[mikkixx]

"The discoloration of the iris actually is a side effect of using it as a glaucoma medication, where you are dispensing drops directly into your eye, and it can change your eye color to brown permanently.  Latisse was born out of the side effect finding and it is applied very lightly to the lash line so the chances of iris discoloration is slim."

 

Ideally, things applied to your lashline would stay there, but given that
– bimatoprost is water soluble
– a common side effect is eye irritation
– application is recommended just before bedtime
– most people are going to accidentally put too much on at one point or another
the chance of some of it finding its way into your eye is pretty high.

The incidence of it happening in clinical trials for glaucoma tend to be in the 0-1.5% region (keep in mind that this is for everyone in the trial, not just the light-eyed participants).

It seems to be a permanent side effect, and may only be noticeable for several months/years according to the Lumigan leaflet, so it's not like you can stop treatment if you see any changes happening and expect it to stay that way. Latisse was approved by the FDA in 2008.

AFAIK no large-scale, long term data on side effects have been reported for use of bimatoprost for eyelash growth.

Only approximately 5% of the amount used in an eyedrop is applied to the lashline.

 

Given all that, if I were a light-eyed girl and particularly attached to the colour of my eyes, I'd go for eyelash extensions until some more studies have been done, but everyone should weigh up the risks/benefits for themselves.

[mikkixx]

I don't know… I wouldn't call gymnastics an extreme sport! 😛 It's extremely taxing on the body, but most extreme sports don't actually need that much all-round fitness, they just give you a massive adrenaline rush from height/speed/risk of death e.g. hang-gliding, bungee jumping…

But then again, my boyfriend is an aspiring basejumper/proximity flyer, so anything I do is pretty lame by comparison! 🙁

[mikkixx]

I use Careprost, which is generic Latisse. It's worked really well for me!

I hate to linkspam, but I wrote a post on how Latisse/bimatoprost works, and it has a little bit on side effects/incidence of iris darkening, so I thought I'd link it since it's very relevant: http://www.labmuffin.com/2012/04/how-does-latisse-bimatoprost-make.html

[mikkixx]

Argh, I had/have this problem really bad in my right hip – it's worse in winter (cold = cramped muslces) and when I sit down and cross-legged for a long time, but it's gotten so much better. I used to have to get a massage every few weeks to get it to not drive me crazy, but this works for me now:

– stretching the hip flexor (deep lunges, foam rolling)

– releasing the hip flexor every second night or so (lying on my stomach with a tennis ball about two inches inside of the hip bone)

– strengthening my glutes (backward leg lifts and holding penchées for ages, side-lying"clam" exercises)

It's a lot of hard work, but I prefer to fix it biomechanically than continue treating the symptoms only… but when the symptoms come, wheat bags are really nice.

[mikkixx]

I'm from Bobbi's (Sydney) too, and I love it! Basically everyone's said it already – lots of focus on technique and floorwork (my technique is terrible though, damn you lack of dance background! 🙁 ). In my first class, we were taught how to do a head roll, how to roll over on the ground, and how to get back onto your feet from the ground. You get reminded constantly to point your toes. It really makes all the difference!

On the flip side, Bobbi's really concentrates on the "pretty" moves – butterfly, spins, stags – and in that sense it's a bit limiting. There's also a general philosophy of barefoot or flexed feet being anathema – they won't teach Russian splits, or the no-handed star, since you can't do them with shoes unless you're Chelle Hafner. If you can't get into and out of a move gracefully in shoes without flexing your feet, it won't be taught. I've only met a handful of girls who take classes there without shoes. Otoh, dancing in shoes all the time is probably the best way to get you used to them.

Also, since there's so much more emphasis on dance, there's less time to actually learn moves, so students at other studios probably learn harder tricks and get stronger faster than at Bobbi's – for example, the very earliest you'd learn an inversion would be after 2 months, and an Aysha would be after 8 months of pole. There are pros to this in terms of safety and strength-building, but if you're a trickster type, you'd get bored.

There actually isn't much emphasis on individuality until you get to higher levels, although all teachers are different. Basically, there's a "right" and a "wrong" way of doing things at Bobbi's, luckily Bobbi's "right" way is really aesthetically pleasing! Unfortunately, it does feel restrictive at times – for example, the number of Bobbi's students I've heard complaining about Carlie Hunter not pointing her toes in her "dancing grandma" performance. I mean, it was clearly an artistic choice, since in every other competition she's proven herself more than capable of pointing her toes. But to each their own.

I don't mean to sound negative, and I'm not, since as I said before, I freaking love it at Bobbi's, and I really couldn't add much more to the good things that have already been said. But I felt the need to balance out this discussion 🙂

[mikkixx]

Haha – I happen to be a nail blogger, and I love stamping! 🙂 The results definitely vary depending on the plates you use. I only own one set of plates, the Bundle Monster 25 plate set (http://www.bundlemonster.com/nail-art-stamping-image-plates-set-25pc.html) which is $22 + shipping. It's a lot better value than Konad plates, which often cost $10 per plate… but 25 plates might be a lot to get if you're not sure yet. I've also heard that Red Angel and SHANY plates are good, and Amazon/eBay are good places to get cheap plates. The rubber stamp is usually overpriced in shops but < $3 on eBay, and old credit cards are best for scraping.

