[Casi]

Hey Quancutie. I would be disturbed to see anyone being taught chopper on the second day too! When I first started pole, I had teachers who got me inverting the first day and then doing one handed ballerina spins on static over and over again at three weeks in. That day of spins shredded my shoulder, and weeks of improperly done inverts gave me excruciating back pain. I ended up having to take almost two months off in the first few months I was poling.
Where I go now they are more conscientious, but there are still times when they encourage unprepared students to work on moves that are way beyond their current skill level. When I see another student trying one of these moves that just looks unsafe for them, I do discretely give them some tips on intermediate or strengthening moves to help work up to that or on positioning to prevent injury, such as holding their shoulder blades back and down, etc. I also mention how it took me way longer to get that or how that’s really an intermediate or advanced level move so they don’t feel like it’s something they are expected to be able to get immediately.
The friendly and supportive dynamic at my school makes it possible for those of us more advanced students to cheer on and give advice to newer students in a way that is appreciated. I don’t know if that is true of the place you are at. If you are going to classes with the same students regularly and they know you are at a much higher skill level, then they may respect and appreciate some gentle advice from you. If you aren’t that advanced at pole, then maybe mention your fitness experience and all the research you’ve done online and just present things as suggestions they might want to try. Either way, I would say gauge if the student seems open to it and talk to them directly. Confronting the instructor openly is probably going to make them defensive and create an ugly dynamic.
At my school I’m still stressed about how bad the warm ups are – mostly too-cold stretching, and done with lots of bouncing. I’ve never known how to address it with the instructors. So if anyone has any suggestions for that, fire away!

[Casi]

I used to use a Polar and it was good (except for surfing – it would lose it’s read whenever I got hit by a wave). I’ve never tried it for pole, but for high intensity cardio it was useful to know how hard I was working.

[Casi]

Hi Georgia, I listen to a nutritionist podcast called Dishing Up Nutrition. They talk about cravings, including sugar, as a result of vitamin or mineral deficiencies or blood sugar imbalances. For sugar cravings, they point to possible zinc deficiency or to uneven blood sugar caused by eating lots of refined carbs. Maybe their info could give you some ideas to try.

Glancing through the podcast archive, the third episode down on this list, from July of last year, is specifically devoted to sugar cravings:
http://www.weightandwellness.com/index.php/radio-show/search-for-previous-radio-shows/filter_topic/?topic=Addiction%252FCravings

I have a wicked sweet tooth as well. I’ve (mostly!) replaced sweet snacks with nuts, like cashews, pistachios, or almonds. They are full of healthy fats that keep you satiated and don’t spike your blood sugar. Good luck!

[Casi]

And ditto what K bang just said in her post about meds. I could have written the same thing nearly word for word.

[Casi]

Hi Runemist. I don’t think any of us are advocating indefinite medication as an optimal solution, or as one that should be common. I agree with you that major depression is not a permanent problem. But the underlying issues that make a person vulnerable to it can be. Most people may only need temporary medication, and that’s to be encouraged. As you say, the longterm effects of these drugs are not well understood at this point. But, for people who have repeated episodes of major depression over their lifetime and have had to be on the medication repeatedly, doctors advise them to stay on them indefinitely, rather than playing with your brain chemistry by going off and and on them multiple times. For some people there is a very real risk of suicide, not to mention the years you can waste half-living while trying to prove you can function without any medication. We don’t shame people with physical conditions, such as thyroid disease, when they need to take medication indefinitely, nor for that matter do we shame the schizophrenic for continuing their treatment when they stop having delusions. It’s something that each person will have to judge for themselves, and there are online sites where you can find the experiences, both good and bad, of thousands of people who have been on different anti-depressants (at their doctor’s recommendation) for 10, 20, 30, or more years. I suspect most of them would love to go off the medication if they felt they could. Yes, let’s not encourage people to medicate longterm, but likewise, let’s not shame them in advance if they do turn out to be among the minority who really need it.

[Casi]

(I got called away while writing my response, so some of this repeats what poleisnewtome has since written, but hey, she’s right!)
Hi Shadow. Thanks for sharing with us. Telling people how you feel can be so hard to do when you are depressed and that’s great that you had the courage to open up and look for understanding. I’ve been where you are, more than once. As you say, it’s scary, knowing your feelings don’t make sense but being unable to control them. Of course you don’t have anything to be depressed about! If you did, it wouldn’t be depression, it would just be grief or despair or another emotion that was a reaction to difficult things you were dealing with. What makes it clinical depression is that you are overwhelmed by emotions and thoughts beyond your control, that aren’t justified by the things happening in your life. That’s really scary and hard to deal with. It’s not your fault and it’s not something you can just choose to fix. Like every other part of the body, the brain is a physical system and can have differences in layout, wiring, and brain chemistry from those of other people. It’s logical that brain problems can also require physical solutions like medication, and there shouldn’t be any shame in that. (And who knows, some of the differences that make us prone to depression might also contribute to some other great gift or strength that we don’t even realize is connected!)

