What is your PulsePDX story?
I write this member spotlight with a heart full of gratitude for PulsePDX. I’m Jefna C., a longtime Pulse dancer who’s been grooving at our favorite dance gym since 2016, but maybe even earlier. That’s the earliest mention I could find in my calendar! Like many of you, I have found Pulse to be so much more than a place to work out. It’s a place where I feel free, experience some seriously wild joy, lose my inhibitions to move how I want to move, and forget about everything else outside the bounds of the music and choreography. At least for one glorious hour at a time.
This isn’t the first time I’ve felt compelled to write a whole-hearted thank you to Pulse, however. From the moment I stepped inside the studio, I knew I’d found someplace unique and special. When I was younger, I liked the feeling of getting lost in the music at clubs and raves, but I can’t stay up that late anymore, and honestly, my “scene” is mostly kitchen dancing at home or at the occasional park silent disco. And then I discovered PulsePDX, which filled a gap I didn’t know I needed to fill. Here was a place with nightclub music, lighting, and energy, but available during reasonable hours. Wow. To my amazement, my kids’ pediatrician turned up here too, Wendy L., who surprised me by not only being a regular—then she took to the stage. Again and again! Mind blown. After learning more about the Pulse community, it all makes sense. This place collects wonderful folks.
I thought about writing a blog to explain how Pulse was the first place I could joyfully ground back into my body after having kids, even though I’d had my youngest some years earlier. There was a time I wanted to write to say how important Pulse was to me after the pandemic restrictions lifted. During my first in-person classes I sometimes cried in overwhelm and relief while dancing in a room full of people once again, tears soaking my mask. When one of my children went through a crisis period, I wanted to share how important Pulse was for me as a place to forget about that difficult journey and focus on my own wellness for a moment. (It was also a kind of reassuring kismet to bump into Dr. Wendy during this time.) And, I’ve thought about writing how much Pulse has mattered in helping me move through my emotions after the election, after inauguration day, or on any day the news cycle whomps me over the head.
Despite the news being what it is, during Danny’s dance fitness class this week I thought a lot about the word freedom while I moved. I often experience a feeling of total freedom at Pulse that doesn’t happen for me in any other exercise class or venue. At this particular moment in history, this kind of delight in self-expression strikes me as a little bit rebellious (though sadly that should not be the case). When I look around at other dancers’ faces, I know some of you feel this joy too, the magical, effervescent “it” of dancing in time together. I’m sure this is also due to having no mirrors, awesome lighting, crazy good tunes, fabulous instructors, and maybe most of all, the result of the vibrant community rooted here.
*Now* finally became the moment I chose to write this blog because yet another opportunity to profoundly appreciate PulsePDX presented itself. Like some, I was laid off from my job in the middle of March. For two years I’d worked as a writer and editor for an educational nonprofit that was impacted by the cuts in federal education funding. My job cut came as a complete surprise. At the end of March my Pulse membership contract was up, so the prudent thing was to cancel. It saddened me to not have access to the very thing that helps me stay sane during stressful times, sweat it out, and reset my nervous system. But, choices had to be made. When I wrote to cancel, Jen told me a member was offering a few scholarships to fellow members who had experienced job loss. Would I want one? Definitely. I had not expected such an amazing offer, and I am truly grateful to receive it.
So, I thank PulsePDX, and you, dear anonymous donor, for your generosity. I am glad I get to dance it out between completing job applications and filing my weekly unemployment claim. Dancing at Pulse is way beyond exercise and I credit it in large part for keeping me buoyed and hopeful during this time. Thank you, Jen, for creating such a one-of-a-kind place!
-Jefna C.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/jefnacohen)!
Jefna with friends at RTB 2016