There's a massive list of polishes that work with stamping plates here: http://sassestampingstampede.wordpress.com/polish/

And some of my stamped manis:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E0sq2GhAtqw/T3v2cF0CFaI/AAAAAAAAAsY/19xyfOiLIbE/s400/DSCF6138a.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8hGUJR-62I/TxzDYXaQEJI/AAAAAAAAAbw/3lgTNkkMD6M/s400/DSCF5451a.jpg&nbsp; http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuEXShkj24w/TyYpQ2MlWiI/AAAAAAAAAek/9YW735_Bl44/s1600/DSCF5508a.jpg

[mikkixx]

Thanks everyone, so glad to know that I'm not just a weird clicky freak! I took a course of fluoroquinolone antibiotics about a year ago which made every joint in my body snap/crackle/pop, everything's slowly getting back to normal but I sometimes worry that it totally wrecked my body!

It definitely sounds like it's snapping hip with the rectus femoris tendon. I'm definitely going to work on my glutes – my weak glutes are also giving me lots of problems with piriformis syndrome as well, and I've noticed that the snapping's improved a bit since I've started taking technique classes which involve lots of butt-aching ballet-style leg lifting and arabesque exercises.

I also found this page here: http://evolutionaryathletics.com/blogs/demarco/2011/11/03/how-to-cure-snapping-hip-syndrome/ There are some interesting exercises described that might help, I've started being more careful about turning my hips out of alignment when stretching etc 🙂

[mikkixx]

I find that the easiest way to get into butterfly is from a gemini/outside leg hang – put your outside hand under your top knee, reach your inside arm down into split grip, rotate your top leg so it's vertical against the pole and you're there!

[mikkixx]

I am a big believer in finding the right grip aid/antiperspirant combo. At some point, the force needed to generate the friction required to keep a 50-70 kg weight on a vertical metal pole with X amount of sweat acting as a lubricant becomes superhuman.

[mikkixx]

I've been trying to work on back bending too! A few stretches I like:

– Cobra – Alethea has a few variations on her DVD which are pretty good, I also do this with my hands on a wall… sometimes with a phone in my hand so I can multi-task 😛

– Holding onto the pole in a cup grip, slide your hands down your feet and legs backwards as far as you can while still holding onto the pole. You should basically be in a right-side-up bridge (http://www.triagedesign.co.uk/wikipole/images/thumb/2/23/Bridge_by_JennyG.jpg/200px-Bridge_by_JennyG.jpg). Get out of it by collapsing on your face.

– Stand facing the pole with your feet about a foot away. Lean forwards until your crotch is on the pole, then lean your upper body backwards.

My back used to hurt like crazy the next day, until I started doing forward bends right after each backbend.

[mikkixx]

My first shoes were these Ellie Juliets (http://www.attractivewear.net/images/el-08/678-Juliet-ellie-shoes-08-.jpg) – unfortunately they just did not fit my feet AT ALL. The bit over the toes was too narrow to keep my feet in place – eventually my toes just kept coming out. Additionally, the sole of the platform is really curvy, which made me constantly feel off-balance on hard floors.

My second pair were these Pleaser Delights (http://cache1.bigcartel.com/product_images/41954071/Pleaser_Delight_609_r_5.75_inch_heel.jpg) – these have a front strap that covers more of the foot, and the sole has a much bigger "flat" section before curving at the front. These were incredibly easy to walk in on wooden floors compared to the old shoes and they fit my feet well.

Higher shoes can be prettier and make your lines nicer, but they're also heavier, which means you often have to use more calf and ankle strength to keep your feet pointed and un-sickled. It also makes it more obvious when your feet are flexed or sickled, ruining your lines. Moves that require a flexed foot look a million times better barefoot, in my opinion. Heavy shoes are actually really useful for me since I have a terrible flexed/sickled foot problem – it reminds me that my feet are there and to fix them up! It's also more difficult to do some moves with them if you're not super flexible (e.g. press-up handstand, anything where you need to touch the ground with your hands without bending your legs).

If I'm doing a difficult class, I usually use my 6" Pleaser Delights, and when I'm doing an easier class, I take my 7" Pleaser Adores. The Adores are also heavier to lug around in my bag after a hard class!

[mikkixx]

Mine is pretty bad, but a few things that helped:

– For some reason trying it from a climb is easier than trying it from the floor

– It's easier for me to have the bottom hand in a pinky-to-the-floor grip rather than index-to-the-floor for some reason, try both grips if you're stuck

– To get your body in a position where you can actually move your legs, make sure you reach over your head sideways (like you're going into a cartwheel) with your bottom hand rather than in front of your chest

My biggest problem is sliding that bottom hand down too, half the time I tried it I ended up in an aysha with my lower hand under my chin haha :\

[mikkixx]

I was just wondering about various superman dismounts too, thanks! 🙂 Going to try Tiffany's crazy drop ASAP!

Superman into cradle is my favourite 🙂

[mikkixx]

Cleo is amazing, such perfect technique (toes always pointed, extension always perfect, even when she's mucking about with new moves) and so powerful! I don't mean to brag but I have 3 classes with her a week 🙂

She's an excellent teacher, and a really nice person – she's the only teacher I have who remembers everyone's names and what you're good at. Hope you have a great workshop with her!

[mikkixx]

Pointing your front foot towards the ground gives the move a different look which I think is equally pretty:

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/315503_10150281831354794_691389793_8221625_4585544_n.jpg