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Where to from here?
Sooo…. I got my pole at the beginning of Sept 2009 and have been fumbling along, teaching myself slowly (but solidly) and trying to do as much strength training as possible to prepare for inverts. For a long time, the biggest block to successfully inverting was mental rather than physical because I can do over 100 crunches and at least 70 full leg lifts – my abs are pretty sure of themselves. At the end of January, something just sort of "clicked over" in my head and inverting became easier and easier. I can also add for sure that pole dancing is the best cure for vertigo.
Last night I experienced more of a mental breakthrough than anything else when I FINALLY got the courage to let go of the pole long enough to do an inverted crucifix, then call my husband from upstairs to come and see it.
Now I want to know: where to from here?
Which comes first: do I go up from the inverted crucifix (caterpillar etc.) or down (the collective hand stand moves and combos)?
My shoulders and legs are equally strong, and I’m working very hard to improve the strength in my back and core.
Any feedback about your experiences?
PS: In 2 weeks time my friend from Australia is bringing me The Art of Pole 5 DVD set… CANT WAIT!!!! I’m so addicted…
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8 Replies
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Being inverted can be really disorienting, so if I were you, I’d go down into handstands. Handstands are GREAT for helping you increase body awareness while upside down on the pole–without being wayyyyy up on the pole. You can play with leg hooks, and figure out which leg seems to be your dominant one. You can stretch from here. You can work on different leg positions and dismounts/slides down. Plus handstands may help hone your balance and allow you to isolate muscles in your core (at least they did that for me), which I still find tremendously helpful when I’m trying new stuff.
ETA: the dismount stuff is really important. You should always have an exit strategy, and if you’ve practiced sliding down out of an invert to the point where you can do it without even thinking, it’s probably not a bad thing. I consider it my "safety" position, lol.
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Thanks! I’m going to have to get out the old pen and notepad and start making meticulous entries. Everyone’s obviously got different things that work differently for them… but right now I feel like too many options are available. Getting some perspective is great. Really appreciate it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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Thanks! I’m going to have to get out the old pen and notepad and start making meticulous entries. Everyone’s obviously got different things that work differently for them… but right now I feel like too many options are available. Getting some perspective is great. Really appreciate it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
Trust me, we have all been there! There is a whole universe of pole coolness out there just waiting to be experienced, OMG! But I don’t mind saying, and I’m betting a lot of folks here would agree with me, there is a lot to be said for taking it slow, and truly experiencing each option. I used to learn a move and then think "great, checking that one off, moving on to the next" and so on, just building a catalog of tricks without taking as much time as I should have exploring each move and transitions, etc., but now I’m learning to enjoy the journey, so to speak. Yay!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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I vote down as well because then you can work on all sorts dismounts and practice building up your pain tolerance for your inner thighs along with handstands and figuring out leg holds and such.
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Okay… so I attempted the down, but since it’s hot and humid in SA at the moment, I stuck to the pole *ouch*. I decided to practise the inverted crucifix a bit more… then I did one too many choppers. Now I’m really sore *hehehehe*
Thanks so much for the motivation – good to know I’m on the right track, even if I’m going really slowly.
xxx
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I want to add onto what polergirl wrote about exploring each move. Practice different ways of getting into and out of each move as well. That way, you won’t end up with a large repertoire of individual moves but no way of getting smoothly from one to another. For example, after you go from invert to handstand, there are so many ways to get down from the pole. You can but inside hand down on the ground, give a push and roll down around the pole. You can open your legs in V in handstand and lower her legs to the ground in a V. You can lower your legs down behind you like the superman. You can even lower yourself on to your shoulder and do a front roll down.
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I know, I know!! The variety of options seems endless! But I realised tonight that I need to just keep practising the inverting and hand release a little longer and be patient with trying out a whole bunch of new stuff.
My husband’s comment: "Your legs are red." https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gifI do like the move going from handstand, open legs V, lowering legs V to the ground. Really smooth. Don’t know so much about the shoulder move, though, but I will definitely give it a shot! Oh, and I have a static pole. Spinny pole is going to have to wait a while…
Still taking notes, though! Thanks x
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Hi Rautenbach, your profile pic looks great! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_sunny.gif super well done!
Personally, I tend to go down to handstand once I’m tired, or there’s too much blood rushing through the head. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_geek.gif
Once you’re comfortable with the handstand and feel like your orientation is right, then perhaps try the pole cat/climb or perhaps the Aysha – which I personally find OK because my main strenght is in my arms.
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