As the end of the year rapidly approaches, you may not even have a chance to think about what you want to accomplish next year. While fitness tends to top everyone’s list, it doesn’t have to mean digging out your running shoes on January first.

Pole dancing incorporates exercise in a fun community atmosphere, boosts your self-esteem, and allows you to think creatively and tackle life’s challenges in a fresh way. It’s one of the best resolutions and decisions you can make for yourself, whether a hobby or profession. Here are some reasons you should consider booking that pole class:

1. It’s A New Experience

As you get older, there are fewer genuinely new experiences you can try. Part of your resolutions list typically focuses on trying something new or daring since we frequently get stuck in a rut, going about our daily routine mindlessly. Pole dancing is the perfect activity to break you out of your routine and get you excited about something. Each week you’ll get to learn something new, try out fun moves, and be impressed by what you are capable of doing.

2. Pole Dancing Is A Fun Way To Exercise

Being an adult can get a little mundane. You work, eat, sleep, and try to exercise when you can. Then, repeat. As kids, we used to play all the time and be present in the moment, enjoying our activity just for the sake of it. Pole dancing brings some of that back. From fun music, creative movements, and stepping out of your comfort zone to becoming part of a welcoming, inclusive community, you’ll be flying through the air and having the time of your life. Fitness just happens to be a bonus.

3. You’ll Build Confidence

Even if you’re not the kind of person who naturally takes charge of every room you enter, dancing will boost your self-confidence and worth. It makes you brave, requiring you to step out of your comfort zone and let go. Seeing how far you’ve come and what moves your body is capable of will make anyone’s confidence soar. The sense of achievement it gives you is empowering.

4. It Encourages Creativity

You can easily get caught up with your day-to-day tasks and not take enough time to recharge. When this happens, you get drained and don’t get to feed your sense of creativity. You can start to feel trapped and shut down. Taking a pole dance class gives you that time for yourself. You’ll begin to feel your creative side coming to life with new moves, combinations, sequences, or performances if you dare. Pole dancing has an incredible effect, connecting dancers and audiences. You can express yourself and tell your story through your particular art form of dance.

5. Dancing Improves Your Health

It’s common to develop muscle and joint pain and movement issues with age, especially if you work a desk job. Exercise and regular movement keep your body limber and prevent it from freezing up. You will gain strength, flexibility, and fluidity in your actions through frequent dance.

In addition to being an excellent form of exercise that builds strength and prevents physical deterioration, pole dancing provides cardiovascular benefits. Because of this, it can help prevent heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Pole dancing also promotes sleep by releasing stress-relieving hormones. It helps you express and regulate your emotions and helps boost your overall mental health. Dancing can help you prevent anxiety, depression, dementia, and more.

If you continue your dance practice regularly, you may find yourself moving towards a healthy weight for your body; some dancers lose weight, and some gain weight due to increasing their muscle mass through this type of fitness.

Added Bonus: It’s An Excuse To Go Shopping

You are more than welcome to wear athletic attire you already own to classes, especially if you’re just starting. Be aware that your clothing shouldn’t be loose, or else it can get wrapped around the pole. However, if you find your regular clothes aren’t fitting as they should, or if you are progressing to more complex moves, some polewear is helpful. You’ll find it moves and stretches with you, and you won’t have to worry that it won’t stay put. It’ll also prevent slipping or safety issues, as some other fitness materials are too slick for the pole. You’ll be happy to find sizing ranging from extra small to 4XL with an extensive selection of plus-size polewear.

As you’re staring down the holidays and setting your intentions for next year, pole dancing should be top of your list of things to try. It will take you on a journey to a more active and healthy lifestyle with a whole lot of fun along the way. You’ll make lifelong friends, become a cheerleader, rebuild long-lost muscles, and be a bolder version of yourself. Don’t wait. Start your dance journey today.