[Tamarinda]

Whoa! She rocked that! Thank you for linking those challenges Sparrow, definitely going to try those!!!

[Tamarinda]

P.S And alethea Austin videos!!!!!!!!

[Tamarinda]

Finding sexy was hard for me. An ex from a long time ago used to comment that I’m a 3 legged gazelle. Very beautiful and majestic, but clumsy and not very graceful. Lol I didn’t take offense to it cuz it was true and we would crack jokes like that all the time to each other.

I never necessarily hated my body too too bad but I suppose I did have insecurities. When I began dancing a bigger displeasure rose in myself because I was dissatisfied with my lack of being able to dance, move fluidly, and be strong.

Recording myself did make me feel kinda bad about myself to be honest.

I’m still not the best dancer or the sexiest but I have noticed a lot of improvement in my movement. There’s still a lot I’m unhappy with and a lot I need to work on, but of course all women have those thoughts in their head.

I think my biggest improvement came when I started to love my body more. I think loving our body, thinking its beautiful, focusing on the positives rather than the negatives, and finding our sensuality is the best way to come across as sexy.

Of course that’s easier said than done. Most women pick themselves apart to no end. I think the point when we can let go of negative views of ourself and ‘find the mood’ is when we can create something decent, and then from there it just takes practise and viewing back videos to see what works and what doesn’t.

[Tamarinda]

I’m still struggling with this and I don’t have enough strength or control on spin yet. I’m no expert but here is what I have gathered so far in my ‘research’… Hopefully it can be of use. In both Veena’s tuck spin and hold spin lessons (in the intermediate section) she says both spins can transition into an ariel invert on spin. It’s similar to the grip Lucca uses in her gorgeous invert. I have been working on holding those and gaining strength to feel confident in those spins. It’s tougher than it looks.

Also MissDirdyBirdy has an ariel invert video (video #29) that has a lot of tips for spinny inverts and shows a lot of those techniques in motion and slowly. She also offers strengthening tips at the end for that particular move.

All this ‘research’… Sigh… I wish I could afford a class. lol. Good luck, I hope that helps with your current nemesis.

[Tamarinda]

I decided to jump on the Instagram bandwagon. It will be good for me because I don’t feel comfortable putting this stuff on my facebook so now I made a place. 😀 Anywho, my thing is tamarinda_pole. I don’t have anything up but a face pic and profile pic and finals are coming up so it might be a bit till I get around to anything. I’m going to start following some of you guys though.

[Tamarinda]

I enjoyed this thread so much. Glad to hear of everyone’s luck with their pole hobby in their professions. It brings me much comfort you have no idea, it’s always something I worried about. A yoga instructor or hobbyist can be out with their passion and receive no flak. I understand if I ever do decide to ‘come out’ the way I present it will be a huge deciding factor on how it is taken. Even if I sterilize it as much as possible I will still expect some negative when that day comes but oh well…

Lol Pheonix Hunter I live in Alabama right now. The Conservative South/Bible Belt… I’m becoming a repressed little ball of rage out here. lol

[Tamarinda]

Grayeyes that’s very comforting to hear that you have no issues at work. My plans are to become an RN and one day an anesthetic nurse. (Long time away) I figured the medical field was catty and it wouldn’t be taken well and used as an excuse and fuel to fire… I also worry about how future schools would see it. I worry too much but I guess because of past experiences. I’m glad you have had positive experiences and I’m glad you got past the shame and feel good about pole. I especially loved your last line 🙂

Romo I loved the cat comment. I’m also glad to hear you have no issues at work. I understand the feeling of not wanting to post videos, I didn’t want to for a long time and I didn’t like how my videos looked. Over time I have gained more confidence. I’m glad you videod yourself and felt pleasantly surprised. I think many of us are crushed when seeing our first videos. Lol. Hopefully pole brings you to a place where you are more happy. I’ll be looking out for you and good luck on your pole journey 🙂

[Tamarinda]

Thank you for your words. 🙂 I’ve gotten a lot of dead weight away from me. I can’t ALWAYS control who I am around but I can control how close I let others be to me.

