[Mindy4pole]

A couple of medical possibilities come to mind.

Could you be pregnant? That can definitely up your appetite!

Also, you might want to get your thyroid checked. Overactive thyroid can make you eat like nobody’s business! Have you had any other issues besides the appetite?

I’m glad your talking to people about this. Since it came on suddenly, it sounds like something physical. Do you have a doctor you can talk to? If you have one, you can probably just call their office and talk to the nurse over the phone.

I hope you feel satisfied soon!!
Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

One of my first pole teachers was an almost-pro ballet dancer. Her points were just incredible, and made every move look good. When I really worked hard, my heels were barely off the floor! My strategy is to walk on the balls of my feet a lot. It’s taken me almost two years, but I think I have decent points now. (NOTE: They are probably pretty lousy by ballerina standards, though. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif )

My arches are very flat, so my actual foot has never had that pretty swell on the top of the foot. I used to think that pin-up artist just make that swell up! HOWEVER, my husband has very high arches, and has that lovely swell and beautiful points. One thing that I’ve learned by watching him is that he initiates his point from that area, not from the ball of the foot or the toes. (I hope that makes sense!) And I take a lot of guilty pride that while his feet look better than mine pointed in the air, mine are a ton better in actual walking! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

I’ve always had decent legs, but all the ball of the foot walking has REALLY made my calves nice and my feet strong.

So — practice all the time, and before you know it, your body will have changed! I have nothing against targeted strength training, but remember your whole body is involved with creating nice lines. I don’t think anything takes the place of actually DOING it (and doing it, and doing it).

Good luck!!
Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

I think a long term advantage of using both feet pointed is that is forces you to focus more on a quality thigh grip. Plus, it does look so much better.

I also turn my legs out, not in. I’ll have to (carefully!) try the inward thing and see how that works for me. I generally keep both feet pointed, but if I am sort of spinning down into CAR, I end up w/ the "ugly foot". So, I think the flexed foot is overall a more secure grip, but you can develop your thigh strength and awareness until the double points are as secure.

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

Yeah! Another Dallas poler! Welcome to Veena — I’m sure you’ll love it here! I’m kind of a multi-polar kind of girl — I’ve taken classes at most of the studios in the Dallas area. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif Are you associated with a studio, or working on your own? Mostly I pole at home.

There is so much talent in the Dallas area, it is amazing!

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

If I’m seriously choreographing (e.g. for a competition) I do it in an bit of an odd way.

I did my competition choreography about the same way. I started out by figuring out what compulsory moves I wanted to do and where they would fit. Then I worked out from there.

It took me forever to get my choreography. I kept trying to get it to jell, but it wouldn’t. I finally figured out to stick my two on-the-pole sections together. I think that was three days before the comp!!

For any choreography, listen to your music!! Infinite repeat is your friend. I’ll even sleep to the song. A fun approach when you aren’t feeling inspired is to just pick say three moves. Turn your song on, and just start dancing. You know what moves you will use — play with it!

The more you let yourself just "go with" it — even if its goofy, the faster your body will learn how to move with the pole.

Just be sure to be https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_safesex.gif and you’ll be fine!

https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

The comp I was in (Miss TX PoleStar) gave no feedback, no posting scores, no placements except the announced ones. I would prefer more openness with this info. I didn’t expect feedback, b/c the west coast swing world I have been used to almost never gives feedback to competitors. They usually do give rankings, though.

I definitely believe the judging criteria should be available to everyone, and maybe even announced. We need judging seminars, to give people qualifications to judge. Then judges have some standardization for what they are doing. Also, competitors could take the seminar to understand what they are being judged on.

I don’t like the award "Miss Sexy", as there isn’t a fair set of criteria for it. Sexy doesn’t have objective measurements, that I can tell! Maybe there could be some way to give this type of award as an audience choice.

I’d like to see more improv in competitions. You could do "draw for music" and you could also do "draw for moves".

More social poling opportunities like pole jams along with competitions. The comps, by their nature, allow only a few people to participate. Workshops are good, but can be too expensive for folks. Also, as a competitor, I would never take a workshop before I competed. I lack the self control to keep from overdoing it!

Venue — I really like it when comps are at "regular" places. That is, not strip clubs. The top caliber dancers are amazing what ever the venue, but, from what I’ve seen, there’s a big difference in the less skilled dancers. All the competitors I saw at my "regular" competition were pole dancers. At the one I went to at a strip club, the less skilled girls weren’t. The pole was more of a prop than anything. I think the "regular" venue is also more conducive to skill, and less conducive to crotch shots.

Some sort of "stop and do-over" system if there is a problem outside the control of the contestant (like playing the wrong music).

The allowed grip aids need to be spelled out and there needs to be a plan on how to deal with them.

The physical dimensions of the performance area need to be communicated to the contestants early.

Clear info about the physical needs important to the competitors. Warm up space, for sure, but also where the bathrooms are and food and water availability.

There should be emergency plans that all competitors are aware of. Mostly, I’m thinking about if someone falls, but it would also include the location of emergency exits and escape routes. Nobody thinks about that kind of stuff until a tragedy has happened.

The last thing is a set of standards in the pole world. We have no agreement on names of moves or on difficulty. I believe it is impossible to have fair competitions or feedback without agreeing upon these basics.

In the end, competitions can be a lot of fun, both for competitors and observers. There will always be favoritism. There will always be people who the crowd loves that the judges don’t. There will always be problems. That’s just human nature.

I’m really happy to see competitions springing up. I think it will bring a lot of unity (and some in-fighting) to our community.

