Sinning in LA

Sundays are usually reserved for things like going to church and catching up on yard work, but I’ve never been one for convention and so when I was invited to come by the S Factor studio for instruction on the art of taking it all off, I had to say yes, regardless of what day of the week the class fell on.

I’ve never tried my hand at the pole, but after a mind-blowing experience at the world famous 4Play a few Saturdays ago – where a gorgeous, ebony dancer effortlessly ascended the stripper pole and proceeded to pose her body out into a straight horizontal line, ten feet above the stage, while lighting her nipples and ladybits on fire - I was absolutely convinced that my attempt at stripping would be nothing short of a humiliating disaster.

Come to think of it, that part where I said I’ve ‘never tried my hand at the pole,’ well that was sort of a lie. This summer Chase, Duke and Smash somehow managed to procure one of Kendra Wilkinson’s new stripper poles and they lugged it along with us to Lake Havasu. Upon arriving at our suites at the Heat Hotel, the guys wasted no time in setting up the pole in our living room. After watching Duke defile the pole to Ginuwine’s “Pony”, I decided that the only way to save the essence and spirit of the pole was to get on there myself. I gave her a couple of twirls, but it didn’t go any further than that. It took only one quick glance over at Chase’s stoic face to realize that I wasn’t doing much better than Duke in showcasing our pole’s true potential.

But, I digress.

I walked into the S Factor studio fully prepared to feel guilty for taking on such a sinful activity on a Sunday, but within ten minutes I realized that this wasn’t so much a class about stripping as it was a class about feeling good – no scratch that – about feeling amazing in your own skin.

At the beginning of the decade, Sheila Kelley, the woman behind S Factor, became inspired by pole dancing exercise while training and preparing for her role in the movie Dancing at the Blue Iguana. She’d discovered her sensual power and with it, “the best body of my life.”

She decided then to dedicate herself to sharing this extraordinary journey with other women. “My life changed so profoundly just from moving in this organically feminine way,” she says.

Our instructors, Meghan and Melissa, led our group of twelve into a darkened dance studio and closed the doors. As we took to position on our yoga mats in a circle around the five silver poles, our teachers encouraged us to ‘just be in the moment’ for the next two hours and to just really allow ourselves to feel how sexy our female bodies truly are. The room was dimmed into darkness with only a few red lights glowing from the corners and the music began falling around us as we were led through a series of sensual stretches and exercises.

The playlist we worked to was so essential in maintaining the mood and we moved through songs by artists like Prodigy, Massive Attack, Snoop Dogg and even Iron and Wine.

Ali Baker is an S Factor student turned instructor who’s been teaching classes for four years now. She told me that everything changed for her after becoming a student of Sheila Kelly’s techniques. “Physically, I gained strength and flexibility in my body and I felt my curves becoming liberated - my core strength increased tremendously. Mentally, my relationship to my body and femininity completely transformed. I didn’t consider myself someone who lacked confidence before, but S Factor opened me up to a whole other realm of confidence that I didn’t even know existed. I’ve learned the magical power of the female body and it makes me proud to be a woman,” she shared.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, feeling my neck and shoulder muscles tense up before I exhaled and let it all go. After a few minutes I was definitely relaxed and that’s when they started encouraging us to spread out and ‘take up space’ as we ran our hands over our breasts, hips and crotches. It was a bit awkward caressing myself in a room full of strangers, but almost right away I just decided to go with it. I closed my eyes and did as I was told. We humped our mats, slid our chests seductively over the floor toward the center of the circle, bucked our hips in slow-moving circles and worked our legs and feet in sexy circular motions.

I knew that I was supposed to be working out for me, but I couldn’t help to let my mind wander once or twice thinking of Mr. Bottoms and imagining his reaction if he were to see me now.

I asked Ali if she ever takes the moves she learns at S Factor home for her sweetheart to enjoy and she said that she’s “only danced for her fiancé at home one time,” but he was mesmerized and it was a very intimate, powerful experience for the both of them --  “not to mention fun!”

Another unique aspect to the whole experience was the fact that there are no mirrors in the studio. Sometimes in yoga I’ll catch my reflection in the mirror and it really pulls me out of the moment. It was a very interesting feeling to be deliberately doing sexy moves without watching to see what you looked like in a mirror. I really enjoyed the freedom it offered and I just did the moves and stretches in the way that felt sexiest to my body without worrying about how I might look.

The room got warm quickly and this only added to the feeling of intimacy that had been building in the class. I really felt like my body came alive as we sat in near darkness, just relying on touch. I truly started to appreciate how good all of my curves felt and I started wondering why I hadn’t done this before. It felt so natural to be lying there in the dark running my hands over my body.

After getting warmed up, we practiced a slow seductive strut across the studio, sauntering and strolling to J-Kwon’s super sexy tune, “Tipsy.” My confidence was high and it was then that we were shown our first official move on the pole. We took turns practicing a basic ‘Firefly’ move where you grip the pole high with your dominant hand, wrap one leg around the bottom and twirl around until your bottom lands on the ground. From that low position you take your time in raising back up to standing, all the while pushing your ass out, wiggling it back and forth with slow sass.

In the final minutes of class, our instructors treated us to a double striptease dance. As we sat on a pillow-lined couch on one side of the studio, they came out and did a full routine, complete with climbs up and twirling down the pole, full-body flips and upside down sliding down the pole, sexy hair tossing and plenty of other suggestive dance moves.

The upside down flip has always been a personal favorite of mine and I asked Ali how long, on average, it takes to learn this move. “All women are different, so this can really vary depending on the individual. We teach the first inverted pole trick at the end of Level 2. Like anything, for some it comes easily and for others it can take longer, but whether or not you can flip upside down doesn’t matter…this movement is beautiful, powerful and expressive even in its most simple moves."

As I headed back out into the sunshine afterwards, I noticed that I was walking with a little swagger and it made me smile to myself. I strolled past all of these people on the sidewalk and they had no idea that I was just in a dark room, sweating and stripping with a bunch of strangers, and all on a Sunday no less! My sinful secret provided a happy boost for the rest of my day.

I went in to S Factor thinking that this would be a one-dimensional type workout – go in, do some aerobics, get the heart going, learn some stripper moves, done. But I was wrong. This class was about so much more and I see now why S Factor’s clients are so addicted to the experience. “I started with S Factor as a student in Level 1 and was immediately hooked. I fell in love with the movement and with the spirit of the S Factor community and I also gained an amazing confidence with myself and in my body. After only six months I applied for teacher training,” Ali told me.

It’s a combination of workout and emotional release and acknowledgment. You’re able to freely explore how amazing your body feels while working out and learning how to move in a more feminine way.

If you’re wanting to put on a show in the privacy of your own boudoir or you’re just hoping that things get a little crazier than normal at your next house party, then we’ve got you covered. Just check out our online store to get your own Kendra Wilkinson stripper pole.

The Sabbath be damned, I’m hooked on S Factor. And so while I may not be up for fireplay antics at 4Play quite yet, I am well on my way to making Mr. Bottoms melt when I surprise him with a little impromptu striptease tonight.