I read a meme somewhere that said something like, “girls compete with each other, women empower each other.” The pole community here is amazing and is nothing like the ‘real world’. People here try to empower each other and build each other up rather than break each other down. Thank you Veena for creating such a safe space where nobody here ever has to worry about getting attacked or criticized just for enjoying a passion. That is such a hard thing to do in this day and time…

[Tamarinda]

I’m in college right now and I fear the way future employers or schools might see me if I attach my name to pole.

If certain people close to me found out I could see them saying things like, ‘you work too hard in school to ruin it by doing something classless’ or ‘if you ever get into management no one will take you seriously.’

Surprisingly, from older people I get things like, ‘wow, that takes a lot of hard work and dedication.’

From people my age I get things like, ‘you must be an attention whore’ (farthest from the truth, I’m a wallflower and give people no indication that I pole dance in Facebook or out in public), ‘wow, your boyfriend must love you for you to do all that for him’ (not for any man), my favorite response was, ‘you’re still fat so you need to go to a gym too because that’s not working you enough.’

The general population does not take pole dancing seriously which is unfortunate.

While everyone shames me I’ve lost 17 lbs in a year and a half and boy do I eat, I eat more than before pole. My pants are falling off. I don’t hate myself anymore. When I wear spaghetti straps or tube tops I don’t focus on the fat in my arms or shoulders. I’m actually proud to look at my arms, back, and shoulders. My pancake butt that people used to make fun of gets complimented a lot now. I used to have shoulder pain from an injury that went away and now I have no pain and my full range of motion is back. I used to have hip pain and had to see a chiropractor (tilted pelvis he said from muscle imbalances pulling my hips in bad directions) for that and sometimes I would just lay in bed from pain cuz walking and standing hurt. I haven’t had pain in a year from strengthening and stretching.

While people shame me I’ll just sit here with my newfound love and apprecriation for myself and my body.

[Tamarinda]

Phoenix Hunter, the amount I stretch you would never know because flexibility comes horribly slow to me. I try to put work into my weakness which is flexibility. I truly have to force myself to stretch and keep at it. I took part in a 60 day splitter challenge so hopefully that helps… But… I’m not getting my hopes up because even consistency doesn’t get me too far with stretching it seems. Runemist working out does feel great afterward and I guess it doesn’t matter what our training session looks like as long as we do it and feel awesome afterward!!!

[Tamarinda]

Pole is very dreadful and much harder than it looks. One thing that keeps me going and happy is that I feel awesome after I’ve sweated out all of my guts. My bad moods always turn into good moods after a good pole session where I get my blood pumping and endorphins going. I figure one day it will all be worth it and the muscle memory and stamina will be up 😀

[Tamarinda]

Sometimes I warm up with pop Pilates if my goal is strength building. Then I do some pole with whatever energy I have left. I always end with at least an hour of stretch no matter what I do. Sometimes I warm up with a feestyle. Then work on pole moves before my energy depletes. While working on pole moves it generally looks like me trying a move, failing then laying on the floor for a bit, throwing my fists up at the pole asking, ‘WHHHHHY’ in a very dramatic manner. Then trying again and generally failing again. My pole practice is quite boring with a lot of lulls. When practicing pole moves I end with strength building exercises on the pole (found on youtube) with what little energy I have left. Pole is very boring especially in the beginning where we focuses on strength, flexibility, and stamina training before we get up and just execute moves after move. The videos we see that are very put together do not show the thousand hours of training. And the sexy floor work we see do not show the goofiness and awkwardness that first begun. Training is a very defeating process that takes a lot of motivation.

