by Kimberly Joyce Nobrega
“What does Liquid Motion® mean to you?”
When I was asked this question recently, it gave me pause. Since my very first class several years ago, I have grown into a version of myself that the “old Me” would not have believed possible. Is Liquid Motion® the sole source of my personal evolution? Of course not… but to be fair, it is a very big part of it. I had no idea when I took my first class, under the color-changing lights of the darkened studio on a Sunday morning, what lay ahead and how integrated it would become in my life.
At the time I took my first class, I was the heaviest I have ever been in my life. I was just starting to slowly come away from a traumatic birth experience and I felt like I was a floating shell in a world where I was invisible. My sister had spent months encouraging me to try pole dance classes, insisting as a former dancer I would enjoy them (she was right). It was through beginning pole classes that I found Liquid Motion® on the schedule.
As a former dancer, Liquid Motion® was certainly intriguing, and it felt slightly familiar moving my body again. It became the class I could not wait to attend each week and the class I would try my hardest not to miss. The more I went to class, the more I noticed Liquid Motion® was showing up in my life. It was not just weaving its way into my pole classes, but even into how I moved out of bed in the morning and how I began to become more aware of my own movement just going through the everyday routine.
To compartmentalize my trauma, I had disassociated my body from my mind; they were two separate entities within me.
My body had become a landscape of trauma, grief, shame, and self-loss which was woven deeply into my self-perception and worth. My mind had become resilient in its effort to ignore, bury, and disassociate from the very vessel which housed it. Liquid Motion®’s methodology acted as a catalyst, challenging my body and mind to collaborate together to create the desired seamless, intentional, sensual movement. Slowly I started to notice a truce being called between these two entities as they began to reconnect and work together again.
It only took a few months before I knew I wanted to become certified and licensed in this movement modality. I thought I understood what that decision entailed. I knew I was going to learn how to move on a more technical level, and if the opportunity ever presented itself, I could then teach Liquid Motion®. Seemed straightforward enough, right? Except that is not all I got out of it. Upon completing my certification, I discovered I had received so much more than I signed up for.
Our instructing, our branding, our ways of expanding this incredible program of intentional movement operates in business-centric industries. After all, if you are teaching, it is not unrealistic to expect that you should be getting paid. That is just the surface stuff though.
The most unexpected thing I have received since joining Liquid Motion® is the community we offer.
To me, that has been more beneficial than any paycheck I have received. Plugging in, staying engaged, asking questions, mentoring your peers, being mentored, focusing on how you can continue to learn and become more versed in Liquid Motion®… all of it is what has helped me feel confident, supported, and appreciated in my affiliation with Liquid Motion®.
I believe you get out of things what you put into them. Liquid Motion® teaches us to invest in ourselves by providing us with unparalleled resources and training content, a vast majority of which is no additional cost to the licensing. We also benefit from steep discounts on things which are not included, not something you typically see in other membership programs. It is because of that level of investment into me as part of Liquid Motion® that I truly believe I get so much more out of it – far more than simply learning to move technically and teach movement that is sensual.
The personal connections I have made with fellow instructors, from the start of my journey until this moment, have been incredible – especially as we were able to lean on one another during an unprecedented global pandemic. Whether group conversations or private chats, I have been able to learn and be inspired by this community.
So, what does Liquid Motion® mean to me?
It means I feel supported, knowledgeable, and confident in what I teach. It means I have an international network of highly talented people who I can engage with to make me a better mover and instructor. It means because I have world-class resources that I can share what I love with people and help them not only to feel confident but to recognize their own unique magic. That is what makes Liquid Motion® invaluable to me.
Author Bio:
Kimberly is a Massachusetts native with over 15 years trained dance experience. She joined Liquid Motion® as an instructor in 2018. Kimberly teaches regularly for North Shore Pole Fitness, sharing her passion that dance is for every body.
1 Comment
Love this! ❤️