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Scary!
Oh my god, I almost fell on my face in butterfly O_O, slippery hands and extended leg. I’m shaking here full of adrenaline.
Have you had any pole accidents or close by situations? Any movements you don’t want to do because they scare you? How to overcome the fear mentally?
I don’t dare to do full laybacks since crashing on my back doing a crossed legs release.. 🙁 No hands is ok but I always have to be able to grap the pole quickly. (I pole mostly home and alone) I think it is time to buy a crash mat..
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15 Replies
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I’m so sorry you had a scary incident! And very glad that you made it through unharmed!
I have had a few scary incidents, but thankfully I’ve never been seriously injured. Safety mats can be a useful tool, but you want to be careful that you do not become over-confident just because you have a mat. You can still sustain injures, particularly neck injuries.
I think sometimes fear is something that you want to get over, and sometimes fear protects you, so it’s important to consider which is happening on a case-by-case basis. As Veena often points out it’s also important to realize that because of individual differences in anatomy, flexibility, etc. not every move is appropriate for every body. We tend to be conscious of this when we are talking about advanced moves, but this can be true of beginner and intermediate moves as well. For example, I’m not very comfortable with a cross-knee release, but I have a very solid cross-ankle release. The cross-knee release never felt very secure to me, but my instructor always said it was easier/safer than the cross-ankle release. Then I fell out of it, hitting my head and bruising my iliac crest (the back part of the pelvic bone). Thankfully I wasn’t seriously injured, but I generally don’t do it now. After thinking about the matter carefully, I’m pretty sure I know why I can easily perform the cross-ankle release and not the cross-knee release based on my anatomy. I share this as an example of how idiosyncratic our bodies can be, and how we need to be conscious of this, no matter how supposedly easy a move is.
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I’m glad you’re ok! Now I will scolled you a bit 🗣 with love of course 💜 As stated in the lessons always use a crash mat! Falls don’t have to be a part of learning pole. I mean it when I say in the lessons “when you feel secure” this doesn’t mean just go for it. Never move to the next step if you feel unsteady, sweaty or unsure.
If you haven’t seen it check out this broadcast on fears https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/5632ba12-6de8-430c-bc75-1e2eac11006c I talk about being
aware 😊 Awareness is key ðŸ—🔑 -
Yes *hugs*, not paralyzed but very alert. You both wrote good points. Veena, thank you for the link
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Oh no! I fell out of extended butterfly and landed in a split. I’m still scared of butterfly! I wasn’t hurt and it actually looked really cool . Even looked intentional but it scared me. For me, I’m going back to caterpillars and getting stronger there in order to feel more secure in butterfly. I guess just take it back a notch. Work on regular butterfly instead of extended butterfly to regain your confidence . And be sure to use dry hands, gloves , whatever it takes to keep your grip secure
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And yes, crash mat or any kind of cushions you can find. But if you can get a crash mat, get one.
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“Any movements you don’t want to do because they scare you?”
Yes–everything! Seriously, everything scares me. Inverted moves the most, it goes without saying. I feel like this affects me more than most people I’ve encountered at the same level as me. It’s really what’s holding me back and it’s frustrating. I just don’t want to hurt myself. I’m reluctant to try any new moves without a spotter. This is why going to a studio is very important to me versus learning solely at home. I watched Veena’s periscope where she talked about fear versus awareness and it did help a little in terms of putting it in perspective. But I just won’t attempt something if I am not secure or if I don’t have a spotter.
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I agree with poleisnewtome- everything is scary! I feel out of a cross ankle release, and it’s taken me AGES to get back to it. I’m still not fully there, but… I’ve also had some forced time off the pole for a while.
I’ve got a terrible fear of being upside down, even though most of the pole tricks are upside down… and most of them are things I definitely want to do!
What I do is take them in steps. So, for example, a cross ankle release I will do in reverse from the floor- shimmy my bum up to the pole, lift my hips high, and grip the pole with my legs the way I would be doing in a cross ankle release. If I can then sit up in that position, I know I’ve got it right, and that it’s secure (it’s also a crazy good workout for the abs!). Then, after a while, I get into a low pole sit, and get my legs into the correct position. I’ll lean back a little bit, and test it out. Over time, I start to let my hands go, sort of like a very difficult, aerial V-sit (it will work your abs like HARDCORE so be warned! It hurts!! Don’t do it too much). Once you’ve gotten used to the grip with your legs, slowly work your way backwards to a full layback. There is a “point of no return,” in which you simply have to commit to the layback. It helps to get to this point while low to the ground, because if you can reach the ground with your hands, you then have a great “break” in case your legs slip.
I think that every scary move can be broken down, in one way or another, to make it easier to get used to.
For someone like me, who has an anxiety disorder and is sometimes paralyzed by fear, it can be a great way to push yourself, but not too far. Most people will go through these steps quicker than I will… but, I recognize we all have different challenges.A crash mat is a really, really good idea, too.
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Poleisnewtome, I’m so scared of so many things too! I’m mostly scared of moves that rely mostly on hand grip. I feel super comfortable with hip holds, leg hangs, teddy, jade, machine gun, those moves that use body grip. But I’m scared of butterfly , Ayesha, shoulder mount, and sooo much more. I’m so scared of new moves that I shake in class. And I refuse to do any cartwheel type moves. At least for now. I feel like my pole friends do not share my fears. They can just throw themselves into shoulder mounts, iguana, etc. they don’t think twice of trying those things. I’m the only one in class who is freaked out and that freaks me out even more. and it makes my hands sweat even more 🙁
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Runemist: I am just like you; afraid of anything “handstand” and anything inverted. It took me FOREVER to be able to do a cross-knee release. I can do them now, but not confidently at all.
Phoenix: From your videos and the advanced moves you do I would never have guessed that fear holds you back!
Fortunately, I have AMAZING instructors who are patient, encouraging, and extremely knowledgable. If it wasn’t for them, I would have quit long ago.
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Terrified of inverted crucifix. Can get into it, and hang there (well, just about) but it’s the coming out of it that scares me. I don’t do handstands (they really really scare me and I know I’ll never ever have them in my repitoire). So, I’m hanging in a crucifix and then I freeze, or panic because I’ve to come out of it, I actually cried on my instructor last week. He tough loves me. I understand it’s a foundation move for Ayesha, caterpillar etc and I have to crack it but I’m still freaked by it. Just to compare, I’ll do drops all day, and inverted drops so it’s a mystery.
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Girlonapole , from your crucifix you can slide down to the floor and dismount . No need to handstand out of it 🙂 I used to be so scared of handstands that I would tear up and not be able to breathe. Working on elbow stands helped me soooo much. If you are not comfortable taking weight into your hands/ wrists, you can come down to your elbows. When I first learned crucifix I would just slide all the way down to the floor . Veena has a pretty dismount lesson for this in her beginner section. Poleisnewtome, thank you!
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The difficulty is to know when you’re ready to do something, learning is stepping out of comfort zone and expanding limits, it is always exciting.. It is not good to be afraid, but not to be too eager and brave either. I thought I could do the move and decided just to perform it. After all, this was a good lesson and reminder that I don’t have to master everything alone or need to be braver or stronger than I am. I have had to survive on my own, I managed to carry a washing machine once, didn’t realize I could have asked for help. How sad and stupid is that..
Phoenix, I have very similar fears: ayesha, butterfly, being face down on my hands only.. having an svelte upper body and heavy legs + more or less sweaty palms :).
I don’t like to throw myself to moves.. I hate to kick myself to a handstand (and over), rather try raise my feet controlled with abs.. my instructor praised me of my abdominal work, I didn’t tell her I fear kicking 😀Girl On A Pole, you can also crawl on your hands to get out, keeping your legs on the pole and sliding them down at the same time.
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Everythingpoledancing.com seems to have affordable crash mats, the also do ship abroad… I think I’ll buy myself a Christmas present.. 😀
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I have that fear of kicking into anything too. It forced me to learn to handstand press really fast! Too scared to kick into it. You won’t regret getting yourself a crash mat. I got one for myself last Christmas and it was so worth it. 🙂
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I am afraid to train alone. When I am with my instructor by my side, I do (or at least try to do) anything she proposes and things that I already do by myself, but need to clean up. However, when I am alone, I am afraid to do most of things, especially in the invert position. With the crash mat, I dare a little more, but somethings I just feel secure with someone watching me.
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