With a mom, caring for herself and fulfilling her needs ultimately gets shoved into the back seat with all the things she needs to do for her family. But we at SmartParenting.com.ph always stress that self-care isn’t selfish — it’s necessary. A happy and healthy mom will not only learn to love herself, but she will have more love to give to everyone in the family.
For these five moms — Citadel Cruz, 40; Marissa Mendoza, 46; Cynthia Rimando, 48; Merce Salandanan, 53; and Emily Ignacio, 60 — they discovered that pole dancing was their self-care routine. The end goal was not about performing complicated tricks on the pole. It was about building confidence, feeling comfortable in their skin, and having a stronger body.
What other parents are reading
Watch how pole dance changed their lives:
Feeling inspired? Here are more reasons why you should take the time to focus on yourself, according to the moms:
1. Start young and your body will yearn to be healthy as you age. “I discovered na parang may kulang pa even if I was becoming more fit and more confident,” Cynthia shares. “Now I go to the gym and I’ve become goal-oriented with my exercises. There’s no such thing as stopping [exercise] if you’ve reached a certain age kasi hahanapin na ng body mo ‘yung pagiging healthy.”
What other parents are reading
2. You learn to come out of your shell. Cita, the youngest of her friends, admit that she was very shy when she first started out pole dancing. But because of the other moms who’ve become her support group, she eventually became more confident. “Iba ‘yung bonding namin and I’m glad nakilala ko ‘yung friends ko dito,” she says.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW3. You go beyond your limits. Before discovering pole, Marissa felt limited. “There was a time when I was just a housewife and I felt ‘housewife lang ako,’” she explains. But since starting her lessons, Marissa was inspired enough to go back to work. “[Pole] helped me a lot. I made new friends, my body improved, and it fueled my happy hormones. I was a bored housewife when I started but now I’m completely changed.”
CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch now
