Breast Therapy

I have struggled with body acceptance since my weight loss.  I wrote about how I felt about my body in Looking Naked in the Face. I have gained empowerment with my body and have learned to embrace it with love and kindness. That being said, let's face it. No one is perfect.  My breasts still effect my self esteem.  Luckily, I'm not showing my breasts to anyone expect my husband and a good bra hides what I don't have.  Did I ever foresee myself in a room with several other women topless? Nope, yet that day came this past Friday.

Photo courtesy of  LV Burlesque Studio

A friend of mine invited me to take a tassel twirling class at a burlesque studio. I had to think about it. Tassel twirling meant being topless, no push up bra, no hiding. This terrified me, but ultimately I said yes. Breast therapy. I'm going to set the girls free and embrace what I have while learning a few tricks. If ever there was a time to face my fear, this was it. Plus, knowing I had a trusted friend with me could keep me strong.


My fear was being surrounded by women with perfect breasts and then there would be me with my not so perfect breasts standing out.  I could not have been more wrong. I was relieved to see women of all sizes, ages, and breast sizes.  I wrote in "Looking Naked in the Face":

     A room filled with women, all stripped down, we would see how similar our bodies actually are to each other. We all have stretch marks, we all have different shaped breasts, we all have things we can pinch and poke. These are our bodies. Real bodies. Strip down the model or actress on the magazine and we will see that their bodies are actually just like our bodies. They get special lighting, air brush body make-up, and Photoshopping to make them look perfect. However, naked body to naked body we are all cut from the same mold. The mold of imperfect bodies that tell our individual stories.  

Photo courtesy of  LV Burlesque Studio

This is unbelievably true!! My classmates for the evening were real women with real bodies. I would have never guessed how liberating and empowering it was to be topless among a group of women.  I felt relief realizing every pair of boobs in the room where different; big, small, round, and oval. My boobs did not stand out; instead they blended in! 

Tassels in place, we learned how to twirl them several different ways. Twirling requires jumping, shoulder shimmies, and lots of upper body movement. The girls where flying everywhere and it was so much fun! I was surprised that I was enjoying myself. I was not self conscious about my breasts or my body at all; in fact, I was proud of myself! My breasts handled the tassels like pros, as did all the boobs in the class. I felt sexy. It's hard not to feel sexy in black yoga pants, high heels, and gold tassels. 

Photo courtesy of  LV Burlesque Studio

I walked out of the class loving my breasts! I walked away with confirmation that all women's bodies are different shapes and sizes and they are all beautiful.  I will twirl my tassels with pride knowing that my breasts are more like the "real" women I see everyday - they are mine and they are awesome! 

Thank you Cha-Cha and Las Vegas Burlesque Studio for a fun, body accepting environment that put me at ease and allowed me to open up and embrace my body!