[ottersocks]

So, I’m thinking we all need to make ourselves nametags we can wear all weekend.

Hello, My Name Is…
Ellen aka Ottersocks

How funny would that be? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

At the very least, when you’re in a workshop, be sure to ask out loud if there are any other SVers in the room! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_compress.gif

[ottersocks]

The StudioX (jpa) Gals will be with Poletential too!! WOOOT! I know heather is like SUPER stoked about going =) its all she talks about ^^ This will be my first time ever in NY soo freakin nervous! lol <3

And speaking for the Poletential girls, we can’t wait to meet the JPA girls and all the rest of you! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
Don’t be nervous. NY rocks.
And as for shopping, a few tips for you:
Comfy shoes. You’re gonna walk your ass off.
A warm coat, could be freezing.
A bag to carry your heels and pole clothes in for workshops. We got Poletential backpacks last year and they were perfect.
NY isn’t terribly casual. I’d rather be overdressed there than underdressed, anyday.

xoxo Ellen (aka Sophie aka ottersocks)

[ottersocks]

Oh Roxy, I am **SO** with you on Michula. She is such a great person and I’ve had the pleasure of taking classes with her. I actually told Fleur the other day I want to hire Mikey to just dance in front of me for a week. Her style stuns me.
My other pole crush goes back to USPDF last year, when I was thrilled to pole jam at the home of Lian Tal. She is the nicest, warmest, most beautiful woman. And then I saw her USPDF performance! Her routine turned Control by Puddle of Mudd into my most favorite pole song ever. I can’t wait to see her in NY again this year. (And btw, Lian if you’re reading this, sorry to sound so stalker-y!) https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[ottersocks]

Angel, I read the same thing with interest today!
Amy, I totally get motion sick. I actually have a spin tutorial lesson with a friend tomorrow who used to teach at Bobbi’s and is good friends with Allegra. I want to start to try to learn how to overcome this before Allegra’s workshop. So, I plan to wear the acupressure wrist bands that I use when I get pukey in the car. Have you tried them? They sell them in the drugstore right by the dramamine and they definitely work in other places–we’ll see about the pole! I’ll let you know how it goes. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_puke_r.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_puke_l.gif

[ottersocks]

I definitely suffer from this too.
Lately when I freedance it has been very helpful to first think of 5 moves I want to do. You can remember 5 without having to write them down. Then I make sure to throw those 5 in during the dance. Makes a big difference for me! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[ottersocks]

I go into this move from a scorpio (inside leg hang.) Important though to hook the inside leg farther down the calf and push the hooked foot down so the shin is parallel to the floor. If you do that, you’ll create a space behind your knee where you can easily place your inside hand.
So, I do a scorpio, sit up, place inside hand behind knee on pole. Open up shoulders and drop outside hand to the pole below me. Then, straighten hooked leg.
If you haven’t made the space behind your knee for your hand, when you straighten your leg you will knock your hand off the pole. And fall. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_pale.gif
I naturally do scorpio with my leg hooked at calf anyway so this move was very easy for me to get.
I hope this helps!

[ottersocks]

Oh, Anngie, that’s so awesome! You and your girls are going to have such an amazing experience with Amber. I’m so blessed to be able to learn from her every day. Can’t wait to meet you in NY!
Ellen

[ottersocks]

There’s a little person named Veena who lives in CA too. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif I could maybe show someone a trick or two…..

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif Excellent point!! God knows you’ve shown me a dozen or two, at least! xoxo

[ottersocks]

here is another story on msn about pole dancing and the olympics. one of my friends forwarded to me today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35537139#35537139

sedusa studio is hot! i hope to take a lesson there someday as well when i get to cali again.

Yes, the sedusa ladies are very hot. If you want to learn how to feel yourself up like a champion, that’s the place for you. If however you get to Cali and want to learn how to do some *real challenging pole moves* and how to combine them with fabulous dancing, come visit Fleur and me at Poletential. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

[ottersocks]

I think we are saying the same thing. I am righty. We call the arm closest to the pole the inside arm, the arm farthest away the outside arm–so you and I just use different terms for that, but we’re doing it the same way.

So for the handsfree youre just letting your hand come off but keeping the pole squeezed and trapped in your right armpit yes? Sounds burny but fun! You can show me in NY. WOOT! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

[ottersocks]

Hi Chemmie,
Take a look at my blog post from Dec where I talk about the one on one session I did. From that, I was told to focus on:

#1 knee to forehead

#6 wide leg forward bend

#9 central leg extension

#10 hip flexor (gotta keep em loose!)

#13 crossover leg extension

#14 lotus

I actually don’t do 9 or 13 very often as I’ve had a bicep injury, making it hard to use my arms appropriately to pull on my leg. #6 is my fave and the one I can visibly see the most progress in. I’ve been doing the stretches about 3x a week, although some weeks only once. I need to be more diligent, but I do find I don’t go backwards in between sessions–I seem to keep the gains from the last time. I like to do it in front of the TV so will often stretch for an hour but you don’t have to do it that long at all. The trainer I worked with said the more reps you can do a day, the better. So while the book says 6 – 8, she does upwards of 15 reps and more than once a day if she can.

[ottersocks]

i learned the corkscrew with the outside hand (right if you are righty) on bottom. you have to do it this way to be able to get into a no-handed or one-handed corkscrew later.

i learned the outside hand on top grip, but it was taught to me as a transition move (only 3/4 of a rotation around the pole, land on your inside (right) foot, pivot into a backbend on your right foot), and the hips are turned toward the pole instead of away.

Hmmm, interesting. I do this move with my outside (left) arm high, inside (right) arm low. I pull up with my outside arm as I launch my legs around in a circle to pull my hips out in front of the pole. I can then do a one-armed version by just dropping that outside high arm off the pole once my back is across and I am wedged in the inner armpit. There’s actually a vid of this on my profile, taken at Veena’s house, with Karol and Amber and V and me all doing it.

What’s a no-handed corkcrew like, Amy? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif

[ottersocks]

Hey Runemist,
Take a look at this link. You can watch a preview of the Dara Torres DVD that explains nicely how and why this works.

http://www.innovativebodysolutions.com/store/dvds/dara-torres-dvd.html

This method is actually extremely safe because, by contracting the muscle while you stretch it, you are activating the fibers, making it very difficult to get hurt. These stretches are not extreme, they feel good on your body, and they leave you feeling loose and floaty the next day–not rebound tight.

It’s great that you voiced concerns, everyone should always investigate new things thoroughly and be sure it’s right for them! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[ottersocks]

Here it is, my proof that resistance stretching works.
I’ve been working on getting a split for 8 months using Alethea’s methods. I added resistance stretching this winter, and have progressed rapidly.
Tonight, I nailed it. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

Really, just can’t say enough about how great I think this method is.

[ottersocks]

Well, I never posted a "before" picture, but here’s my "after"!
Been working toward this since June 09, using Alethea’s stretch tips. After adding resistance stretching this winter, I progressed rapidly, and got fully down today.
My bad side has been locked up for 18 years with scar tissue from a tear, but is making progress now as well.
I turn 40 in July and am thrilled to have gotten this at 39!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif