A Holistic Approach to Pole - Misty

In this episode, Andrea talks with Misty, owner and founder of Tribu Fitness and Dance, about approaching the art of pole dance and the pole dancer holistically to elevate their craft and discover hidden strengths.   

I am a mom who poles (aerial fitness) specializing in pole dance and fitness, acrobatic chair dance, Liquid Motion, and flexibility. This channel was created to provide a space for busy moms to find tips and tricks for balancing their busy lives, work, and family with their love for aerial arts, dance, and fitness.

Transcript

[0:01] Hello, my dears. Welcome to this episode of Moms Who Pole. My name is Andrea and I am your most average mom who poles. Today, I am speaking with Misty. She is the owner and founder of Tribu Fitness and Dance, which is a company that does retreats that focus on the pole dancer holistically. Misty, I believe you have a new retreat that is coming out called Untamed. Yes, our retreat in July will be from July 16th through the 21st. It's called Untamed, a sacred rewilding, and we have partnered with X-Pole. They're sponsoring this retreat and all of our retreats coming in 2023 and 24.

[0:47] Music.

[1:06] Thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you. Thank you for having me. And yes, that's perfect.
Yes. Very holistic look at dancers and, and performers in the industry.
That is really exciting. So tell me a little bit about yourself for anyone who doesn't know who you are.
How long have you been poling? You're a mom as well. Tell us a little bit about that.
Well, I have been, I've only been pole dancing since early 2021.
Just it was kind of in the tail end of COVID.
I had gone to one class before COVID hit and shut everything down.
So I don't have the years and years of pole experience. I do have a vast background in gymnastics.
I grew up as a competitive gymnast.
And so that all kind of translated over. I've also got years of dance behind me, and just kind of got into pole after just having, I think everyone had a really tough year through COVID.
Some of us had really transformative years and some of that transformation was bumpy and not so pleasant. And I think mine was of that, that kind of swath.
And so I had just gotten really...

[2:26] Kind of not in a really healthy place emotionally or physically. And I am a personal trainer. That is the other thing that we do at Tribu is personal training and nutrition. And here I was withering physically and emotionally. And I had my best friend was like, you know.

[2:43] We're going to go dance. And that had always been a really beautiful outlet for me and something that had obviously not been available through COVID. But she took me to a pole dancing class.
And I initially was so incredibly intimidated.
And I was there. I think everybody goes to pole in what makes them comfortable.
But what I went to pole in in those first handful of classes versus what I go to dance pole in now, vastly different.
I think I had long sleeves, long pants, and a mask, of course.

[3:15] But I just, despite it all, despite sweating into my mask and breathing my own sweat for an hour, I was like, I am in love. I am absolutely in love. And the transformative effect that the art and sport has had for me has just been incredible. That's so awesome. So what is it about pole that you feel made it that transformative experience for you? Was it the tricks?
Was it the community aspect? What was that? Oh, certainly there was a huge part of it that that was the community of women.
I feel like all of the things kind of came together and you can't, I'd have a really hard time like splitting hairs over what part of pole dance matters most or is most important to me in some days.
It's different than others. But the.
I definitely have a need to physically push myself. I've raced endurance races in my past, and I've definitely had just that part of my personality has always been there. So certainly the tricks and that kind of thing is those more harder physical aspects are a really important piece for me. But the artistry and being able to.

[4:28] Fully embody kind of my whole self and be in a room full of women who held space for that.
And we're also doing that. So it was, you know, I can remember the first few classes thinking everybody is staring at me. And then I had this realization, no one is staring at me.
Everyone's watching. So that was so good for me too. Cause then I was like, oh wait, we're all on our own journey. We're just all in the same room doing it. And so being able to like really tap into what is my sexuality, where, what, you know, why, why do I express certain components of that and not others and where is shame popping up and where is like where why am I not able to fully embody my whole self and tapping into that more and more and more as I danced more and more and more and seeing that the artist part, the artistic part of that develop in in a really big kind of well-rounded way, has given me just, I mean, I can't say that I would move through the world anywhere near what I do now without that, especially coming out of COVID, especially coming out of all of the things that happened for so many of us during that time.
It was really healing for me.

[5:45] That's awesome. And I think you had said this to me before. I think we had this conversation where we were talking about, especially moms, after you give birth, we tend to have a harder time connecting with that part of ourselves that we feel lost that or perhaps we're not sure how to navigate in this new post-mom era.
All of us going through COVID, we're navigating in this COVID or post-COVID, whatever you want to call it, era where we went through this big, crazy change where everything felt uncertain, not unlike that newborn phase when you first get that little baby.
And then it's, how do I go forward now with my body, with my relationship with myself and others?
Because there's no takebacks. It's not like you can erase the fact that you now have this little person with you or that the pandemic happened. In a way, it's not the same, but it is a transformative process.
Oh, certainly. And I had an eighth grader and ninth grader through COVID. So really hard ages.

[6:57] And in a lot of ways, I felt, I think one of the things I was dealing with is that the ground, the independence and the ground I had gained kind of having some autonomy, as they had gotten a little older. COVID robbed that completely from all of us, really. But, you know, I was cooking three meals a day. My whole world revolved around, and my kids were amazing at making sure their schoolwork was done. They did a great job with what they were handed.
But still, I was taking care of school. I was taking care of food. I was taking care of an ill parent. I was taking care of, you know, a business that was like, what are we doing? How are we managing this? This is going to completely wreck us. And taking care of all of that for.

[7:48] What ended up being 20 hours a day some days, and under the stress of, well, if I leave to go get groceries, am I going to bring something home that kills everyone in my house? That was a tremendous amount of stress. And in a lot of ways, it felt a lot like the isolation that happened right after I gave birth, especially to my first child, because I didn't have a community of women at that point with other babies. And so I was really lost. I remember being so lost and feeling so alone with him when he was an infant. You get past the postpartum thing and you're feeling better and your body's better, but you're mentally kind of just still in shambles. You don't know what to do. You don't know how to leave the house. And that was so many correlations to that newborn time era that with COVID. And yeah, and then we all came out of it and we're just supposed to be normal again. And I was not normal. So, but yeah, I think that, I think it does. And we took, moms took a huge hit during COVID. We, I mean, I think every study now that has looked at it is, it shows that we carried all of the weight of all the people in the whole world.
You know, because we were, we were, we were making, we were keeping the world going around.
But it was not easy. It was not easy. And I think, you know, just...

[9:17] Man, what I wouldn't have given, no, for it to have somebody take me to a pole dance class after when I was postpartum, like, you know, healed up and able to exercise again.
What I wouldn't have given because what it has done, you know, what that would have done for my postpartum, like, body image too. That would have been amazing. Right. Just to see.

[9:36] I mean, it's not that, you know, pole dancing is all women. Like we have men.
We're a gender fluid environment, but it has a lot of what goes on in a studio is inherently feminine energy. And so to feel comfortable in a place where you can just exist as you are in your body as it is right now, and it's not good, it's not bad, it's just existing is so healing and so comforting to a lot of what we go through where we feel alone and isolated. And I think everyone coming out of what's happened the last few years has experienced what that feeling alone and isolated might be like. I think that's so interesting that you dove right in, and I know you've got your background in gymnastics and dance and endurance sports. So it was a great way to apply your physical skill set to something that was so artistic and more of an art form. And so you got involved in Enter the Garden. Is that correct? Yes, that is correct. And that is a production company based here in Asheville, North Carolina. It is two women that I dance with and and have danced with from the beginning of the time that I started dancing and one of their husbands.

[10:49] And so there's a three-person production team and they just made a decision very, very, very early in their formation process that they wanted to put on these shows, this stage-based, pole-centric shows, very theatrical, really super entertaining without reining in, you know, without reigning in as much as you possibly can, there are still, we have county guidelines where we can't show female nipples because those are very, very bad apparently.

[11:22] So, you know, like we have some things we have to do and we absolutely follow those rules, but we don't reign in your sexual expression, right?
So the dancers are able to choreograph and really express and embody the character that they're playing and really fully.
So they wanted that to be the case. They wanted it to be something different than a competition or showcase because it would have this thread of plot line running through it.
And, but the biggest thing that they did for our community is say, this will be an ethically run show and our dancers are getting paid.

[12:00] That is so awesome. Yeah. I mean, and the amount of money that they've invested in us having professional lights and sound systems and stages and that money has not come back to our production team yet.
And they're still paying performers first.
And that to me just speaks, I mean, it speaks volumes to the way that the industry needs to go.
Yeah, I agree with you there. It's one of those hard things and you see it across art forms and Pola is no exception that people will be asked to perform for exposure or you can give this so people will know who you are and it's like, but wait a minute, you knew who I was and that's how I was selected to be in this show.
Why is my time not monetarily valued? I mean, we've all agreed in the US that we're using money as a form of compensation, not likes.
So why not? Why not? Yeah. And it's, it's funny because there's so like dancers of all stripe, any kind of dancer, and this has been going on forever, way before pole dance was put in video, you know, music videos and on stage with Snoop Dogg, you know, which he, by the way, paid his dancers very well.
I found that out firsthand. So like he paid his dancers really well, which I mean, of course Snoop is going to like push against industry commonality and be like, no, no, I'll do my thing.

[13:28] So but there's a lot there has been a history of dancers not being paid, and this is a great opportunity for you.
And I had this this dancer turn to me when we were having this conversation at one point, and she was like.

[13:42] At what point do you just look at them and go, opportunity for what? I'm literally standing on the stage that is my dream and you're not paying me. So what opportunity is there?
Right. And that is true. It's true. She was like, you know, we bring our, the work that these dancers, especially on stage, are putting in, the prep work, all of the money to costuming, all of the things that go into it. And they are professionals. And so I definitely, I love that that he paid them. I can't speak for any other artists, maybe they're getting paid in other places too. But I love that story so much. I think that's great. And I think it's great too that this production company is looking to invest in their, you know, in their company as a whole by ensuring that dancers are paid because when you're paying people an ethical wage, then that in turn, it's like a positive feedback loop. You're going to get more from them. You're going to get more notoriety. And in a way, it's almost like they're providing exposure for themselves, if that makes sense, because good news travels fast. I think that's really interesting.

[14:54] That they would start going in the whole that way just to help advance the industry as a whole.
That's really fantastic. Yeah, it really speaks to their character so much. And I, we, we have, we have had several really well-known pole dancers come and dance in our production. So, Leah Von Adara, who is, she's known nationwide for, she's like, nobody brings the show. Like, Leah does, Leah brings a show when she comes. And Medusa Mami, who's right out of Charlotte, and she was just a couple hours from me and amazing, just she's incredible and under like a lot of demand. So for her to take the time to come to Asheville is also super amazing.
And then two dancers out of Chicago, Dalton and Sophia, they're at Fly Club there and both go by their first names. And they've come back now for three shows because they believe in the show, because their efforts are rewarded. So they come all the way in from Chicago.
And now they are amazing dancers. So we're very, very lucky to have them for sure.

[16:07] But it's also really, it's really great to see how much they love the production and the production company. These four specific dancers in general have been with us from the beginning. So they've danced in every show and they're, yeah, you get amazing people when you treat them well.
That's awesome. And so what is your experience in the show been like? So how did you get involved?
And what was it like creating your performances for this production?

[16:36] Oh, it was, I mean, it was great. The first show was actually, it was a little bit kind of last minute. So I live in Costa Rica part time. And that is why the retreat is happening in Costa Rica. So I live in Costa Rica part time and what had planned to be back in Costa when the show was was happening in November, and had some personal things happen and needed to extend. So I figured this out a handful of weeks before, and was given the opportunity to kind of take this adjunct part, where there would normally be like pole kittens, you know, to come on and clean poles in between for like a studio performance or something, and create a character out of it. So a friend of mine, and I got together and we because it's enter the garden and it is very much about, it's taking place, the old plot line was taking place like in a forest and this young girl is like basically turning away from all of her conditioning, her societal conditioning and embracing herself.
So a lot of it's very witchy and foresty and whatever. So, and then the whole garden theme, I was like, we need to be the snake in the garden.

[17:44] So we had like snake costuming and makeup and we like would slither on stage And then eventually we would clean the pole, but we were totally just these like little flirty kind of nymphy type characters in between every act.
But it ended up being that we were doing like minute to minute and a half long solos. That's great.
Between every act and it was really great. It was so much fun.
And so when the second, when they announced the second run of the show, which was gonna be two shows, Friday night and Saturday night performances, I auditioned with my friend, Emily, another friend, and we actually ended up having a duet.

[18:24] To a song called Black Magic Woman, which is the Victory Band.
It was like a different take on that song, a little bit more modern take on it.
But just very, again, we were totally allowed to embrace our characters in this and kind of that turning inward as the character, the character turning inward to embrace what society has called dark and what society has called maybe too naughty or too seductress, you know, not a good girl, and kind of, you know, running away from that until you run right into it. And kind of then seducing that part of yourself to come out to the rest of the world. And it was amazing. It was incredibly transformative, was not, you know, as things are, it was not a linear progression.
So, you know, we had times that we individually are together.

