Pointing toes. Help?!

hannahpc started this discussion · 6/20/2010

So everyone keeps telling me to point my toes. I have been trying really hard to remember and practice pointing my toes when im on my pole. I have never had to point my toes before, so im finding it really difficult. For some reason i want to curl my toes instead of point. Ive done a video of me practicing pointing my toes. (I cant upload it here for some reason 🙁 ) You can see at times they get curled back, even though i mean to point them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOPWoS7w6Q Ive had my pole for just a month now, so perhaps its just practice. I dont know. Im getting a bit down about it, as people keep pointing (ha!) it out to me. Anyone have any advice on how to practice pointing my toes so i dont curl them so much? I feel like if i dont start getting my toes pointed, people will always make comments on it. Im scared ill never get there!

6 replies

MilienElayne · 6/20/2010
*Sorry if my tone is authoritative or rude or something... I write weird, apparently. I'm trying to be encouraging and helpful... Hope I am 🙂* You are not less of a pole dancer because your toes are not pointed just as you are not less of a pole dancer because you can't do a certain trick, you don't dance a certain way, or you use a certain type of pole, grip product or wear a certain outift. Your spins have great momentum! I still freak out doing static spins sometimes... I notice that in your fireman spin, once you're on the pole, you get your nicest point. Is that your strongest/earliest move so far? I'm going to assume it is. It looks like a flexed foot is your body's default position when you're exerting yourself. It might be a protection mechanism and/or the way your body can get into that position and hold it and not fall. You're poling, which is so hard in itself, your body is focusing on that and on keeping you safe. Don't feel down about it! It's a matter of programming your brain and your body to do something you've never done before and that takes a lot of time and effort sometimes. Girls who always point their toes on pole have had dance training and/or are genetically predispositioned to point (ok, maybe I'm making that up, but I swear some girls are just gifted that way) and/or have drilled it so long and hard that it's now second nature. This is how I began: Start with dancing on your toes. Next, try to point every single time your foot leaves the floor. Then, keep it pointed unless it's holding your weight on the floor or you need it flexed to hold you on the pole in a move. Even when you stretch before and after poling, you can use that time to practice pointing. Perhaps practice some non-pole-move walking and dancing around your pole just to get used to pointing every time you lift your feet? I would recommend stretching your arches to a) improve the depth of your point and b) get your feet used to the position. You can do this by sitting in a comfortable position with straight legs and alternatively pointing and flexing your feet as much as you can. You can also do raises from flat feet onto your toes (together or one at a time) trying to get as much arch in your feet as possible - the best arch is with a bent knee and eventually that knee goes over the foot for more and more arch. Make sure in your warm up you also warm up your feet and in your cool down you stretch them. Another pointe stretch is to use your hands to manipulate the foot into a deeper pointe. Make sure you're turning the foot out too and not sickling it (so sitting and looking at your feet you should be trying to turn the legs from the hips out from the middle and so that the line from hip to toe is a 'straight' one). Hope that was helpful... It will come in time. Good luck!
hannahpc · 6/20/2010
That was very helpful. Thanks so much! It made me feel a lot better. 🙂 I will work on what you suggested. You are right about it being kind of a safety type of thing. Quite often im that worried about my hands sweating to much and giving way that im not even thinking about my feet. Pole dancing takes me out of my comfort zone 100%. Even just the few moves im doing!
miss fern · 6/20/2010
Yea as Milien said, it is normal to flex your foot when you are exerting yourself, but it is a habit that can be broken. Tips: - When you are warming up or strething, point your toes - When you are shaving your legs in the shower, point your toes - When you are sitting at your desk at work/uni, point your toes - When you are watching TV, point your toes You get the idea. 😛 You need to make it second nature, instead of a conscious decision you have to try to remember to do. This is a good stretch to improve the amount of point you can actually achieve: http://localhosthttp://media.onsugar.com/files/ed3/192/1922729/46_2009/a1bdb0eea6487d06_stretch.jpg
hannahpc · 6/21/2010
Thanks for the pictures!! 🙂 I think im understanding what my problem is at the moment. When i try to point my toes, im literally trying to point just my toes. Its more of a whole foot thing. I need to turn my ankle down and relax my toes a bit more so they dont curl. Something i thought would be so simple is actually not that easy. (Well at least for me!)
Tine007 · 6/21/2010
First of all, your spins look great, nice control and momentum 😬 ! Congrats on the one-handed ones, they are not easy!! Don't let the toes discourage you, you're doing great!! 👍 Yes, pointed toes make everything look nicer, but it's just the icing on the cake. It doesn't affect your ability to do a move or your safety (for the most part). When I learn a new move, my toes are the last thing I think about (together with putting a smile on my face 😉 ), but once I can do a move comfortably, I try to pay attention to them. Its more of a whole foot thing. I need to turn my ankle down and relax my toes a bit more so they dont curl. Yep, you got it, it's more pointing the foot/extending the ankle - the opposite of a flexed foot. If your ankle isn't flexible enough to get a straight line from the knee to the toes (I had trouble after an ankle injury a few years back), sitting on your heels in a kneeling position (aka japanese style) helps 👍
sosagely · 6/22/2010
I was about 1 month away from point shoes in ballet when I quit, even then (where pointed toes should be second nature to me), I still sometimes realize I didn't point my toes in certain moves (usually when exerting myself). I was trying to think of what I could say to help, when I remembered what my pole instructor taught me. First, it's easier to point your toes when you go into it from actually being on your toes. In your video, you are walking flat footed around pole, then trying to point. That makes it hard. At my studio we are NEVER to walk flat footed, but ALWAYS up on our toes (like we are wearing heels, even when we aren't). It really really helps go into a spin or other move with pointed toes because it is actually more work to flex your toes than point them after being up on them. Another helpful tip I learned from my pole instructors is to pretend like your big toe is a paintbrush, and as you are lifting your outer leg to get momentum into a spin, imagine painting a line along the walls with your paintbrush (pointed big toe). It helped me so much!!! Just practice that while doing spins and pretty soon,it will be second nature to you. It really is hard, and like others said, you need to make it the "default" position that your toes go into, because it is really hard to remember to do it when focusing on other things! 🙂