[Tamarinda]

I notice when I learn a new move or when life allows me to pole more than usual in a week, that my shoulders and upper back get tight and tense. Sometimes I type in shoulders stretches on Youtube. This video http://youtu.be/x6MwJhCA_x4?t=9m29s at 9:30 offers a great stretch for between your shoulder-blades. When mine get tight it feels like heaven to do this stretch. Especially when lifting your arms up and then down as she suggests to do (such sweet relief). In yoga It’s called Garudasana or Eagle pose if anyone wants to find any more info on it.

Also, some people might suggest a tennis ball and a wall.

[Tamarinda]

That’s definitely not an x-pole due to the tear dropped shape of the top dome. There was a thread on here recently talking about those poles. https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/53269a62-67f4-4587-b290-4eaf0a9aa0eb

Hopefully you come across a knowledgable employee who can help you find the right set of tools.

If not, another option would be to try and contact customer service off of ebay and asking them what size and type of tools they have that way you can try and replicate it by buying it at a hardware store, or maybe you can buy it from them. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Spinning-Exercise-Dance-Strip-Pole-Kit-Set-For-X-pole-Silver-45mm-ES88-/151263216719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2337fd844f

There is more than one seller who sells the tear dropped dome shaped pole so if one doesn’t answer then try another one.

The only time my x-pole ever moved like that was when I did not have it correctly in line with the stud, so I would recommend that you buy a stud finder if you haven’t already. I would also recommend a magnetic one cuz the electronic ones are unreliable and may cause anger. There is a decent 8 dollar magnetic one on Amazon. You can get a $5 one at ACE hardware as well. The $5 one is a bit small and weak but it works decent if you have an idea of where the stud is.

Good luck, I know it’s frustrating to have a pole and not be able to use it.

[Tamarinda]

I highly suggest Veena’s lessons. Not only does she have pole moves, but she also has strengthening which is always good for a newbie :). Another great thing about her lessons is that she has them in a progressive order so it gives you an idea on what to work on next and things that are within your range. If you do not have a subscription, you can still click on the lessons tab and see the order she has them in to give yourself an idea of things in your level. You won’t be able to watch it, but you can see the name of the move and maybe search the move on youtube or google to see what it is. She’s very knowledgeable and her lessons got me from nothing to an ariel invert over time.

I don’t think poling at home is unsafe as long as someone isn’t careless and also one who doesn’t do moves that are way beyond their level.

If you have Veena’s lessons it’s even safer because she teaches about proper muscle engagement, proper form, scapular placement, etc. etc.

[Tamarinda]

When I hear that song all I can think about is the performance Jenyne Butterfly did in Mexico City for Gravity First. I don’t think it’s the same song but kind of similar and very impressive 🙂 http://youtu.be/j-GvpX9EEnA

[Tamarinda]

Dirdy Birdy has a good tutorial on 4 ways to get up from the floor and 3 are spins. I’m trying it and it started out pretty sloppy but is slowly getting better. It’s so pretty I can’t wait until mine smooths out. Good luck 🙂 http://youtu.be/YLmZsfJIILg I hope this helps 🙂

[Tamarinda]

Where is Veena’s ab challenge? I don’t see it under her conditioning lessons. Please link 🙂

[Tamarinda]

I’m really into POP pilates right now. It’s gotten me stronger for pole. Here is a link to one of my favorite ab routines that she has. http://youtu.be/3ogDIqyGmCM If that doesn’t work just type POP pilates into youtube and you can check her stuff out. She has tons of routines.

[Tamarinda]

I would like to beta test.

[Tamarinda]

I can't afford lazer and waxing causes a bad reaction to my skin.There is also a sugaring method that I will eventually try. Due to the suggestions on another post, I recently bought an eppilator. I Love it. Don't get me wrong it hurts like a mother. But they say you get used to it. I take some aspirin an hour or so before I do it. I also zone out on the TV while I am doing it and I can kind of distance myself from the pain this way. If you are staring at your leg and the hair and the eppilator about to go down it, it will hurt more. I bought the Braun silk epi-7 it's not loud as I read some people say theirs were so I can hear the TV. If anyone decides to buy one, I would suggest shaving or waxing before hand. Get the hairs immediately as they start growing out. Don't wait for there to be a lot of them. I don't see a virgin eppilator user able to take pain like that and I think that's why most people give up on it.