[19:23] Failed emotion. We had failed attempts at things. We had failed attempts at tricks. We had failed attempts at choreo. And we had failed attempts sometimes at just being present in the piece.
And the space that was held for us during that was like, it was space for the piece, but it was also like space for us as humans to kind of go, oh, let me hang on. Let me adjust.
Let me grow. Let me evolve a second. And this is messy. And everyone was fine with it being messy.
And I watched that happen across basically every single person in the cast.
And so our cast is obviously very close, but the safe container that the Enter the Garden provided for that growth and for that exploration of self and embodiment during the first show is when I was like, oh, more women need this.
More people need this. How can we do this? And I had this seed planted for a retreat.
And then during the second show, I just really, it really took hold and I just could not shake it. I was like, this has got to happen.

[20:27] And I have no idea how, I don't know why this is in my spirit, but it is.
And I was not that, and I had, I left to go back to Costa Rica just days after the second show.
And, as soon as I got back, things started just happening. And so I got a call about a facility.
And then I was like, well, I'll call Leah and Medusa, and I'm sure they're going to say no.
And I called Roxy and told her that, who is one of our other main characters.
She's a local dancer who's amazing.
And I called her and told her that, and she was like, I don't know, you should just pitch it to them and see. And so I did, and they both said yes.
And I was like, what are we doing? We're doing a retreat. So that has been the trajectory and it has been this incredible collaboration, five women who've come together and we have literally just started from scratch.
We all put our brains on the table and we were like, what do I have to bring to create a container for women to grow, to really explore, to be safe, to like figure out what it is that they're hiding from or hiding from everyone else and why, and can that be embodied in a way that makes them like a healthier and more full human.

[21:39] Most of these women are moms. A lot of them are, all of us are friends and sisters and we're all operating in this world.
So, but I think especially for moms, cause we do lose that piece of us so quickly when our kids are born.
Once we have that container again and we're able to kind of reach down and like grab that piece of us, how we show up for our kids is so different and it's so good.
And how we show up in the world for each other is so different and so good.

[22:10] So that is the precipice behind the Treeboo Retreats. And this one, because every retreat that we do will have a different name and a different theme based on who's in it.
And this one's called Untamed.
And Untamed, a sacred rewilding. So we're gonna definitely, it'll be very holistic.
We're gonna be doing like an emotional component with tons of physical dance component added in there.
And then also just a lot of, You know, where I live in Costa Rica is in Nosara.
And it's in the blue zone. So I'm like, we're going to do lots of blue zone sunsets and lots of blue zone food and lots of blue zone healing. So yeah, it's gonna I think it's gonna be really great.
That's so exciting. And I wanted to I want you to talk a little bit about or at least point out because you had mentioned this to me to me before when we were chatting earlier, that when it comes to emotional healing, like, it's not it's not like you're, you might be running the thing, but you have an actual licensed person that will be conducting that it's not like some rando like off the street, like you have an actual expert that will be leading those sessions, right?

[23:24] Right. And her name is Emily pennystone. And she is a mindset coach. She works primarily with she's also a pole dancer. She's actually was my she was my duet partner in the last enter the garden. We're all into the garden for our cast members, all five of us. And she this is what she does for a living. She normally works with kind of high powered execs and entrepreneurs.

[23:53] That are launching major businesses. She works with another company out of California and works on her own here based out of Asheville. So she's, she got tons of experience, but kind of having people, creating a curiosity, helping people facilitate themselves, like through curiosity of how deep they want to go and what that looks like, and how do I create safety for myself and others in that process? And what are, what's blocking me? Because a lot of times that's, you know, obviously, that's not the same thing for everybody. But that can also be a really hard thing to kind of walk through.
So the thing that I think makes it easier as dancers is that we can move that through our body, you know, when it gets hard emotionally. I mean, this is, isn't this what pole dance does for everybody? It's so magical in that way. But you get to that hard place and you can go and dance and move it through your body, have a better understanding of yourself when it's all said and done.
And that's, we're really hoping for the container that this retreat will provide to create kind of a springboard for people who come.

[25:11] That's awesome. And especially because I asked about that, because I know, you know, in the last couple years, it's kind of come up it, you know, it's like a community topic, right? Like our, you know, we know that poll does this to us, we know that it's this like healing aspect, but our is every poll instructor, you know, supposed to be, you know, a healer or, or a trauma informed person, right? Like, you know, is that it, you know, so having someone there who is an expert in kind of creating this mindset, creating these, you know, mind pathways for.

[25:45] Your participants is so important, because it's not like, you know, you call me to do that, I'm not going to be your expert. You know, like, they're like, I can teach a fan kick and character development. I know, and see, and we're all bringing separate things. I certainly am not nearly as qualified to teach dance as Roxy, Medusa, and Leah are. These three are incredible instructors. And I, but you know, I can teach you about eating for your dance and nutrition and how to like get the right nutrients and when to get the right nutrients and how to support your body through off pole strength and conditioning. So I can bring that. But I, I definitely can't teach somebody how to fix their blocks and go deep into their mindset.
So I think that's been the cool thing about the way that this five-person team came together.

[26:43] Is what we're bringing is all so different. The three dance-specific instructors are bringing three incredibly different styles of dance.
And then Emily and I, though we dance, and are certainly going to be in those classes and helping and that kind of thing. We're not as qualified as they are at that.
And then I'm the only certified, you know, nutritionist, personal trainer.
Emily is a mindset coach. So we kind of just all came together in this really beautiful way.
The other thing that's really interesting is that, and I didn't know, I didn't do a lot of like, obviously the way this all came about, I didn't do a lot of research into what are pole retreats and what is the norm across the industry?
I literally didn't do it.
And so I had no idea that I think the norm I'm finding out is that you have one instructor.

[27:37] And we have three. Like, Oh, well, that would be like, not that it's not a good fit for us. We need three. Well, I think that's interesting. You say that because you have three plus you have the holistic approach with the mindset and then the nutrition. And the I think you also said that you would talk about like certain like cross training efforts and things like that to really address the dancer holistically. And I think that's really special about what you're doing. And I think that's great that maybe you didn't do a ton of research because now you know that what you created, it came from you. It's organic, it came from you, it's special to you and unique to you. I know when I started this thing, which I guess we're calling a podcast now, so I got to get comfortable with calling it that. I think it's officially a podcast. It's officially a podcast. I feel like my imposter syndrome comes up. I'm like, oh no, it's just me chatting with other women and I'm recording it and I put it out there in case anyone wants to listen. And it's like, that sounds like a podcast. Like, oh, no, that sounds exactly like a podcast. But I think I think when you create something that's your own, it's not like.

[28:51] You know, I'm probably that red flag person. I don't listen to a ton of podcasts. And I think that's a good thing because it allowed me to kind of make sure that what I was creating came from me that like these conversations I'm having are not coming from somewhere else and I'm like ripping them off, right? Like I'm not taking a Tuesday topic and making it a Tuesday tip and being like, oh, there we go, you know?
So, yep, done. I know, I think it does help keep from like.
Creating this arbitrary list in your brain that you're like, have needing feeling this need to check off all the things that don't aren't in alignment with who you are.
Yes, that way you can truly love it and know that it's yours. I think that's so important. I think what you're creating is truly special. And it's going to be really exciting for the dancers that come and participate with in your retreat. Now. So this one that's coming up is in July. Is that right? Right. And it's the 16th through the 21st in Nosara, Costa Rica. That is.

[29:54] It's, we're holding it at a yoga retreat center called Nexus Institute. And it's, it's just a gorgeous like luxury kind of place, but it is in the middle of the jungle.
There's a beautiful pool, but there's this incredible giant yoga shala that that will That will be our dance studio for the week.
It's all right there together. We have two big kitchens. I've hired a local chef to come in and create.
It's actually an all-woman team as well, to come in and create our, like I created menu and she's going to be catering breakfast and lunch every day.
So all of that will be included. Also something I didn't know people just didn't do.
I know I can have like the most nutritious food at my fingertips because everything there is so fresh.
And I was like, Oh, I know exactly what everyone should eat.
So and I'm really used to working around lots of different dietary needs.
So we have we have gluten free people and vegan people and dairy free people.
And we're just it's so easy with Costa Rican cuisine to be able to work around all of that.
It's the most incredible food.

[31:07] So that will be provided every day, fresh juices, coconuts, and that kind of thing.
So that is all part of it, and that is...

[31:19] Yeah, I mean, it just kind of all, it just all came together in this really beautiful way.
But Nexus is the, I mean, I got back to Costa Rica and within two days, I had contact from.

[31:30] A friend who was like, hey, do you know anybody who would maybe want to do a retreat?
Nexus is opening to retreats, not just yoga teacher trainings anymore.
And I was like, um, okay, that may have been like a little tap on the shoulder from the universe. And I went in and spoke with them. And they're just beautiful human beings. And, and it just is all kind of fallen in place since then. That's so awesome. And that's, um, so that was one of the things I wanted to ask you about, too. So when you are not performing in poll shows and planning poll retreats to address answers holistically, you're also a personal trainer and certified nutritionist. Yeah. Yeah. What, what is that like? And my, and my, um, my specialty is sports nutrition.
This all kind of, I think this all bloomed for me. My interest in training and nutrition bloomed for me while I was endurance racing.
Simply because you have to have some, either some level of knowledge on your own or a willingness to completely blindly follow someone else.
And I am not a blind follower ever. So I was like, but why do I need to eat like this?
And but why do I need these kinds of carbs? And so all of my whys added up to this bigger picture of like, this is kind of what I need to do.
And.

[32:52] Yeah, so that's kind of where it started and I absolutely love it.
I love creating sports specific training for people so that it's very focused on their sport, whether that's pole or surfing or I actually train several collegiate lacrosse players as well.
A couple of former professional athletes who are shifting gears and, you know, coming out of more, um, what did they, what is it? They're calling it now. Um, not impact sports, but there's a, I can't remember. There's like a more brutal name for it. I read it the other day in a study and I was like, combat sports. I was like, that's, oh, okay. So that makes sense. Oh, like more accurate, but a little shocking, um, coming out of combat sports, you will, and going into, you know, cycling and those kinds of things. But it is, you know, we talked about this, the off pole training is so important, especially as you're getting started, I actually think it's important, you know, throughout the throughout the duration, but I think it can be something that sidetracks or curbs your pole dancing future, if you don't.

[34:06] Have kind of some of that instruction in the beginning, because you end up getting these weird, very unusual because who else is hanging off of a pole?
Nobody, you know? So you start doing inverts or whatever and you get these strange injuries, tendinitis or back pain or whatever.

[34:25] And we both have had the experience of having a doctor tell us, well, then just stop, you know?
And there's just so much more to it than that.
Right, I think, and I'm curious if this happens for some of the other athletes that you work with, but pole becomes a bit of an identity, right?
Like I'm a pole dancer. I'm like, yeah, I've got this day job, like work with managers. And then I was like, I do pole dance, but I'm a pole dancer. Let's just be clear.
I'm not gonna let my day job define me.

[34:57] You take pole away, take pole away. And it's like, well, what do I have?
Like, and I've mentioned this before.
I had an injury back in 2022 that was not, you know, it was not a nothing injury. And I just remember crying going, is this it? Did I have seven years of pole and this is it? Like I had a good run and, and then also this terrible part of me because I think to do pole, you got to be like a touch psycho, right? Like a metal bar, just a touch psycho. And the psycho part of my brain was like, and you never even did your Ayesha in a show.

[35:38] This can't be the end. Right? And like, really, we care about that. That's the most important thing right now. Not like I want to be 90 and still be able to lift a plate to put away and into it, you know, into a shawl higher than my head.

[35:52] And so I tell my kids all the time, I'm like, I may not live to be very old, but when I'm done, my body's going to be used up. It's like, it's good. I'm going to go out in the most glorious ball of flame, you know, like a, it's just not, I'm not by my, my thought process is not longevity. It's not like, you know, well, it's not calm longevity. It's like, how long can I do this thing I love is where I am with it. And that is, you know, honestly, strength training is has gotten me there too. You know, it just it keeps me put together longer.
But I identify so much with that. I never did my stage. I'm with you. I'm with you on that.
The only the only people that saw my Aisha are on the ground That sucks.
I need it to be seen in person.
Well, there's a, you know what it is though? It's that, the adrenaline and endorphins we get from doing something that is risky and dangerous.
Like on stage, we're like, failure's not an option.
But that I think really plays into this primal place in our brain.
And at Women, we're asked to check that, especially once we become mothers, because we are no longer allowed to do anything dangerous. We have to live so that we keep the children alive.
Right.

[37:19] And so, but I mean, when we start tapping back into that and we're hanging upside down, I'm looking over into my dining room right now because that's where my pole is. Sorry.

[37:30] But yeah, we were like hanging upside down off of this metal pole and everything in our being is like, you're going to die.
And there's, you know, I mean, there's a part of my heart It's like, no, I'm not.
And it feels great. Right?
There was this performance I did. It was an online performance.
And I think it was like October of 2021.
And my poll that I have is, it's not pressure mounted. It's like put into a stud in the ceiling.
So I get real good spin. I love it.
But every once in a while, it makes like a loud sound. And I've had it checked out.
It's totally normal. It's safe. It's fine.
But this was the first time it made that sound and it was on spin.
And I was in the middle of my performance and I heard it make the sound and I was spinning and I was upside down and I wasn't sure what was happening and the performance was going live, like I was being recorded on Zoom.
And I thought to myself, oh my God, I should bail out. And then I was like, fuck it, I'm already upside down.

