Starting Over

RaspberryAlice started this discussion · 5/2/2015

I use to pole twice a week, every week for a little more than a year and half in a studio. Sadly me and the owner had our "troubles" and I ended up getting kicked out after taking a few months break. So I was pole-less for another good year and a half...say bye bye to all the progress. But happy news! I recently bought my own 45mm X-Pole and now I'm on my own. Why should you care? Well, I need help. My body and brain are obviously rusty of all I learned and I feel as if i'm pushing myself too hard to catch up to where I was. I'm currently without any tacky stuff and saving up for a crash pad...so my options feel limited. I will most likely jump on the Studio Veena lesson bandwagon as I miss having some form of structure. Anyway, any advice would be wonderful right now. Thanks!

13 replies

Runemist34 · 5/2/2015
Hey RaspberryAlice! There are a lot of people on here that have started over after a long hiatus, myself included! It can be really frustrating. And, going from the structure of a studio to the wishy-washy time on your own at home can be really difficult, too, because it's hard to create that kind of mental and physical space for dancing, for learning, and for focus... especially when you don't have a specific room for your pole, and it's just hangin' out in your living room ;) Also I don't think I've ever seen anyone ask "Why should you care?" On this forum. Rest assured, if you need help, we care! This community has been wonderful. I've been here about 5 years, and I just keep coming back for more! So, my first suggestion would be to slow down! I'm sure you feel that this is obvious, but reminding yourself to slow down and enjoy your rediscovery, and get back in touch with your body, can really do wonders. Avoiding an overtraining injury is pretty key with pole dancing, so see if you can find the great things about going slow and really getting into your beginner moves, and your flow! Next, for aid with grip, since you mentioned you don't have any "tacky stuff"... as a beginner, I've never found I needed it! So, key points there would be to make sure your pole is warm, and that you are warm, before starting work on your new moves in which you need to stick to the pole. Something like a pole sit can be super difficult when you, your pole, or both of you are still cold! In order to create the space you want and need to get pole dancing and really enjoy it, you can build your own "class structure," if you like. I've found it useful! I start off with a warm up, get into some freestyle, and then work on the more difficult moves I've been trying to get. Afterward, I move on to strength work, and then finish off and cool down with stretching and flexibility training. You can keep it super simple! I often find that working on two or three moves at a time gives me enough variety, especially if I'm really struggling with one of them. One move is just a bit too little, and I get bored. Too many, like four or more, and I get confused and out of focus! I would highly suggest Veena's 30 day Takeoff, as it can introduce some great structure into your pole life. And, Veena's library of moves is actually all in order of difficulty, so if you find yourself feeling like you're pushing too hard, you may want to backtrack and see what else you might learn! Welcome to the forum :)
Zaarar · 5/2/2015
I am also a again starter. I used to pole with my own pole and lesson for almost 1 year like 2-2,5 years ago. Now I thought I would start over with Veena lessons and perhaps 1/month to studio for a teacher to see how I am doing and correcting if I do somethings wrong as I do not have mirror around my pole. I was supposed to start at 1 may, but had a tiny bit of problem. I am just recovering from bad infection so I need to post pone my starting to mid may. :( And I was really waiting for getting poling going again.
RaspberryAlice · 5/2/2015
Thank you so much Runemist34 for the kind words and advice. Its so nice being back! A lot of my "barrier" is purely mental. I am trying to unwire that "Keep up or Keep out" mentality that was instilled in me from the studio. I was alway trying to keep up there and its created horrible habits. I have to remind myself to be patient and that I don't have anyone or anything to prove anymore. It's not like the pole is going anywhere! lol. I am most likely going to sign up here and start at the beginning (even if I delusionally think i'm better than that. This is a journey now not a race.). It'll give me time to save up for the crash pad (I lost a good percentage of my strength so i'm not daring yet anyway). I like your idea of just keeping a simple structured class of my own. I didn't know what order to that all in so that helps a ton! (Thanks again!)
Runemist34 · 5/2/2015