If meds work for you, then don’t worry about having to take them for a while or indefinitely. Exercise can be a great complement, and even works just as well as meds for some people, since it has positive effects on brain chemistry and function. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you change your negative self-talk and behavior patterns without the dwelling on the past aspect of psychotherapy. You’ll have to try things out to find what works best for you, and don’t worry if what was the answer for someone else isn’t right in your case.

It sounds like you are trying to get better, and that’s makes me really hopeful for you. Just believing it’s possible for things to improve is a big step. For now, know that you are not alone and not a freak. I wish you all the best. Even if you can’t believe it, you really do deserve it.

[Casi]

Hey Makasha, thanks! I wasn’t sure if urban biking would really work as cardio since you have the stop/start of the traffic lights. But, whenever I’m running late it turns into a series of sprints, so, maybe! You guys have reassured me that I can quit worrying about extra cardio and just concentrate on pole, yoga, and dance classes. That does simplify things! Cheers!

[Casi]

Hi Veena, thanks for the advice. I’ll do some more searching in the archive. Your suggestion to find dance classes that double as cardio is a great one. Cheers!

[Casi]

Hi Trish. I don’t know if it will help, but when I was learning TG handspring, what worked for me was to check my hand position by testing my grip before springing. I’d get my hands in position, with my head in front of the pole, body facing down, but then take a pause to turn my body to the side and put some weight in my arms. If I could feel the strong push-pull supporting my torso, I knew the distance and height was right. Then I’d turn my body back toward the ground and sweep the leg into handspring. Also, for balance, our instructor told us to shift your gaze as you handspring so that you are looking toward the ceiling as soon as your body is upside down. Good luck.

[Casi]

I would get dizzy constantly when I first started spinning pole, and after the first class I felt sick for a couple of hours! The good news is, you do get used to it. Eight months later, I only rarely get dizzy, and it passes quickly. Hang in there!

[Casi]

Completely agree. Like polekat and allgold, I’m one of those girls who builds bulky muscle easily. But based on my pole classes and years of being active, I’d say we are definitely in the minority among women. Most of the other polers I know don’t look muscly at all. In my case, I figure if I’m going to get bulky arms from any workout I do, then I might as well be able to do something awesome with them. Guys are always commenting on my arm muscles and don’t seem to know whether to be impressed, disgusted, or scared. I choose to take it as a complement and I just think to myself, if only they knew!

[Casi]

I’ve tried poling with the pole set up in a hallway door jam. It’s really kind of desperate since its both too narrow and too short. All I can do is some conditioning, and static moves that are only open out in one direction. While I love my apartment, it has high arched brick ceilings and there is no way to put up a pole anywhere else. I may even end up moving at some point because of it. I looked into getting an x-stage lite, but the cost of shipping one to Mexico was just too much. Sigh. Even if I can only have the pole set up in a doorway, it’s still better than nothing!

[Casi]

Oh yeah, and my shirt sleeves have definitely gotten tighter since starting pole. It’s a small price to pay for crazy strength, right?

[Casi]

Another thing to keep in mind is that muscle requires more calories to sustain than fat. Basically, that means that as you gain muscle, your body will burn more calories all the time, no matter what you are doing. That could help you with future fat loss, or, as I prefer to think of it, yay, I can eat more!

[Casi]

Hi all! I’m so glad to have joined the site.

name: I’m going to stick with Casi for the moment (though I picked this because it’s one of the things my pole instructor is always saying to us. It’s Spanish for “Almost!”)
age: 39
location: Mexico City, originally from the US
stage name: none
lessons or self taught: Lessons
spin or static: Spinny, but I like to work on difficult moves on the static first
shoes or barefoot: Barefoot so far
favorite pole move: It changes all the time, but current favorites are elbow grip Ayesha, CAR into TG Ayesha, cartwheel mount (thanks to the SV lesson), and TG handspring
how you got into pole: I was on assignment in South Africa and joined a gym for a week. They had a class, so I decided to try it and was immediately hooked. I’d finally found the perfect sport for a woman with strong arms and a love of jungle gyms! I was then living in a different African country, so I had to wait two long years until I moved to a country that had classes. I got to Mexico last year, enrolled in classes immediately, and haven’t looked back.
how you found out about SV: Every time I had a pole question and searched the web for answers, I’d wind up on this site!
If you were underwear: Lacy boy shorts