[38:30] If the pole goes down, I'm going with it. And maybe that was not the smartest thing in retrospect to think, You in all honesty, that's where my head was at the time. And, and nothing happened. The pole was fine. Everything was fine. There was nothing it just, you know, it just made a loud sound, probably because it was hot. And you know, the weather was changing or something. And yeah, everything was fine. And you couldn't hear it in in the performance, the viewers because it's on zoom and someone else was piping the music in. So everyone else only saw me like I was on mute.

[39:02] And so all you could hear was the music and I'm dancing to the music. But I had my camera set up in the room on the side, and you can hear the sound on the side. And my friends that saw the video later were like, weren't you scared? I'm like, oh, yeah. We're in it. If the pole's going down, shit's going down, I'm just going to hope for the best and hope I make pole lulls because I didn't get physically hurt, right? Trust me. I know, but that is that primal part of our brains, though, that used to have to make split second decisions about like, do we go here? Or is there potentially a Puma that's going to eat us? Right. You know? And so in that moment, I think like you talking about your thought process, I have such similar ones where I'm like, I need to bail. No, I'm not going to bail. I can make it worse if I bail. No, I'm staying. I'm just going to go down with the pole. Like in all of that happening, like in like one second, you know, that totally identify with that. But I think with women, that's what we do. I think we are not alone.
We are not alone.

[40:04] Yeah, and I think that's probably the beauty of pole is you get to these places where you tap into that part of you and you realize that you're not alone.
Like, oh shit, I'm not the only person in this room that is suffering post baby, or I'm not the only person in this room that has sweaty hands, thank God, you know?

[40:25] Yeah, or the classes that inevitably, like there's a tampon string hanging out somewhere And it's fine.
It's just fine. It's just what it is. And there's just so few of those spaces.
I do believe that like my kids' generation is changing that.
I think that there's gonna be more and more and more of those kinds of like very welcoming spaces.
But for those of us who are mothers right now, that are flocking to pole dancing and we're sending all of our kids our older generations, and well, honestly, some of our own generation, like they are, they're worried about us. Yeah. They are deeply concerned with our well-being. And they just, but that's why we're there. It's like, it's creating this space for, you know, so many things that we need to kind of tap into and embody and work through and, and, and, and embrace about ourselves. I do love that it has come back full circle to that. You and I also talked about, how I felt. I definitely feel, and I will say that this is my opinion.

[41:38] That the hashtag notastripper set us back in that regard because it brought shame into our art and into our sport. And shame is never a good place for safe container, you know, like, then, then I feel like we kind of hit some bumpy road. I'm really, really happy that as a community, we're coming out of it. Absolutely. I think that's, you know, that's something interesting that you've touched on that creating a safe container, and we're flocking to these pole, pole spaces, because they're sacred to us being able to be yourself and exist just as yourself and explore why you feel the way you do to remove armor and layers of shame. Like you said, they're not everywhere. Maybe the next generation is going to make more of those spaces available outside of a pole studio. But for now, there's very few spaces where women are feminine, feminine, energetic, feminine energy types can feel safe to be themselves. And for us, we hold those places sacred. So while the rest of the rest of the world might be clutching their pearls and keeping us in in their prayers. We're at the we're at the church, right? The church of self love. Yeah, right. I mean, truly, like, I think the pole studio for me is definitely church. It's it is the place that I have the most reckoning with myself. For sure.

[43:05] For sure. And I do. I think it is true. We definitely are. I know that there are some studios that are all women. That is not the case here in Asheville. I don't know a single studio here that's like women-only.

[43:21] And some of those are very progressive women-only studios. They're not doing it for any reason other than for whatever, you know, for whatever their potential, their purpose within their region is that. But we definitely have, I love that there is like gender fluidity and male dancers who come into our spaces and that safety doesn't change at all.
And I also feel like for the generation of us that are moms, that's a rare occurrence and has been for us as we grew up that was not.

[43:53] That was not something that we as young girls were able to experience a lot.
And I am feeling, I mean, every time I am in a dance class or in the studio for Open Pole and there is someone who is, you know, not your, like, you know, just your very cis presenting female in there.
It feels really, really good. And it feels like a place that our culture in general needs to walk.
And I love that this thing, this industry that I love so much and this art that I love so much is leading the way with that.
Because yeah, I mean, I didn't know I can dance next to, I can dance in a room full of male pole dancers and feel no lack of safety whatsoever.
And I can say that I have danced and done gymnastics my whole life and did not necessarily feel that way in other venues.
So I love that about pole too.

[44:59] Yes, that's a very true statement. I'm glad you've had that experience.
And I think it's interesting that, you started a pole in 2021, born out of kind of like Phoenix rising from the ashes here.
And with that, I think Misty, it takes a very special kind of person to be like, I feel this energy and I am going to take this energy and put it into action.
And that's what you've done with the work that you've done with the pole community.
You dove right into shows, you're building something special through your retreats.
And I mean, I look at, it took me seven, eight years to find my voice in pole.
Like I love it, but I'm not an action-based person like you are, and I find that really special.
I really admire that about you.
Oh, wow, thank you so much. I feel like it is, that is part, I do think it's part of my personality.
It's just kind of the way I'm wired, but it also, that could not have.

[46:03] It couldn't have developed without the community I have through pole dancing, through Enter the Garden.
Those two, and those communities overlap greatly, but I do kind of see them as two different spaces.
And there's no way, no way I could have taken the action I did without it.
As a matter of fact, one of the things that was so incredibly...

[46:33] That it changed me deeply during the first Enter the Garden was, and I told the producers this, like I said, they're friends of mine.
So I told them this like months later when I could collect myself.
And I think I still cried when I told them. But it was legitimately the first time I had been.

[46:53] I was invited full throttle to participate with 100% of their confidence behind me.
And every time I showed up and thought I was going to be too much. They were like, no, you're just right. Just keep doing you.
And it was literally the first time maybe ever in my life that I wasn't too much at some point, like you want to do the wild makeup, do the wild makeup. That sounds great.
You know, it was at no point was, did anybody say, say, don't go that route or this who you are isn't what we're looking for.
And the times that it was like, okay, we like this and we, but we want you to be more, let's level this up. Let me teach you how to do that trick. Let me be sure that you're confident in this.
This looks great, but we actually need you to embody that snake more.
And it was that just that experience alone was, it was so transformative for me.

