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Is it a must to attend a pole studio to learn poling?
Hi Guys. I think you guys are great! I am wondering for those of you who are at the intermediate level or higher received training from the pole studio or can you acquire these skills from watching videos? I am at the beginner stage still and do not really see any progression for the time I have been going to the pole studio, so I am wondering if attending a pole studio is a must… Financially, it will be a little harder, but I love the pole and want to become better… Any suggestions? Thanks guys. I would love to hear from those of you who have learned on your own if any.
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41 Replies
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I am an advanced level and with the exception of subscribing to studio evens for a few months I am fully self taught. I didn’t subscribe to veena until I was at an intermediate level so you can definitely progress by yourself. Just be careful and take it slow. Progression of a beginner takes longer because you are building a lot more new muscle than an intermediate or advanced level IMO. You can always ask if there is something specific you are struggling with and your will get help.
Just please please be cautious and be well read on pole safety. I see a lot of self taughts not taking proper precautions and injuring themselves because they don’t have an instructor there to help them or give them tips.
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It's good to have some kind of guide. Veena's lessons are setup to help you build strength and progress through beginner moves before moving on. It is a method she has developed to make you a more successful poler and reduce your risk of injury.
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Yes, you can! Many have learned only at home or mostly in home. Some of my online only students have gone on to open their own studios!! If you can find a good studio and take the lessons here, you'll have the best of both worlds. There are studio's that suggest their students subscribe to our lessons so they're able to work on things at home. This allows for faster progression.
In studio or at home, always dance within your ability. The lessons here are displayed in the order in which you should use them. Many moves are taught from the floor first, so you can safely work from there until you feel comfortable. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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I also started studio v lessons during the intermediate stage. My schedule wasn't meshing with class times available at my studio and I wanted to save some money as well. For myself learning online has greatly helped with my progress and now I am advanced. I would say try it out and if you find you are more comfortable in a studio you can always go back.
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I would say do it as a beginner I didn't, and am almost entirely self taught. While I learned things more quickly than at a studio, I did not learn safetly, nor did I learn proper basics. So even though I can shoulder mount at six months, it isn't consistent, and I can't do some really basic moves with ease. Learning "in order" will help condition the body for harder things. You have to walk before you can run, not crawl and then run, right?
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I would say do it as a beginner I didn't, and am almost entirely self taught. While I learned things more quickly than at a studio, I did not learn safetly, nor did I learn proper basics. So even though I can shoulder mount at six months, it isn't consistent, and I can't do some really basic moves with ease. Learning "in order" will help condition the body for harder things. You have to walk before you can run, not crawl and then run, right?
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One thing to mention, using my lessons here, your not "self taught". You have a guide and instructor. It's up to you to use the lessons properly, but it's all there for you, even stretching and conditioning. You can leave questions and comments on any lesson and I'm always there to help you out. Studioveena is unique, it's not like trying to learn from other sites or YouTube. You have a qualified instructor and there is an order. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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I think there's nothing wrong with learning from videos – as long as you're willing to hold yourself back from doing moves you're not strong enough to do yet. As an instructor I sort of cringe when new students come into my classes and tell me they're experienced because they watch videos on you tube. Occasionally they're awesome – but usally it means that they can manage to momentum into a trick without propper form or strength.
The one exception to that is Veena's lessons!! I reccomend them to all of my students. Even if they don't have a pole at home the stretching, conditioning and foam roller exercises are awesome!
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I highly recommend students who are inverting to take atleast privates when they can so that they can be spotted. The largest draw back to being home taught is not having someone to spot and guide you in and out of complex moves safely. Once you're upside down nothing makes sense anymore. I am mostly self taught but I take as many lessons or privates as I can when I have money and someone is in town who can teach me.
At some point it will be beneficial to you to find someone locally who knows the moves, more importantly someone who is familiar with Veena's system if that's what you're using. Veena does things differently than most programs so an instructor should understand how she does it. I would be a bit put off if a studio didn't have atleast 1 person who knew about this site and Veena.
On a final note about online vs studios – I think the first thing you have to consider is cost, 2nd how YOU learn and 3rd if you can do both – so it, the more styles you get introduced to the better. Every instructor has her own way pf moving, transitionsitioning and doing things – the more you're around the better you will find your style. There are benefits to BOTH ways of learning with the best situation being able to use both for what they are. 🙂
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Hi there https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
I have been poling for over a year now having only taken Veena's lessons. According to those lessons I am advanced and am now working on form and fluidity. When I first started out I was super anxious to invert and get into the "good stuff". But having read many threads here on SV regarding injuries from inverting too fast, not warming up/stretching properly and cooling down I took their advice and stuck to V's stregthening/conditioning lessons and did the lessons in order (as she as brilliantly put them in order so there is no confusion on what you should or should not be woring on!) When the time came for inversions, I had my boyfriend watch the lessons (and other vids) so he would know how and where to spot me. After only a few practices, I learned proper mechanics and felt comfortable without a spotter. It's important to remember everyBODY is different. Some things will come fairly easily, while others find it tough. Some things you might struggle with even though some people nail it first time, every time. Point is: listen to your body. Take Veena's lessons. If you find that you need personal instruction, go on chat every friday and someone will certainly help you through it. A lot of us gals are on Skype, too and would be more than happy to work with you. But, I do agree with Charley. Finding a studio may be beneficial at some point. I personally have not found one within an hour of me that I care for. But I'm getting to the point where I would like to be in a studio setting to smooth my rough edges and meet more like-minded gals, so I may need to travel a couple times a week to make that happen. Hope you find what works for you! Give V's lessons a go!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif
Skype name- sasha.cain1
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Veena is my only instructor. I would like to try out a studio, but there are none in a reasonable distance. I am going to try to catch some workshops this fall though. I have been very lucky to find this place early on. I have DVDs…that never get used. Between the lessons and members here I get on alright 😀
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Well, i haven't started poling yet because I'm saving up for an X pole. I've never been to a studio but I feel that Veena's lessons are/will be all I need–along with the awesome support of SV members.
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Wow guys… Thank you so much. Reading this really encourages me. For some reason I was thinking that in order to get to the intermediate and advanced levels, studio lessons was a must. I am so happy that I've found this site. I love reading the discussions and finding new friends. I will be signing up to the lessons and see what happens for me. Since I started out at a studio, I think my problem was not having a clear view to see what the instructor was doing…and being a visual learner over auditory, I found the basics to be extremely difficult. In addition, I was trying to keep up with the class and did not know the basic grips or anything, so I did not catch on or caught on really realllly (lol) slow with the instructor having to stop the routine in order to assist me which made me feel like an idiot. LOL On video and Veena, I can review it continuously until I get it so I think this may be a better source for me… I'm praying. Thank you so much.
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@Youngs7, definitely attend the Friday chats! Not only are they so much fun, but some people run video and you can see them go up into different poses/tricks. Sometimes others will give pointers but there is always tons of positive feedback. In fact, in the short time I've been on this site, I've never seen any negative comments!
@Wild Lotus, I am working on getting an inexpensive X Pole to start poling on, too. I will save to get the lessons for my birthday in October 🙂 Glad to see I'm not the only one that is a poler-to-be! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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Thank you guys. I will be joining the chats on Fridays. Is there a specific time that I should log into the session? I am on the west coast, so it will be PST? Does anyone know the time schedule for Friday chat?
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