgrip_and_emdash.
If you’re a pole dancer, you can probably relate to the feeling of arriving at pole class in a grouchy mood—only to leave feeling refreshed and de-stressed. And a new pilot study confirms it: Pole dancing does have a positive effect on mental wellbeing. Not only that, the study also finds that pole has a positive effect on body appreciation and sexual self-esteem!
Here's a summary: The study was a pilot randomized-controlled trial, meaning it was a small-scale intervention where the 50 participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group—in this case, an 8-week pole dancing program or a waitlist.
Originally, the pole dancing program was conceived of 1 hour-long pole class per week, divided up into two parts: 30 minutes of strength, endurance, and flexibility training, and 30 minutes of pole-specific training. However, the study took place in late 2020, and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions meant that the group-class format had to be altered. Instead, participants received personal training, plus videos for strength, endurance, flexibility, and “sensual pole” exercises to complete at home.
Before beginning, both groups were assessed by completing four different questionnaires, which asked participants to rate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements on the following topics:
Mental wellbeing
Sexual self-concept, which the study—operating under the presumption that everybody has a mental image of their sexual self—defines as “a person’s understanding of their sexual feelings, cognitions, and behaviors.”
Self esteem
Body appreciation
The results? The participants in the pole dancing group saw improvements in general mental wellbeing, sexual self-efficacy, and body appreciation, plus decreases in sexual anxiety.
In other words: Pole class is empowering on multiple levels! Whether you want to work off the stressors of your day, find acceptance and respect for the body that gets you through it, or unlock the sensual mover within you—pole dance helps.
So what are you waiting for?