[48:03] And so there's no way, there's no way I could have taken the action I did, even going into the first enter the garden without all of them behind me.
And there's no way that this retreat would have been born without that.
And then even with this retreat, clearly trying to birth itself in my lap, I was still so so resistant that it took these other four women coming beside me and being like, nope, we're doing this together. You know, you're not alone. And so action is made a lot easier when you have community. Yes, that's so special. Yeah. And I think that was one of the reasons I was withering coming out of COVID. I had lost that. I had lost community. And so many of us had. But I jokingly, not jokingly, say COVID saved my life. I really think it did.
Life as I know it, anyway.

[48:56] That's so beautiful. I one of the when you talked about not, you know, taking up more space being more being more I had that conversation with my daughter over the weekend, I went to go see her perform in a show. It was her first big debut as like a you know, a leading character. And I have a background in theater, we talked about that I have a pretty extensive background in theater.
And so I'm sitting there trying to regulate my feelings because I'm not I'm not in theater anymore. And it's for good reason. There's a lot of baggage there, right? So I'm trying to come to grips with my demons, be supportive of her, but also with a keen eye because I know that she loves this. How do I provide her some guidelines for going forward if this is what she really wants to do? And one of the things that bugged me the most about her performance was that I felt that she didn't take up enough space on the stage. And I was so upset because.

[49:54] I felt like I raised her better than that. And so I talked to her, I talked to her about afterwards. I'm like, how am I going to say this? I'm like, you know, dear, the way you delivered your lines was so good. You really embodied your character. I loved your facial expressions. Your physical movement was fantastic. Really great for like, you know, film or television. But you know, on the stage, you want your actions to be so big that they reach the back row of the theater. You want to take up so much space that everyone sees them. And she said to me, She's like, oh, well, the director told me I wasn't allowed to outshine the main character.

[50:35] And I was so upset because I wish she had told me that like, during any time in the last six months, she was doing this production.
And I was like, like a rule given to her exactly. And I said, Hey, if the main character or the lead actor can't carry their character, that's on them. You don't dim your light for anyone, you take up that space.
And she's going out for another audition this weekend. And so we're talking about that.
And I was like, don't, don't ever listen to that, okay?
Like, you know, if they have a huge problem with it, they'll come and talk to me because this is you theater, right? Like, come on, I paid for them to be in the show, right?
They can give me that feedback, right? She just needs to keep on shining.
But I thought that was so sad. And, you know, we think about things that like kids, you know, take statements like that and they internalize them, right? Like, oh, I don't want to upstage so-and-so.
I don't want to be too much.
It's like, how dare they always be always be you. It's it's much be much. It's never too much.

[51:40] Be so much. If I could tell, like my little seven year old gymnast self something.

[51:49] It would be just go be your wildest most too much self, because it was the constant trying to to rein in, to try not to feel embarrassed or get in trouble, that that inevitably, I think, is what caused, for me anyway, kind of an evolution within myself and within my sport and even within my own life and the way I presented in the world after that, to kind of, it was painful, right?
It was painful. And then everything I did was like looking through these lenses of, is this too much?
Am I going to embarrass myself? And then I missed out on so many opportunities.
And actually, I have never talked about this publicly. I've talked about this to my dear friends.
So I had two home births.
And it was actually the birth of, so I'm at home. I'm laboring, no drugs, no anything.
This was something I fully decided on my own before hand.
I think that that decision was made out of like this, this fear of being in a hospital, which may not be the safest place or the healthiest place to make a decision, but it did very intuitively feel good to me.

[53:16] And so I had my children at home and it was after the birth.

[53:21] After their births that I was like, Oh, like I'm a freaking warrior.

[53:28] Like, I, I, what am I doing? I lived my, I lived my entire youth thinking that I was embarrassing.
I mean, I just spit humans out of this portal between my legs. My whole body, my whole body synced up to produce a human being. And my labors were not easy. They were not the hardest labors I've ever, you know, heard anyone talk about, but they were both challenging in very different ways.
And the fact that I was able just to like my too much is exactly what got my children here. Exactly.
I showed up too much and got them here. And so that was the thing that shifted for me so much of my life. And I think that was the thing that I felt like was stolen from me from COVID. I also lost my dad during COVID to cancer, not to COVID. And so there was several things that shook my world, during that time and that I didn't have community to hold me through. But man, I say all the time, I would have never endurance raced, I would have never raced Ironman, I would have never raced ultra marathons. I don't think I would be on a pole right now if I didn't have kids.

[54:52] Because it showed me like this lioness inside of me that I never knew existed or I didn't think was a good thing that it existed. I knew it was there and was constantly embarrassed of it.
My God, thank you for sharing Misty. That's what a story.
And I think that is probably one of the things about PULL that is so special, right?
Like it's more and more and more, like you said, you're out on the stage and suddenly all those, like, I'm sure you're like, Oh, I want to do makeup. And there's probably a voice in your head when you were talking about doing the makeup, like, I hope that's okay. Oh, they don't know. Right. I mean, we take that voice of like, don't upstage so and so or don't, you know, don't do this or you'll get, you know, you'll get marked off if you go one foot out of bounds on that, you know, on what is it, the floor routine, right? Yeah. Step on the tape. Don't step on the date. Right. Me too. Like I was this adjunct character and it was a last minute ad and it was like.
I was so afraid to make it something. And when they, the producer sat me down and they were like, for the love of God, make it something.
Make it whatever you want it to be. Everything you've told us is great.
I literally was, I think I sat there for a second and looked at him, I was like, really?
Like, are you sure?

[56:09] The pictures I sent you of the glow in the dark makeup, that's not too much?
And they were like, no, really? You know, but it is, it's that whole thing of like, It's the imposter syndrome, you know?
It's the imposter syndrome where we are so bad for that. Like I'm not good enough.
I'm not good enough to show up and glow. I'm not good enough to show up and shine.
I'm not good enough to stand on stage and make that main character fight for their place.
I got, I'm not good enough for that. When in reality, you know, if they didn't want her to upshine the main character, maybe they should have made her the main character.
Right? That's a whole conversation for another time. Oh my God.
Main character energy.

[56:52] I know I was explaining to her about how, you know, sometimes the main characters are cast before the auditions happen. And she was like, what? And I was like, Oh, yeah, how do I put this delicately, you know, but like still direct it was it was very interesting having that conversation with her and then watching her resilience of like, well, I'm still gonna audition Like, and I'm like, that's it, you, you knock one of those like secondary characters out of that spot, right?
You get that secondary role, like Cinderella has been cast, you know, but you might get the stepsister, like, go for it. Right.
Yeah. But that's actually also how, you know.
Those experiences where we're like, we're very tangibly and God, she's how old is she? She's so young. If she's in youth theater, I wish I had that experience where somebody was, somebody was like, do you see that you dimmed yourself? And do you see that you could have done more? And I'm here to support you doing more. Right? She'll be 11 soon. So, I mean, I guess she's not my little, she's not my little girl anymore. I got my first like attitude face from her a couple of months ago. And I took a picture of it. I don't know why I was like, Oh, and I pouted. I took a picture of it. She's like, What are you doing? I'm like, I'm taking a picture of the first attitude face you're giving me. Like, you're not my little girl anymore. And she was like.

