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Not always a superstar….
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I love you and your genuine nature 💜
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Thank you for this. I needed to hear it much more than you know. After having gone for about a good year of feeling really healthy, my Ulcerative Colitis has returned and is bad right now, and I feel like I am falling behind in what was already a slow progression for me, and I have been incredibly discouraged and saddened. Even just moving in certain ways causes stomach cramps and I have incredibly low energy. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to do what is best for myself and to go at my own pace and to not feel like a failure for not progressing like others.
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Thanks so much for this post. The message is very timely for me. I have been feeling like I am either going backwards or no improvement on anything I have been trying lately. I have felt at times my pole journey has been a true uphill climb. I appreciate the positve reminder and reinforcment to make it mine and keep pushing.
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Thanks Veena for keeping it real. 😀
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This is a great thing to share. Thanks for that. Even the pros have setbacks.
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Hey Veena,
This has to be one of the most important threads on here. I came out of a phase where I was too discouraged to look at videos of pole stars, because it reminded me of the injuries I’m nursing, and how much I was regressing while being away from pole. I’m happy to say I came out of it and can truly watch others for the love and joy of it. But it’s also important to understand that everyone is human-no matter how perfect some dancers might seem-we all have challenges at some point.
Even though I am not professional level yet, I am an experienced dancer, with a level of strength and flexibility that I worked very hard for-and some people might look at me and think the same things that I think about the pros-yet I am here, with my own challenges, on my own journey with my own ups and downs.
What has helped me the most is going to my fave pole stars’ youtube channel and watching the very first videos they posted about 6 years ago-when they were still honing their craft, and imperfect. I make a point to comment, letting them know these are the most inspirational/favorited for me, because they show me that they were at one point just like me-and that I can equally be the best dancer I can be in the future.
Another thing that’s helped me is reading Misty Copeland’s autobiography, “Life in Motion”. She is a well-known ballerina-not a pole dancer-but she recently suffered a couple of very severe injuries in the peak of her career, which kept her out for an entire year. For one of her injuries, she could not even walk, so she did barre exercises on the floor. When she got back into the ABT, her dancing was not quite at its peak for a few months (duh!) and the press made a big deal about it. Misty is an amazing person, and reading her story really helped me realize it’s OK to be where I am. And I can and will heal and be the dancer I’m meant to be.
My injury is taking way longer to heal than I ever expected, but that’s OK-in place of some of my dancing space, I’ve built an animation table in my room, where Nana the Pole Star lives and performs. I live some of my wildest dreams vicariously through her for now…and hopefully by the time my injury heals, the film will be finished and I can clear the space to dance again 🙂
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I don’t want to be repetitive but I do want to share my thank you for this post Veena. It came at a very important time for me as well. My day job as an attorney has taken over the last month of my life and I have suffered immensely in my pole world because of it. I have worked late, ate late and suffered the fate: gained weight. i lost strength and really I’ve felt like I’ve fallen behind. I’ve been so discouraged when I walk past a mirror that I certainly don’t want to move in front of one: all my jiggly parts show again. However, your post has helped me to remember that this is a journey. And just like any journey it has ups and downs. I’m in a down moment and have climb back up again to get to where i want to be. Once I get there, I can once again set my sight on some place else. Your freedom and desire to reveal your vulnerabilities have sparked a real conversation that will likely touch the lives of many as we engage in this post. Again, I thank you and I think tomorrow, I will remember this post as I dance around the pole at my studio and I will come home and look at me in my own mirror without the “cover of darkness.” Thank you Veena!
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Wow I can’t believe I’ve missed this post!!! My world had been completely turned upside down even to the pint where the thought of poling depressed me… I was opening up a studio with some friends, and like most partnerships, they fall apart… Not only did I lose my closest friends (who ended up not being who I thought they were to begin with) but I also felt like pole now was tainted with all this heart ache as I lost my dream of owning a studio! I lost strength and stopped making progress but had to remind myself that my dream was to wow people with what pole can be and with the strength and grace I thought I would learn and show, not to simply own a building with poles in it. I am finally ( and I mean literally this week) really trying again and actually having fun with pole again… This really can be a beautiful journey and I’m back to wanting to be the best poler I can be but also enjoying the strength and empowerment that it originally brought me!!! Sorry for the rant but thank you for the post! I forget how much pole really speaks to my heart and this was a great way to remind me!!!
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Brilliant post Veena – u always manage to provide advice, support or insight into real issues that affect us all. Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
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Thank you so much everyone! You never know how things will be received when you open yourself up like this, so it’s a relief and honor to read all of your replies. I really hope we can continue to encourage each other to pole for the love of pole and not for glory or status. I’ve seen beautiful dancers leave pole dance because they felt left behind and I don’t want anyone to feel left out, it’s a terrible feeling. I want pole dance to be a positive experience and be a source of pride, because even a pole sit is a challenge in the beginning!!
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Left behind is a good way too put it… when I’m discouraged it’s usually because I watch girls who are very advanced and are talking about inverting like it’s no big thing… and here’s me in my pole sit and planking it up, and freaking out because I SORT OF did a hand stand! I’m learning to be fiercely proud of myself for every accomplishment, because they are ALL big. Someday when I’m advanced I want to be sure to never forget where I came from. Which brings me right back to why I appreciate Studio Veena so much! All the encouragement from people who get it and aren’t judging is priceless.
Thank you Veena, for your authenticity. -
Its easy to get discouraged when we see others do things so effortlessness as we work hard to do the same or more basic things. But I found one thing that helps I’d to remember ALL people are on different levels of advancement at different times. And ALL people progress at different rates. This is why it’s important not to get into the habit of comparing our progress and skills to others, but simply look at others as inspiration and motivation.
*We also need to remember that every person who has learned a thing… Didn’t know it at one time. They had to work to learn it as well. And they are going to continue working to learn more, just as we will. Tis the journey of every person. 🙂
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This is a great thread in the way of simply getting back to basics of why we all started pole in the first place. We all have our own dream and journey that led us all to pole! To me personally there is nothing more beautiful than to have someone we all look up to allow themselves to be vulnerable just like the rest of us. We put our pole hero’s up on a pedestal which is only human so thank you Veena for reminding us that our hero’s are human. My pole and I and the rest of the world have a conflict of interest where I just cant pole everyday, or workout, or even stretch and it sucks. Veena has got me back into staying motivated to really make the time to pole etc… You all have given me a spark under my ass I desperately needed! So I thank all of you.
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Always here to light a🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 under someone’s ass 😊
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Thank you for this! I poled and taught through my pregnancy until close to the end. But even though I kept up I had to stop using certain muscles during that time. I’m still struggling to fully build my strength back up.
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