Friday, June 29, 2012

Studio Spotlight: Flow Fitness - Wilmington, North Carolina

Last night I had the pleasure of taking a Sultry pole class at Flow Fitness studio in Wilmington, North Carolina.  Sultry pole is a drop in class full of mixed level students.  The class allows students of every level to experience pole fitness with a personalized perspective.  There was a mix of ladies in the class- some who had never touched a pole before and me (who has been poling for the past four years).  It was quite an experience.  The class began with a warm up that started out with the basics then moved into sensual moves that could easily be incorporated into floor work for the routine.  The warm up transitioned well from the basic warm up moves to conditioning exercises.  Students were enjoying the movement that many didn't even realize the work out they were achieving.  After our warmup/conditioning we began learning a dance sequence then practiced the new moves repeatedly while adding our own dance flow to individualize the routine to our particular feelings with the music.  It was fun because I got to freestyle and let loose on the pole- something I've been itching to do ever since arriving at my vacation destination and realizing my home pole was not going to work with the beach house ceiling. 

The studio was beautiful.  The walls were a deep lavender and decorated with a large picture of Marilyn Monroe surrounded by tasteful images of women of every shape and size posing beautifully in yoga poses.  The lighting of the studio were easily dimmed to allow a relaxed feeling.  The front of the pole fitness room consisted of a large mirror while the back of the pole room had a ballet barre for different types of barre classes.  The floors were a light hardwood theme that were easy of the feet.  (I still wore my dance paws out of habit).  The poles were static 50mm brass at a comfortable height that allowed me to aerial invert with ease.  The main studio consisted of two fitness areas which allowed for the luxury of dual classes- pole and non-pole.  Class pricing, which is always subject to change, was very reasonable for the area.  Pole classes start at $140 for an eight week series.  (Our eight week series at my studio I work at in the Midwest start at $240).  My drop in class was only $15.  A very reasonable price for those wanting to experience pole fitness without making an eight week commitment.  I found the Sultry pole class to be versatile as it appears the curriculum would allow any student of any level to continuously learn from just attending that single class repeatedly as the class allows for so much variety.  The location of the studio is on the outskirts of downtown Wilmington- which I found to be easily accessible on the main highway connecting vacation island destinations to the city.  It was very easy to navigate to and from Topsail Island in Surf City.  Approximately a 30 minute commute.  Overall, I was very pleased with my experience and look forward to revisiting Flow Fitness in the future.  I highly recommend if you are vacationing in the area, that you check out this great studio.  From the owner to the staff and students in the class, I found my entire experience very welcoming and can't wait to return!

Check out Flow Fitness on Facebook!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Currently Reading


I've decided to start featuring the books I'm currently reading as blog posts!  Previous books and my reviews were posted to social media via www.WeRead.com, however I'm finding WeRead to be glitchy at times and instead of hoping the application works when I want to add a book to my list, I will now be adding them to my blog where I then can link the blog post via social media.  To kick off the summer of 2012, I have decided to succumb to the latest trashy novel addiction sweeping the nation by reading E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey.  Below is the book cover image and a description of the storyline.  Once I'm completed reading the book, I will post a follow up review.

                                                              

March 5, 2012 Fifty Shades
Book Description: When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.


Image/Description courtesy of Amazon.com