Also, I feel like if someone can put up with the pain of pole burn, they can take an eppilator.

As for the lady bits I bare mine out, I just personally like the look and feel of it. I shave, I've never had any issues.

As for my forearms, I have hair there too, It's black but I am not fair skinned. It's thin and short. I don't do anything to it. I've never had anybody complain or say anything. On top of all the other hair patrol I have to do, I say F my arms. I don't care. If a guy ever kicks me out of bed because there's a little bit of hair on my arms, he's an idiot. I would probably get him with my eppilator to show him what's up.

That whole ingrown hairs due to the eppilator thing scares me but I make sure to exfoliate before I use it to prevent this problem. I am also going to try that stuff Hazelnut mentioned just to be on the safe side.

[Tamarinda]

Wow storypole, I can't believe you went through that for 8 months. I only went a month and a half and it was a major blow to my self-esteem. I can only imagine how you felt. After a while, mentally I felt better. But physically after week two hit it was bad. I kept waiting for it to plateau and taper down. It just kept getting worse.

As someone stated earlier you learn something with each quitting attempt. My next try I'm going to buy natural supplements for my skin, and digestive health. I'm going to find out the right things to eat, the right way to care for greasy skin. I read somewhere when you quit that your testosterone levels spike and causes acne(??). I have good skin normally and I don't know how to properly care for greasy skin and I guess I am going to have to treat my skin as such for a while… I am also going to try this acupuncture thing people speak of… I hope it reduces some of these side effects…

People say as long as you get over the three day hump you are fine (LIES!!)… I guess everyone is different…

[Tamarinda]

I've been smoking a pack a day since I was 16. When I first got my pole I read somewhere that smoking really hurts your flexibility and strength. So I quit for a month a half. That's the best I ever did in my life and I have made many attempts. About three weeks ago I started again because people happened. I noticed my flexibility progress wasn't steadily increasing anymore and actually seems to be regressing. And of course my breathing isn't as easy. I really want to quit. I am definitely going to try acupuncture once my funds get stable again.

I have one question when you guys quit did you have any strange side effects… I was fine the first week (other than wanting to kill everyone, and very tired) but once week two hit my face broke out like it never had in my life. My face was a greasy oily mess. I was also bloated like crazy I looked pregnant. I know this is TMI but I really need other people's opinion if they went though things too. I was constipated it seemed to screw up my whole digestive system. I ate fiber and took natural supplements even  took laxatives when that didn't work and even that did nothing I thought I was going to have to go the doctor (No health insurance right now so that's a problem.) I was getting ill because of this. When I started smoking again all the acne, bloating, and constipation went awayhttps://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif. What the heck. (I can't believe I am posting this on a public forum Smh)

Please someone tell me I am not a freak of nature and they dealt with strange side effects too. I am going to make another quitting attempt soon cuz I just feel better without it.

Does acupuncture lesson these side affects?

Also how do you deal with living with smokers when you are trying to quit?

[Tamarinda]

She mentions in her video descriptions that it's the first time in two years that's she's been back on the pole and about how it's a struggle. She also mentions that the pole burns and bruises are back. She still looks effortless to me.

[Tamarinda]

I love TaraKarina! Her videos were the first I ever saw when I was 17. I fell in love because she is so graceful. I signed up here because of her and I told my dad I was going to buy a pole but he said no. I moved out shortly after but funds were too tight to buy one. Four years later I finally had enough extra income to buy one! She also used to state on her website that she had issues with anxiety type things and that inspired me even more as I had similar issues at that time.

On her new videos she says how getting back into pole is difficult but she still looks so graceful!!! It's hard to believe she stopped!!!