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

More poking and investigation! I found a SUPER sore spot near the insertion of the short head of the biceps femoris. I think illiacus may definitely have a part, too. I believe some of the inner thigh muscles may be part of it, too.

Totally correct about needing to strengthen my lower abs. I’ve only recently actually figured out how to engage them at all. Pole is fantastic for teaching you about how you are weak in places you never knew about! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Would pilates help me address these issues? I tried it just a tiny bit a few years ago, but holding my legs up in the air was all but impossible for me. I am truly shock at what poling has helped me learn to do!

Thanks again everybody!!

I’ll keep you posted and hopefully can make bendy buddies!

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

They have a decent grip, but it depends on the position because sometimes their slide prevention can be a little on the dangerous side.

NO JOKE! I got a pair in my swag bag from my competition, so I was excited to try them out. I went into a butterfly, and it hurt my lower arm and wrist, and felt really unstable. Being me, I escaped the move and tried again. Same result the second time, but worse. I pulled the gloves off and threw them across the room! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

I did it again w/o the gloves, and I realized that I count on the slip of my lower hand to adjust into the right position for my body. The gloves just froze me in place and put a lot of stress on my lower arm. Besides, I really didn’t like not feeling the pole.

So, if you decide to try to gloves, test them with caution!

Mindy
(SPINNING with the gloves??? WOW?!! It didn’t work for me. At. All.)

[Mindy4pole]

Thanks for the suggestions you guys! I wish I could have made the Bendy Buddies, but I was at the State Fair of Texas. (It’s a big deal around here.) Now I’m feeling really sick, so hopefully I’ll make some sense!

My pelvis is/has been pretty anteriorly tilted. I’ve been working real hard to get a more neutral tilt, and that made something release in my left hip about a month ago. I thought I had finally "fixed" it, but it was only a little fix. Now I have a definite indention just in front of the femoral neck (I think) of my left leg. I think it’s created by sartorius on one side and TFL on the other. The indention is there on the right leg, but much less pronounced.

An additional note, I sit cross legged (indian style) all the time. I can also put either foot behind my head. But try to bring my knees to my chest by flexing at the hip. No go.

Anyway… again, thank you soooo much for your help. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif This darn hip of mine has been an ongoing source of irritation for a long time — both the physical issues, and my lack of ability to find the cause of the problem!! Bouncing it around with other folks helps me sort through things.

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

i’m really looking forward to it & very nervous at the same time. like i said i’ve never done anything like this.

LOL! I was half sick at my stomach for three days before my MTPS performance! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_pale.gif But you know, by the time I danced, it was just like "can we go ahead and get this done??"

Here’s my advice — take some food with you for after you compete. We ended up at the club for MANY hours with nothing except water. I was so excited when I won my division, but mostly I was just starving!!

GOOD LUCK!!!! You are already a winner for having the guts to do it!

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

Congrats to everyone!! I can’t wait until they get the routines up.

I’m especially proud of Winter! She’s a great girl and has a son about the same age as my daughter. Way to put Dallas on the map! Way to go, polin’ mama’s!!

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

I’m totally with Veena on this one. A "clean" colon is a bad thing. We need bacteria living in there to help us absorb the nutrients we need. If you’ve ever had stomach aches and diarrhea after taking antibiotics, you know what I mean.

They have probiotic pills you can take that have beneficial bacteria in them. Kind of like yogurt, but concentrated. My daughter loves the "Yum Yum Dophilus" pills. She had a bladder infection (and antibiotics) and then got Salmonella right after, so her guts have been pretty messed up. I noticed a marked improvement with her poop after she started taking the probiotics.

Also, a word of caution on any psyllium powder. Be careful not to inhale it. From http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5797818/Psyllium-Keeping-this-boon-for.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; :

One 1987 investigation of health care workers in an extended care facility concluded that the response to inhaled psyllium in these employees could range from mild to disabling. (5) In a similar study, a nurse who had experienced only mild symptoms previously required intubation for severe bronchospasm after only 1 minute of exposure to psyllium dust. (3) As happened with the patient in our case, she was symptomatic (moderate to severe asthma) and exposed, which led to fatal anaphylaxis.

Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

Here’s a great shoe site I just stumbled on:

http://www.sensualfitters.com/index.php?cPath=21_186&all=1

I love the ones with the fishies in the platform!

[Mindy4pole]

Losing weight should improve your power-to-weight ratio, so theoretically it should help. Of course, you will probably also be getting stronger while you lose weight, so it is kind of hard to pinpoint it to just weight loss.

One thing I have definitely seen is that I have had to go back and relearn some tricks (especially thigh holds) as my shape has changed.

I don’t think you can say someone is better b/c of their size, but I do believe it is easier for smaller women to get good. It simply doesn’t take as much strength for them. Also, short women have it easier, especially in some moves like flag where you are holding your body out from the pole.

There are amazing pole dancers in all shapes and sizes! Most of all, be yourself. Learn your style and what tricks suit your body. You have a unique body, and you move in a unique way. That holds true over a pretty big weight variation.

Good luck!
Mindy

[Mindy4pole]

The worst for me seems to be when im working on elbow or
hand stands and chanding my hip positions.
Gotta keep that music up real loud when I bring my hips back to neutral!
Yikes https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif

LOL!! AMEN!! I was showing off my elbow stands tonight to my hubby and FRAAAAP! Out one came! I, too, had to ‘splain it was from the front not the back!!

I had a teacher once who swore by them to strengthen your pelvic floor. Suck air in, push air out! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

Mindy