[58:15] Love this so much. Yeah. It's so funny, because I'm constantly telling my kids, I have a boy and a girl. And then I have three more that are like adopted to me.
That are two more boys and another girl. And I'm constantly telling them, I'm like, anything you've considered doing, I have already done.
So I'm not actually like reading your mind. I'm just tapping back into what that face means.
Cause I've given them that face before. Like I've given that face.
And, but I, you know, it's so funny that my kids now just laugh at me about that.
But, but they're my, my daughter, who's 16. I can remember very vividly the first time I got attitude from her that was not like little girl attitude. It was teenager attitude. And I was like, not so soon.
This can't be happening yet.
And I think there was a door slam involved. And I did the whole thing where I was like, I'll take that door off the hinges.
I was never going to take the door off the hinges. Like what was I thinking?
I should have just taken a picture and sat still.
You know, what's funny is my daughter has this sign on her door and it's like, you know, like when you're a teen, it'll be like the stay out, right?
But my daughter says, knock first, please, smiley face. And I'm like, oh, she's setting boundaries in a polite way.
All right, I'll knock first.
Although this morning, all I wanted to do is take a shower this morning.

[59:45] Like again, I should have just gotten up way earlier, but I was really tired and I didn't get a chance to shower before they woke up.
So I made the decision that before they woke up, I was gonna make breakfast and everything for everyone first so they would have something to eat. And then while they were eating, I was gonna take a really quick shower.
And I come out of the shower and I hear screaming and I'm like, what the fuck is going on?
Like, I can't take a fucking shower without a fight breaking out.
And it's this argument that has been brewing all week over my son's drumsticks, you know, like to play the drums.
Somehow.
Somehow, my daughter asked him if she could use his drumsticks or borrow them.
And she's almost twice his age. She's kind of sneaky in this way.
He said yes, thinking she would use them for five minutes. It's been five days she hasn't given them back because she is using the drumsticks to knit a sweater.

[1:00:44] And she's not done with the sweater, obviously. And he's upset.
He wants them back. to run into her room to get his drumsticks back and he's crying because he's so much younger than her and he feels like this is this great injustice that has been done to him. And so I'm like, okay, like in my head, I'm like, don't swear at the kids. Don't swear at the kids. Come from a place of empathy. Right? So I'm like trying to get them to understand. And you know, in her mind, she's like, I lost my, my other big knitting needle. So I had a pair and now I only have one and I'm pretty sure my little brother had something to do with it. So I want to use his drumsticks because they're the right diameter to knit the sweater." And I'm like, okay.
He's responsible. Yeah. Somehow he's at fault and he's crying. He wants it back. I'm like, okay, can I take the sweater off the drumsticks and put it on the one knitting needle and I will order you more knitting needles, right? And she's like, okay. Yeah, that'll work. But then she's like, oh, but you can't do it because it'll come unraveled. I'm like, trust me. I used to knit a long time ago, I've taken apart many sweaters. And as I'm doing this, I'm like, I can't believe.

[1:01:47] I'm fucking doing this right now. And my son's wiping these big crocodile tears from his eyes, trying to get himself together because he sees that he's going to get his precious drumsticks back. And I'm like, OK, can I get a clothing pin, please? And neither one of them knew what a clothing pin was. And they're downstairs. I'm trying to describe what a clothing pin is to them as I'm trying to unloop this sweater off the drumsticks and put it on one knitting needle.
And finally, he gets it back. I'm like, see, guys, that wasn't so bad. But I was so annoyed that I knew this fight was brewing for days. And I was really hoping they could resolve it themselves. But they just couldn't. And then as mom, you got to step in and lay down the law.
And the whole time, I'm thinking, I don't think my husband listens to this podcast. The whole time I'm thinking, how the fuck did my husband let them make this deal? He was there when this happened and he let this go down knowing that this would probably happen while he's traveling and I'm solo parenting. He's like, you know, I got to go out of town this week. I'm really fine.
You guys do whatever you want. I think that's what he meant when I was traveling the week prior. So he was solo parenting and I got this text message that said, yeah, payback's a bitch. And I'm like, Oh, really?

[1:03:03] This is hysterical. Our kids, this is why they're the best generation of kids because they are like, you know, I was definitely a latchkey kid.
Like I was the kid who was like, just came home alone, did everything alone, but they are not that.
But we're also like, hey honey, I'm gonna use the kids as payback.
You know, they're like well taken care of taken care of, and kind of used for our own entertainment.
Yes, I, you know, I will hand I will hand it to him. I really appreciate the way my husband says, like, he doesn't say I'm watching the kids for you. No, he's taking care of the kids.
They're his kids, too. You know, I appreciate that about him stepping up and like, taking responsibility. And, you know.

[1:03:51] He wants some gold stars, but not like a ton of gold stars, right? Like he understands his responsibility in the process.
Right. And I think that's, you know, over the years have definitely like thrown it in his face a lot to kind of like break that cycle, like, hey, I've taken care of the kids and like held down the fort. Well, you've been gone into like whatever bad neighborhood of the world, you know, like I, when you're home, I expect you to be home and present with the family, you know, the military gets you when they have you. But when they don't have you in your home, you're part of this family, and you need to step up. And he's, he's done a good job of embodying that. And I think, but, I don't know if some of the stuff that I'm going to bring it back to pull some of the transformation stuff that we talked about, I don't know if I hadn't had that, that I would be able to have those conversations with my partner, like knowing myself and then setting those boundaries so I can properly love and be loved by the people around me.

[1:04:43] Well, we're only able to love other people in our world in as so much as we love ourselves.
And if we love ourselves really shallowly, we'll love those around us really shallowly.
And then also recognizing that from those around us, right?
Like if we love ourselves deeply and we start to set boundaries, we start seeing who has deep love for us.
And that...

[1:05:07] And there's no way to shortcut that, that kind of skirts loving yourself.
And you can't love yourself unless you can really, really, really kind of look inside.
And I don't think there's a single version of pole. And I don't do pole sports.
I do lots of tricks, but those girls who do the minutes-long trick routines are just so impressive to me.
But I've never been able to do that and so I can't speak from that, like having had that experience myself, but I know women who do and I actually know one guy who does and they all seem to have a similar experience to me, which is like more tricks slash dance.
And I definitely do a lot of exotic erotic kind of dance as well.
There's no short cutting it.