No worries, Raspberry! I do understand trying to rewire yourself to take things slow, and look at it as a journey, rather than a competition that you're constantly having to keep up with. One thing to consider is who you're trying to impress now: You. You're the only one left to impress! And, you may not really know what your goal is, or what you would think of as "impressive," or "good work." Sometimes, we can be the absolutely hardest on ourselves! We have the highest goals, the greatest blocks, and the most challenging problems to get through, and all of those things can really destroy our self-esteem and our confidence. Trying to live up to those lofty goals while you're blocking yourself is this horrible push-pull issue, and not the kind that gets you up in an Iron X! So, take a look, feel out your own challenges and what you want from yourself. Coming from a place where you felt you had to keep up with others can "encourage" the idea that we must "keep up," and without the others there anymore, you're left with yourself. It might seem a bit weird, trying to keep up with yourself (you're already there, right?), but what your mind thinks you SHOULD be able to do, and what you can do, are often very different! I'm sure you'll progress really well, and you'll settle into poleing at home well! :)
Ariella234 · 5/2/2015
I just started up a couple weeks ago again as well after a five year break :)
Veena · 5/4/2015
The lessons here would be perfect for you! They give structure and have many options for warm ups and you'll even find stretching and conditioning! The 30 day take off gives you 30 days of pole workouts and the 30 days to flexy provides you with 30 days of structured flexibility and stretching. 30 day take off intro https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/30-day-take-off 30 days to flexy into https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/30-day-flexy
Zaarar · 6/9/2015
Here I go again. Atlast starting all oven again. Today first day of 30 day... My goal is to do at least 2 workouts a week when I can not keep up with the planned timeframe.
Maria Joao · 6/12/2015
I have to do this too. I'm oit of pole due to a shoulder injury, and my hamstring is not famous either, but I think I can restart. I lost my strenght and flexibility and motivation too :(
Casi · 6/12/2015
Wow Maria. You sound just like me. I've been out two months today thanks to a shoulder injury, and I keep reinjuring my right hamstring as well. I've just started back at classes, but so many things are off limits for weeks still as I wait for my shoulder to heal further. It's both discouraging and exciting to go to the occasional class right now. I have lost so much strength and I'm less flexible than I've been in years. But, my motivation has never waned. Struggling with things that used to be easy could be disheartening, but I just keep thinking every time I do, I'm one step further along in my recovery. CI won't be able to throw myself back into it completely until the end of July, but I think every lit bit I can do now will make that eventual re-entry easier. My physio says our muscle memory will make learning things again much easier and faster than they were the first time.
Sabina Rex · 6/13/2015
I wish you the best of luck on your new jpurney. You may find everything makes even more sense the second time around. Learning online is actually much easier (my opinion).
RaspberryAlice · 6/13/2015
Glad to see I'm not the only one. :) UPDATE: I'm about 2 months into being a home pole-r and Sabina Rex, you are 10000% right. Everything just "clicked" one day and i've been on "beast mode" ever since. I realized I don't NEED to pole like I use to. Just pole damn it! lol. Now i'm a thousand times more braver and I am more "intune" with my body. I obviously signed up for Veena's lessons, which gave me tons of stuff to work on and get excited for. I've done so many tricks thanks to her, that normally I would be WAY WAY to scared to even try (without a spotter or at all). I amaze myself daily. This is not the studio pole-r I was....it's 100 times better. I'm not relying on levels or teacher/classmate attention to feel like i'm awesome. Its for me and it's pretty dang sweet. I wish that horrid teacher could see me now and all the potential I actually do have. (I did get my good ol' iTac and use my daughters giant bean bag chair as my crash mat.)
Sabina Rex · 6/14/2015
I use a bean bag chair as a crash matt too! Omg im so glad to hear how well its going and how poling at home is making you such an amazing strong woman.
Catsanctuary177663 · 6/14/2015
Raspberry, welcome! I am starting over after 21 years away from dancing in clubs. There are all kinds of things I never knew that I am now learning from Veena. The problem I have is wanting to jump ahead but I remember how I used to constantly work with one back injury or another and now know why. Happy poling!