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Enigma Dance & Pole Fitness
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News
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 The Destin Log News Article - January 21, 2008
Blake
Storey never thought she could slide down a pole upside down.
At 17, the Destin resident was a bit of a two-left-footed
wall flower, she says. A skinny rod best described her physique.
That was a year ago, before she discovered a
new fitness craze — dance and pole fitness. She gained a waist. She built upper body strength. And she learned to dance
with ease.
“It taught me how to move in the right direction,” Blake said. “And I have a figure.”
Now not only can Blake slide down a pole upside down, but she can do it in 5-inch platform shoes. It’s fun
being able to maneuver something not everyone can do, she said.
“She’s not as shy as she used to be
either,” said Blake’s mother, Paige Storey.
Paige, 43, joined Blake in the class. It started as a hobby
the mother and daughter could share.
Paige lost 30 pounds and completely reshaped her body, she said. She gained
confidence, better posture, flexibility, muscle strength, poise, grace, better balance and an improved self-image, she said.
Her sensuality even improved. And best of all, it was an exercise regimen easy to maintain.
“The best word
I can use to describe it is ‘fun,’ ” Paige said.
The mother and daughter loved it so much they’ve
opened their own studio, Enigma, off Airport Road in Destin. Since opening in September, business has exploded. It now offers
12 classes a week.
“Bring a yoga mat and an open mind,” said Jennifer Sundal, 36, a student of the
class.
It’s undeniably a sexy type of exercise. It’s a cardiovascular workout centered around enjoying
one’s femininity. Hair is flung with attitude. Hips are tightened and rolled. Hands run up and down one’s arms,
legs and torso. Bodies are swung around metal poles.
“The negative sexual connotations regarding the pole
may always be debated,” Blake said. “But the truth is the exercises are great for women because they enhance and
strengthen us in all the right places.”
You feel pretty, says Jessica Donaldson, 26, an Enigma student of
4 months who’s lost a pants size.
“Every time I leave class, I stand up straighter, I hold my head
up higher, and I feel like everyone is looking at me,” Donaldson said. “I’m more comfortable with myself,
and I feel like I can conquer anything as a woman.”
Donaldson now brings her 50-year-old mother, Brenda
Luoma, to the class. Luoma loves it and can’t stop talking about it, Donaldson said. She wants to install a pole in
her home.
“It’s not an easy exercise, but at the same time, it’s not as harsh on your body,”
Paige said. “It makes it good for all ages. We have late teens to 60 year olds.”
The obvious strip-club
mentality is what comes to most minds first, Sundal said. But it’s nothing like that. She likes to refer to it as something
similar to Cirque du Soleil.
“It’s about being a woman and doing something for yourself,” Sundal
said.
It’s acrobatic tricks performed around a pole. Nothing more, Paige said. It incorporates dance moves from
ballet, salsa, hip-hop, and jazz. It uses forms of calisthenics, yoga and Pilates, and elements of gymnastics.
“It
literally works nearly every muscle of your body,” Donaldson said. “But you’re having too much fun to notice
it. I couldn’t walk down the stairs after my first class. It even works out that pudgy part of a woman’s stomach,
which I’ve always heard you can do nothing about.”
Embarrassment can be a factor for first-timers.
Therefore the studio lights stay dimmed, and appropriate dance music always plays.
Classes last about an hour
and a half. They’re taught in three session, each one increasing in difficulty. Classes usually consist of six students.
Private and semi-private classes are available.
For schedules and other information on Enigma, call (850) 368-1693
or visit www.enigmadancesite.com
For Video Click Here
We
recently celebrated our Grand Opening with the Destin Chamber of Commerce. It was such a great turn out. We gave a small
demonstration of the benefits you receive from our workout. Some of the guests tried the pole and were great at it!
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Press News Release
Pole Fitness comes out of it’s shell in Destin, Florida
Destin, Florida. – January 11, 2008 – Enigma Fitness believes achieving a toned torso, better posture, and
a positive self-image shouldn’t be considered taboo. The use of a pole to achieve fitness goals doesn’t have to
be associated with a strip club mentality. It can be a "class act", and that is what Enigma is setting out to prove.
"A woman’s true strength appears when she is comfortable in her own skin. Our good health and self-confidence,
combined with an ability to nurture others is at the core of what makes us charming, successful, and mysterious in all the
right ways," says owner Paige Storey. "While there will always be those with their mind in the gutter, who choose
to attack this exercise technique, we continue to witness women becoming stronger, healthier and more confident. To us, those
are positive traits and we celebrate these accomplishments."
Pole exercise, a.k.a vertical fitness, is an
excellent cardiovascular workout which increases the heart rate, burns fat, and tones muscles. Enigma’s program help
ladies gain, flexibility, dexterity, coordination, strength, and better muscle tone in the arms, thighs, buttocks and core
torso areas. The desirable side-effects experienced are increased confidence, grace, and femininity. The stretching and strength
building program includes forms of calisthenics, yoga and Pilates, and elements of gymnastics. Because it also incorporates
dance moves from ballet, salsa, hip-hop, and jazz, a lady can really personalize her routine with her own flair and freestyle
ability.
Storey and her daughter Blake have embraced the concept of helping women of all ages and shapes build
and apply their newfound strengths and positive attitudes to their own lives. The mother/daughter team realized the benefits
of this exercise regimen after overcoming a stereotypical view of pole fitness and taking a similar area class together. It
didn’t take them long to realize that by instituting their own philosophy about vertical fitness they could open the
doors to a much broader range of women who would be willing to participate.
"It isn’t about competing
with one another at Enigma. We want to cultivate individual self-confidence in a non-threatening atmosphere. We do not teach
exotic dancers or provide such entertainment. There is no nudity permitted at any time in our classes. Enigma is a family-owned
and run business," says Blake Storey. "The negative sexual connotations regarding "the pole" may always
be debated, but the truth is - the exercises are great for women because they enhance and strengthen us in all the right places."
Enigma’s studio is located off Airport Road in Destin, Florida. For schedules, location details and other
additional information regarding their fitness program please contact Paige Storey at (850) 368- 1693 or Blake Storey at (850)
543- 1252
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