[1:06:00] You have to look at those places in yourself that you're maybe not quite sure about.
And then you get this deeper love for yourself and then you set boundaries from this place.
It is this whole system that kind of is a domino effect that I agree with you.
Like, I definitely would not be showing up in the world as well as I am right now and as happy as I am right now without Pol. And I don't think I would be the mom I am.
I mean, I just don't.
I'm so happy. My kids will tell you that too. Like I'm, I'm the happiest mom they know.
And I have a poll in the dining room and all of their friends come over and then we all get poll lessons.
And I'm like, what are you going to tell your parents?
I, yeah, I feel the same way. I feel like I should just start charging the parents money when they send their kids over here. I'm like, it's a spotting fee.
I'm spotting your kid through their first invert because they will not leave the poll alone until they learn something cool.

[1:06:58] It's so funny. I wondered if it was just my friends' kids, because there's not this like.
There's not a draw to it because it's off limits, because I really believe nothing's off limits for this generation of kids.
They don't believe anything's off limits to them, and I love that so much.
But it is more, they're so curious. And putting it on spin and just hanging on for dear life, it cracks me up.
I mean, it's true though, but I'm a very happy human, and I'm a very happy mom, and I'm really happy to have all of their friends and all of my kids here to sort of witness that.
And I don't know that I could have done that with teenagers, especially, oh, my goodness, it's so hard, without P.O.L.E. having come along exactly when it did for me.
Yeah, absolutely. I think we all have that P.O.L.E. room in our house.
And like you said, the kids, they don't see it as off limits.
They don't see it as anything bad. It's fun for them, and it's the adults that put limitations on it.
And so hopefully we're the generation that breaks that cycle.
And so I have a question for you. I ask this for every new person that I talk with.
So you're a mom of three, five, was it five kids, two, five kids?

[1:08:20] Yeah, five total. Two biological. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So you, so you're a mom of five kids. You're a personal trainer, certified nutritionist.
Performance shows, you're creating a pull retreat. That's a lot of work. So what goes? What do you say, you know what, this isn't happening, or I'm going to drop this when life just gets too busy?
You know, it's probably not the best thing for my business, but it's social media, honestly.
Like what goes for me and that is honestly what takes up so much of my time with my business too is creating the social media presence. And I find that creating a social media presence takes me out of the present. And I am no longer present with my kids. I'm no longer present in my life. So when I start feeling super stretched, that's the first thing that goes. 100%. Like my personal stuff, my business stuff, everything just goes for 24 hours, sometimes longer.
And then, outside of that.

[1:09:24] I really feel, honestly, and it's not the healthiest thing, I feel like I kind of hermit.
I'll hermit with my kids and I'll cut out like socializing and those kinds of things. I can't do that for too long, though. I do recognize that that's not good for me long term. But if it's something for today, like today is just insane and I'm running from one thing to the next, what's got to go? It is, unfortunately, whatever that social date is for today.
And that's another reason I think that my pole community and like my community in general now is made up of so much pole dance, so many pole dancers.

[1:10:00] That the bounce back isn't so bad, you know, when I'm like, okay, I'm like, I'm swamped.
I, and I actually have so many friends now who recognize my withdrawal pattern when I start getting overwhelmed and I'll start having friends that reach out and they're like, you're doing that thing again where you go in your shell.
So you okay, you want to just like, you know Do something together.
Do you want to come dance?
But those are my two. I think those are my two things.
The thing I give up easily and will willingly is social media.
And then after that, it's that I recognize I kind of start cutting social stuff.
My kids, until they're out on their own and have their own lives, will be such a big priority to me.
I don't know that I'll, that's going have to be more important than work and all of the things for a few more years. And that is totally okay with me. Absolutely. Oh, that's beautifully said. Really great. I admire the social media. I wish I had that that discipline. I I'm on social media way too much.

[1:11:07] I mean, when you have business, though, like when you have anything that's outside of of, it's required in today's world and it is really hard.
It really is. It's really challenging. So props to you there for setting good, healthy boundaries for yourself and your family.
If people want to learn more about Tribu and the poll retreats that you're doing, where can they go?
So easy website address to get directly to it is tribufitlife.com and you'll just you'll hit a landing page and choose retreats.

[1:11:50] You can also tribu fitness and dance on Instagram.
My my personal Instagram is misty underscore MTN for mountain underscore hoppin like the like the Grateful Dead song Misty Mountain Hoppin.
And so both of those have a link tree that can get you to the resorts to the retreat website as well.
And then also both of those are have links to enter the gardens social media page.
And our next show will be in November, which just got announced.
I think I'm OK to tell everybody that our next show just got announced for mid-November.
And that is really exciting. exciting. It's going to be a whole new plot line, a whole new everything. And it's going to be at this massive old theater in downtown Asheville called the Diana Wertham. So we're so excited about that. So it's gonna be a little different in every way for us, but that's all coming up as well. And then there is, I was hoping to have dates to kind of give you today, but I'm I'm definitely working on retreats for the future.
There'll be one more in 2023 here stateside, and then another, two more in Central America in 2024.

[1:13:11] That's super exciting. Yeah, when you get those dates, send them to me, especially because I know we I record and then sometimes there's a little bit of lag time, I think, you know, that so maybe if you get them soon, then we can pop them into the show notes for people. So but in any case, anyone listening, if they're not looking at the show notes, or we don't have those dates for you by the time this episode goes live, please feel free to hit up Misty's website or her Instagram pages, and you can stay up to date on all of the awesome happenings. Missy, it was such a pleasure speaking with you. So much fun. I know we went over. Oh, well, it happens.

[1:13:49] I love that, though. This is like having coffee with a friend. It's great. We have to cover all of it. Right, exactly. It was definitely a pleasure speaking with you. We'll have to chat more soon. Maybe after the retreat, we can do a little chat again and see how it went. And, you know, maybe you'll come out all energized with something new for the future that you'll love to share with us. I love that you're such a creator and you're such a doer. This is so exciting.
So thank you so much. I would love that. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. And I'm sure we will talk again soon. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode, my friends. If you enjoyed today's episode, please feel free to give us a big thumbs up, five star, like, subscribe, depending on what modality you happen to be listening in on.
Check out the show notes below for ways that you can support this podcast, which is currently fueled by copious amounts of afternoon coffee by yours truly, and a passion for supporting women in their pole and movement journeys. Until next time, my friends, keep on dancing, and remember there's enough spotlight for all of us to shine.

[1:15:01] Music.