Every woman should have the oportunity to face the pole, grab it with both hands, kick her legs out, lift both feet off the ground, and leave life's gravity behind!

Pole Dancing is for someone who wants a change in their life, someone who wants a different perspective, a different feeling about what it means to live in this body as a woman — now!

Pole Dancing is for any woman who hears the call of the siren, the warrioress, the vixen, the daredevil — no matter how quietly the voice whispers — or how loud it roars!

Pole Dancing is for someone who wants to stretch the boundaries of safe, secure, and comfortable!

A lot has changed since the days when Tai-chi, Yangge (Northeastern Chinese fan dancing) and granny disco were the main forms of exercise available to urban Chinese. Beijing, Shanghai and other big cities have seen the arrival of international gym chains, yoga studios, salsa dancing classes, Pilates and just about every other exercise fad you could name.

But The China Daily has found a new Beijing fitness activity that is not usually associated with keeping fit in the west: pole dancing.

Yes, the dance form invented by American strip club owners is being offered as a way of keeping fit by one Ms

I recently started teaching a pole fitness class in Canada and trust me, when I was first offered the job my answer was no. Then I tried it...it is so empowering and such a great workout. Think about it, you're lifting your entire body weight with one arm. My opinion of using the pole for fitness changed after swinging around it once. The women in my classes say they've gone to gyms all their lives and have discovered muscles they didn't know they had with the pole. Empowerment is the most-used word when people are describing the feeling they get from it. From one conservative female to you, try it. Luo Lan, who The China Daily says "is trying to make exercise fun -- and not morally corrupt anyone". Luo's students back her up on this point:

Another student, Yuan Xi, dismissed concerns that pole dancing is just for bar girls or strippers, adding that her love of the pole had nothing to do with sex.

"China is a very conservative country, and many people cannot accept this," said the 22-year-old. "Some men seem to think it's only about sex, but it's not. It's about dancing."