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Need encouragement!
Hi, all! I love this site and am so impressed by what all of you are doing and the amazing support for one another. I've been taking classes for about four months, recently bought a pole, love everything about the sport/art of pole dancing, but I'm feeling SO discouraged. I have no dance or gymnastics background, but am (or thought I was : ) ) pretty fit- marathon runner, active person. I'm quite a bit older than most of my classmates so I don't expect to progress as quickly, but it seems I am just stuck and can't progress. Working with Veena's lessons has reminded me to slow down and focus on building strength, so that is cool. But I would love to hear some stories from anyone who really struggled to master the basics and has moved forward. I'm stubborn and have no intention of quitting : ) ! Thanks.
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4 Replies
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Hi! Stay focused on why you love pole and how it benefits your body and mind. Every single practice session you have is fulfilling your goals AND getting you closer to new goals. That's powerful! Don't lose sight of that. You have a pole… and the will… congrats!
The first time I attempted a pole hold I couldn't get both feet off the ground. I internalized it and felt like a pathetic weakling. Why I thought I could just lift my entire body weight off the ground on my first attempt and hold it… not sure. I had been very physically active in a variety of exercises… but none of them involved lifting my entier body weight with my upper body. None the less… I can pole hold now and do many other things that my body wasn't capable of the first time I tried.
This is what has helped me… discouraged energy doesn't serve me. Instead of saying "I can't… (enter whatever it is), or "Why can't I", or "I suck at this", or … (enter negative sabatoging thought here)… I think… "What does my body need to have to be able to do… (enter move here)". It normally is either strength, flexiblity or balance based. So then I make a plan to improve those areas.
I really like Veena's lessons. There are also instructional DVDs, youtube, articles… blogs… workshops… live classes… all kinds of wonderful resources available! This forum is a great resource too.
Happy poling!
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Hey I am a beginner who has been working at it for about 6 months. I also run into the issue of comparing my self with others and becoming frustrated with my own progress. I have to continually remind myself that i need to only compare myself against myself. Due to medication I build muscle about 25% slower then the average person and pole uses muscles I did not previously use before.
I have made progress and I continually use videos to track my own progress so I can show myself just how far I have come.
You will get better, it does take time. And as hard as it is remind yourself to focus on the progress you make rather then the progress other people are making.
we all progress at different rates and something my teacher says is that we all have different stengths and weaknesses. Some have awesome upper body strength. Others have great core or lower body strength. Some have great elegance and graceful form while dancing. We all bring something different to it.
Bottom line. You will get better. Just keep building on your strength and flexibilty and the moves will come along after.
🙂
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Thanks JeHanne and Krissykiki! I really appreciate your thoughts and will re-read them when I need a boost. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparing oneself with others. The studio where I've been learning is very performance based and maybe that is not the best fit for me as it seems to put extra pressure on to learn and execute the same moves as my classmates. I will most definitely keep at it and continue to use all the Veeners for inspiration https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif .
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Hi there, you might find this thread an interesting read 🙂
https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/is_there_something_wrong_with_me_20110309053759
I wouldn't worry too much about learning all those difficult things, that will come in time. Pretty executed beginner moves always look better than sloppy intermediate/advanced moves 🙂
What helps me to not get discouraged is to think about my progress during an entire month and not on a day to day basis. I also record every one of my practices (not sure if you can do that in your studio) and at the end of the month I make a "best of" video for that month. Even if I didn't learn lots of new things, but I can usually see a difference in the way I perform the things I already knew before. They look more fluid, have more extension, or I learned new transitions in and out of them …. and that's what I count as progress as well 🙂
If you're, like you said, in a performance based studio it might be a bit difficult for you to take it that slow and to not compare yourself to others though 🙁
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