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This is a completely different idea, but sometimes I have students with the same problem and I have them practice falling. I know this might sound crazy, but for your whole life, falling has been someingthing completely out of your control that is going to hurt. Sometimes a big part of it is retraining your brain to realize that falling can be something you're completely in control of that is fun!  And sometimes it's easier to work on the falling part first before you try to add remembering how to do a spin at the same time.

If you have a little time where you can get at your home pole, surround it with really cushy pillows (sofa cushions work well). Then just practice grabbing ahold of the pole at about eye level and hanging on while you slide down onto your knees.  Play around with that.  Just get used to the pole.  See what happens when your squeeze harder or less hard with your hands.   Basically you're teaching your body that even when you're falling it's ok.

Hopefully this helps a little.

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It looks really cool – but I'm in the same boat as Stevesgirl.  I don't know some of the terminolgy and therefore couldn't do some of the exercises either.  Would it be possible to have a space on the site where you have links to videos or even just a written description of each exercise?

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Thanks all!!!! I will definitely include an instructor bio.  And I like the idea of making it not too serious because I'm definitely a little goofy!https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

Since the studio is pretty new (and I just kind of fell into teaching at it – but that's a long story) we don't have much in the news about our studio specifically – but I can maybe find some more general news articles about pole to link to.  And we are going to be at our area's Women's Expo this fall – I didn't even think of adding that – but now I will!

As far as the photo gallery – do you mean just a photo or two or a video of moves you'll learn in each class? Because I don't think I could begin to do anything as extensive as the awesome photo gallery that Veena has put together here.  I'm really kind of struggling with what pictures to have.   I have a general shot of the studio with the poles and I have pics of me on the pole – but that's about it. And I feel like that's kinda boring.  I could maybe get a few students to let me put their pics up on the web but so many of them are local professionals in various fields and, because this is a fairly conservative area most of them are afraid of being super open about the fact that they take pole classes.  So I'm just not sure what to do about pics.

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This is an awesome thread. It's very cool to see everyone sharing not only their stories of mental illness – but also their solutions. And even cooler that those solutions aren't always medication.  I feel like in our society too often the emphasis is on letting someone else (usually doctors and their medication) fix us, and then blaming them if we don't get better, rather than taking control of our own lives. 

Although almost no one can tell now, I have very severe rapid cycling bipolar disorder.  Like poletrickster said, it means that your moods not only fluctuate wildly from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other, they also do it very rapidly.  So rapidly, in fact, that I would loose track of where I was and who the people around me were.  I went to doctor after doctor and they prescribed every medication under the sun. I took them – and when I didn't get better it was the doctor's fault because he prescribed the wrong medication or "just didn't get it."    I lost friends because of the horrible things I would do when I was flipping out and  then tell them "you can't blame me for that – it was the disease." This went on for years.

Then I ended up working in a remote part of Idaho, backpacking into the mountains to count fish.  Not a situation that makes taking medication (or remembering to take medication) easy.  And I ended up with a boyfriend I reeeeeeealllly liked (now my husband) who wasn't having any of the "you can't blame me for that – it was the disease" crap.   And this was somewhere that it wasn't easy to obtain heavily processed food.   So, all of a sudden there I was, excersizing a lot, eating really well and not being able to make excuses for myself.  It was ROUGH at first – but slowly I got better.  Really better, not the temporary better and then crash of medication.

I know this is supposed to be about pole and mental illness – but honestly, although I pole danced throughout all of it, pole wasn't what made me better. Pole is, however a major part of manintaining my sanity.  As other people have said, working out seems to make things better.  Sometimes I feel as though I get through by exhausting the mania. If I'm having a bad day I just dance longer and harder and, when I get to the point that  I can't dance anymore I always feel better.

Teaching pole has also helped bunches.  Now I'm responsible to my students as well.  I can't allow myself to have mood swings while teaching and seeing someone "get" something for the first time is always going to put me in an awesome mood! 

 

 

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I learned the split grip ayesha a year ago and am just now trying to get the forearm grip and elbow grip.  If you have a strong extended butterfly you might find the split grip ayesha to be quite manageable. 

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I think there's nothing wrong with learning from videos – as long as you're willing to hold yourself back from doing moves you're not strong enough to do yet.   As an instructor I sort of cringe when new students come into my classes and tell me they're experienced because they watch videos on you tube. Occasionally they're awesome – but usally it means that they can manage to momentum into a trick without propper form or strength.

The one exception to that is Veena's lessons!! I reccomend them to all of my students.  Even if they don't have a pole at home the stretching, conditioning and foam roller exercises are awesome! 

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I don't know how this would work because I've not tried it – but it's an idea to work with at least.  Could you get a package of the laminate flooring that clicks together (the kind they sell at Home Depot or Menards or Lowes) and basically build a little wood "floor" that floats over your rug?  Most of that stuff has a foam backer that would keep it from slipping on the rug (I think).   Again, I don't know exactly how it would work – but it's maybe a thought…

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For me one of the keys to being able to just relax and let things flow without thinking about them is the the music.  I try to freestyle to songs I know really, really well.  Like "sings all the words loudly along with the song" well (maybe this is why my husband doesn't want to be in the house when I'm practicing? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)   I find that when I know the music so well that I allready know where the heavy beats, or pauses, or tempo changes are going to happen without thinking about them I don't have those "wait – what move goes here" moments as much.

This is probably a result of pole dancing in clubs for years before I started in a studio. In a club you can't plan anything because you have to be reacting to your surroundings all the time – so you're pretty much always freestyling.  And sometimes you get to pick what you want to dance to – or sometimes the DJ does it for you and you don't know what you're going to hear till the song starts.  I found I was waaaaaay better and things appeared more "choreographed"  when I picked the music .

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Thanks for the link! She is amazing!!

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That's amazing! Are there any longer videos of her? I would love to see more!

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I definitely like to pole to rock!  I dance to a lot of the bands that you allready mentioned (love, love, love dancing to old metallica).  Korn, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Apocolyptica, Five Finger Death Punch and Ozzy are some others that frequently find their way onto my playlist. 

But I don't dance exclusively to hard rock.  What I dance to on the pole is as varied as what I listen to. I'm fairly certain that you can pole dance to anything.  This morning  my pole session included everything from Roger Waters (like The Wall – love Radio KAOS) to Brad Paisley (country)  Last night it was mostly jazz and yesterday morning it was our local radio station's morning bluegrass hour.  For me I find that if I dance to just one thing I start to get into a rut and I'll find myself doing the same moves in the same sequence – even when I'm not intending to.  Changing up the music (and therefore the rythm) seems to make my brain stay more focused on what I'm doing.

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Here's something I have my students do (even the ones who don't have a pole at home can do this – just use a sturdy post/ table leg/ anything you can hang onto like the pole).  Lay on your back next to the pole so that your shoulders are just beyond the pole and your legs are stretched out flat. Hold onto the pole the same way you would if you were trying to invert standing up.  Now, keeping your shoulders on the floor, lift your legs over your head into the v position.  This is very similar to doing a plow pose in yoga, except that you are hanging onto the pole instead of having your hands down by your sides.

If you find doing that to be simple, then do the same thing – but place a thick sturdy pillow (sofa cushions work great) under your shoulders and upper back.  This forces you to lift your legs and hips farther up and over and works even more of the muscles you'll use in the inverted v.  Learning this way also prevents you from being able to kick into it – so it forces you to build the muscle strength.   Hope that helps!

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Way to many things to list – but here's a few…..

A perfect glass day on the lake when I'm wakeboarding/waterskiing

Sitting around a campfire with great friends

Nailing a new trick on the pole or, even better, seeing one of my students have a breakthrough on the pole (I've been known to get so excited I jump up and down and clap like a seal when they get something)

Having a piece of artwork come out just like I saw it in my head or, even better, having a custom piece come out just the way the customer wanted.  I love that I can create something that can bring joy to someone else!

Coming over the lip of a ridge and suddenly realizing I'm at the peak of the mountain and the whole wilderness is spread out before me in panorama.

Having my 3 yr old neice say that her favorite part of her birthday was that my husband and I showed up for it.

Deer Camp – not so much the hunting (although I love that too) but the camraderie, the stories, the jokes, seeing friends and family that I only see once a year, really great food… 

Completeing a renovation on my house by myself and having my husband go "Wow – you were right – it looks way better like that!"

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If I went with the pet+street thing mine would be Smokey RIver – I kinda like it. There's nothing better than sitting around a campfire at the edge of a river in the middle of nowhere after a long day.

When I was stripping I went by Rayne or Rayne Makur – because I love playing outside during a thunderstorm (and when you're on stage it's always nice to have someone "make it rain").  I'm sure there are lots of people out there who only know me as Rayne – and I'll still answer to that as quickly as I do my real name.

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Great thread!

I'm a stone tile artist during the day and a pole dance instructor in the evenings, and I love both my jobs! They let me indulge my passions of art, power tools and pole. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif