Miraine
Forum Replies Created
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Argh, I can't make it either, I was hoping to go visit relatives Monday to Friday, but have to be home mid week now so the politically correct thing to do is leave for that first thing tomorrow instead. 🙁
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Circus House doesn't have poles up yet, Rock'n'pole were using their old venue, and they do hope to sort that out again, but they need to rig up a joist to put the poles under first. Stage poles would be handy… 🙂
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Perhaps we could have a pole/aerial jam some time at Circus House (where I do silks, they're just reopening after 6 months hiatus), looking further ahead. There was a lady that had poles set up in the previous training space, but they've moved venue now, so I'm not sure what the situation will be with that.
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Belated "I'm possibly free!" for the 30th for me, depends on weather as I need to get to Wales around then and want to dodge the rain…
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Thanks Webmaster 🙂
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As far as I can tell, I should be free on any of those dates 🙂
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Oh that's great, much easier. Thanks 🙂 See you Saturday!
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I hadn't even thought about public transport…! Just assumed I would need to drive/bike. Did you figure out the route Hazelnut? I'm assuming you'll be coming in to Piccadilly rail station then getting a bus?
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Flights are a possibility, or maybe even delegating to someone else to go on the trip (fingers crossed! lol)
I'll not know for sure for a while though, but hoping I can make it after all.
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I've had the same, caused by an overenthusiastic "helper" in an assisted stretch. My physio says it is a tear, but actually recommended heat pads and then stretching it gently *only when really warm*. As a result of that, I've actually not lost flexibility at all, although it is still (quite a few months on) very stiff and sore when cold.
If I stretch lightly regularly, it doesn't trouble me at all. If I go a week without stretching, it seizes up and gets really painful, and I have to get the heat pads out again and stretch as best I can without bringing it quite to the point of pain.
I know it is of utmost importance to not worsen the injury, hence no stretching is better than stretching too much and injuring yourself further. But as an injury heals, it will form scar tissue that impedes the motion of the muscles, and *light* stretching during this time will help keep that from forming and help the muscle repair faster (increased blood flow). A physio is the best person to talk to about this though.
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Argh, I might not be able to make it now. I need to be in Belfast the next evening, and it doesn't look like the ferry schedule is going to work out at all. Bother 🙁
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Aw, that must be frustrating. Maybe talk to the chiro about your flexibility training, since if your vertebrae are basically misaligned, perhaps turning your head a bit is effectively straightening them out, in which case, that would be *less* harmful than straight. I would definitely want the opinion of the person who has the X rays for that though 🙂
I should set up an alarm on my computer so I can't "forget", and I know what you mean about that… Hehe.
Good luck! I look forward to seeing the video 😀
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I disagree that you can't learn contortion on your own, but that is dependant upon you having the commitment to learning enough anatomy to really understand what you are doing. If you are following expert guidance, great, you can trust in their knowledge, but if you want to do it alone, you need to understand how the body works.
I do however agree that strength training is phenomenally important. You see a video of a contortionist, you'll see they don't just flop into positions. It is a complete falacy that contortionists are stretched to the point of weakness. Yes, there are flexible and weak people, but sliding into splits with gravity helping and doing them in the air are two completely different matters.
Another point in favour of classes though, is how it can help you stay motivated. Even if you have to travel a bit, so can only take one monthly, or quarterly. That will give you the kick up the behind to do your "homework", so to speak, since you don't want to go back and not have improved 😉
Training *properly* will help you build strength 🙂
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Hmm, pain when stretching obviously not a good thing… Does it hurt to stretch your neck just tipping it back, or only in the kitty cat stretch?
My neck is also a really limiting thing for me, stops me doing chest stands. The only thing that will really help is just gently improving that over time. Something as simple as 20 repetitions of tip the head back, then forwards, done three times a day (or more!) should help. I keep meaning to do that, but really, just forget all the time…
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Chest stand with the head to the side isn't the greatest of ideas, I mean, you might get away with it however many times, and then on another time, trap a nerve, due to the combination of twist and then bend back. Would probably be better to leave chest stands until you can do it with the head straight.
Have you heard of "kitty cat" stretch? I find it pretty good for targetting mid and upper back.
You can also do that stretch with the chin on the wall, it is infinitely variable based on how far up your hands are and how far out your hips are from the wall.
This video also has some good advanced stretches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zniSO9dao0
Hope something in this helps 🙂
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Is it definitely the 20th April now? I think I might actually be free for that!
Not that I can actually pole any more, far too long without practising now, but it would still be cool to come along, lol.
Would the aerial room be available too Raven?
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Protecting joints is of utmost importance, of course. 🙂
I would always advise people to make sure they have blocks or chairs to hold onto even when not using elevated stretches, just to make sure you are never just dropping full bodyweight onto the joints in a vulnerable position.
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Hello, bit late joining this, but I'm another that can't cope with spinny only. I'm also a bit disorganised and April is a busy month, but I'll figure out if I can make it closer to the time. Now I'll be getting the notifications from this thread at least 🙂
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Veena, you raise a very good point about hypermobility, but how is the knee really any less supported using a block under the foot than it is for a person who is still a few inches from flat splits?
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Using a block under one of your feet doesn't increase the "risk factor" of stretching, you are no more likely to strain anything than you were when you were a couple of inches from splits the first time round, you can still control your descent and look after your body.
The reason for starting to use blocks is simply because it changes the angles of the downward force slightly, enabling you to get a bit better stretch on either front or back leg depending which way round you are doing it. The point is not to have a harsher stretch, but simply to feel gravity acting a little differently. It can really help with that last bit of squaring up, even if you don't actually end up going down into an oversplit.
Just alternate between having the block under your front and your back foot, and see how it feels. Keep something next to you to hold on to maybe for both confidence and control (a chair, yoga blocks, whatever). 🙂
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If you use an oil as a deep conditioning treatment pre-shower, do it on dry hair, spread it through as evenly as you can, and wrap it against your head to try to get some warmth to help it absorb. Then wash off the excess, basically.
If you are brushing it in post-shower, put a tiny bit in the palm of your hand, spread it between your hands, then try to spread just a little on all your hair from the nape of the neck downwards (e.g. not on your scalp). Brush a lot with a bristly brush to spread it evenly, so you don't have any greasy clumps.
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Jojoba oil is *apparently* the oil most similar to natural sebum. When I had hair down to my thighs I used to oil the ends of it with that and brush through to try to keep it from getting dry and brittle, it was pretty good, but slightly awkward to get the right balance between enough to be useful, and too much making the hair look greasy.
Bit easier to coat the hair in it and leave for a couple of hours, then wash it without using so much shampoo you completely undo the effects.
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Argh, the dreaded undersplits 🙂
Looking forward to seeing your pics, thanks! 😀
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Oh, just to mention, it doesn't have to be infront of a tree, just any festive scene whatsoever.
Anyone have any snow? 🙂
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Yes yes yes, exactly as you describe 🙂
Definitely to do with silks. In silks your hand grip is an awful lot more sustained and relied upon, plus the fabric is thinner than a pole and squishes, so it's a lot harder on the fingers.
As you get stronger but also more relaxed on the silks, it should lessen. There is a bit of a tendency when you're new to have a deathgrip which is far tighter than you really need.
