[LillyBilly]

LOL! That's an awsome thread!

I have very sensitive nose – I identify people by smell (I can tell who is in the office by the sniffing the air), I know who was in the toilet before me by the smell of their poop (or whether it was a man or a woman if I don't know the person), and I can tell when people are sick by smelling their breath from across the room.

I remember words with colors (which makes it really difficult to distinguish between words with similar colors).

I can raise each one of my eyebrows separately

I can make my butt chicks bounce really quickly 🙂

I can make a little tube with my tounge, rotate it 180' to each side and tie cherry stems with no hands 🙂

[LillyBilly]

Hi,
I've had digestion problems for the past 13 years or so, and eventually I came up with a method to regulate my bowl movements:

I don't like laxatives – you can become dependant on them. I use them only when I have an emergency.

Enemas are ok from time to time – use a simple water enema (no coffe or soap or any of the other stuff people put in it), but be careful – it can irritate your stomach, so don't do it for the first time before a show.

Water – drink. A lot. And drink water – no sodas no sweet or diet drinks, no hot drinks. Just water. I drink at least 2 liters of water every day.

I don't know much about the paleo diet, but if you are constantly constipated – maybe it's not right for you? Do you eat enough fresh vegetables (If I don't eat a giant salad in the evening, I don't poop the day after that)? Do you have enough fibers in your diet?

You can also take fiber supplements on a daily basis to regulate your bowels. If you do, DRINK.A.LOT.WITH.THAT. It can also cause stomach ache and may take some getting used to, so don't try it for the first time before a show.

Adjust your lifestyle – make sure you have enough quiet "poop time" every day. If you skip one day, the next one become much harder.

[LillyBilly]

Hmm…

965 https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rambo.gif

[LillyBilly]

WOW! you are really strong! You inspire me!

What's the name of the trick on 1:36? It is so prety 🙂

[LillyBilly]

Maybe if you post a video, we'll be able to troubleshoot it…

[LillyBilly]

@CapFeb – my point exactly. I've been working on my Ayesha for months and I can't do it for the life of me. What did I get from all my pullups?

[LillyBilly]

I do pullups – I don't know how many exatly. It depends of the hold – different holds work different muscles. When my palm is facing me ("women's hold"), I can do ~4 one-handed pull ups on my good side. At my best, I used to do 20 poleups on every hand (right hand higher and then the left), but I haven't done that in several months so I probably can't do it any more. I can also climb using my arms only on static as well as spinning pole. 

All the intermediate-advanced girls in my studio do pull ups as well.

I believe that doing pullups will help certain pole tricks, but not all of them, and that doing other strength excercises is a must for most strength-based tricks. There are also so many other things one must work on to be good at pole – flexibility, technique, core strength, balance and control, that I find that my improvement with this pull ups alone hardly affects my overall performance.

I definitely don't think that one's ability to do pullups is the sole indicator of fitness/strength or anything else for that matter.

Everyone's anatomy is different – women tend to have weaker upper-body in relation to their overall strength than men, and strength in different area varies among women as well. I have strong upper body, but my calves are really weak. Other people will have strong legs, but weak arms etc.

In addition to that – it is silly to assume that if you practice in a certain way, your performance will improve in every concievable aspect. If I run, I will be a good runner – not a good weightlifter. If I do abs curls I will have strong abs, not strong legs. To be good at pullups – you need to practice doing pullups.

Strength doesn't "leak" from one part of your body to another.

[LillyBilly]

But Veena, you ARE famous 🙂

[LillyBilly]

LOL, this discussion reminded me of this meme:

http://www.tattrpufffitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Strength_Training.png

http://ahdalin.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/what-actually-happens.jpg

Anyway – As monary said – I too have never seen a woman in real life that I thought was unattractively muscular. I build muscles fast, and I love it. My boyfriend loves it. I get compliments all the time. When I look at my teachers at the studio, I admire their bodies. 

Personally, I think that my body looks and feels best when I do whatever makes me happy, and let it reflect my lifestyle choices and passions.

[LillyBilly]

What an interesting question!

I don't have this problem most of the time because my theacher's sexy-flowy style sits well with me most of the time, but I can identify with you – I definitely feel the need to do something different and more 'edgy' sometimes, and I think that he will have a hard time helping me with that.

However, in the show we had about a month ago, one of the guys in the studio danced and really made the dance "his", which means that it is possible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SXBJqQuwNG8

(sorry for the bad quality. relevant part starts at 2:30)

I've been thinking about choreographing songs in my own style as well, and this is what I came up with:

– Go to dance classes (non-pole) with teachers whose style fits you. In pole classes, try to apply what you've learned to pole.

– Research – find choreographies you like, and keep them with notes – what moves did you like? what moments in the choreography? why did you like them? I have a huge youtube list with comments like "attitude at 1:03" and "cool jump at 2:30" and such.
When I work at home, I use it for inspiration.

– During private lessons, maybe you can go over your list with your teacher? She may be able to help you learn some of the moves, or have a better understansding of what you want so she can adjust her style for you.

– Keep a little notebook with you all the time. Does it ever happen to you that you listen to a song and suddnly know exactly what felling/moves would match a certain moment perfectly, and you can envision it clearly in your head? 
When this happens, write down what you thought and draw little stick figures as needed, so that you don't forget.

I have a special format for this: I divide my notebook into two vertical columns. In the middle of the column, I paint a "beat line" (it helps if this is a math notebook): Lets say that in your song, every bar has 4 beats, and every musical sentence is 2 bars long. You draw evenly spaced horizontal lines in the middle of your column. Make every 4th line a bit longer, and every 8th line even longer than that. Then, use one side to paint little stick figures of what you want to do, and the other side for music/lyrics notes.

I'm not sure if my explanation makes sense, so I made a small example:
https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_photo/5082767b-bad0-4069-8402-5db90ac37250

This way I can remember moves, rythm, and why I thought they fit a certain part of the song. This idea is also very good if you want to remember a choreography you learned in class, btw. My teacher almost cried of happiness the first time he saw me do that https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

And most importantly – experiment and enjoy what you are doing! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[LillyBilly]

Thank you!

I just ordered two pairs, medium size. I hope they are as good as everyone say, and then I will order many more! 🙂

[LillyBilly]

I love you blog! I've been following it since day 1!

But from some reason, I never manage to leave a comment on any of the posts 🙁

[LillyBilly]

@X Pole Tech – Is there a picture somewhere of the old x-joints vs. the new ones?

[LillyBilly]

Some moves take more time to nail because they require strength/flexibility/balance in areas you are naturally not strong. When it happens to me, I stop working on the move, and focus on preparations for it, and when I try the move again – I always find that I've made some progress.

For extended butterfly and ayesha – you need a strong caterpillar, but you say that you are wobbly when doing this move. Before I was able to nail either of these, I spent several minutes after every lesson just holding a caterpillar position on each side:

https://www.studioveena.com/galleries/view/4f87a110-f2a8-473b-b0db-3d520ac37250

Hold on one side for as long as you can, then switch to the other side, do ~5 on every side. This will strengthen your back/shoulder muscles and help you feel secure. You can also work on different hand positions.

Next things you will need for these moves are balance and core strength. I found it beneficial to practice headstands/elbowstands (with lift, not with momentum) – it helped me really "feel' my balance and learn how to use my core muscles to stabilize myself.

[LillyBilly]

I really feel there's a cultural thing going on here. 

I understand why eva x said what she said – where I come from, people are much more blunt about everything, and are much more likely to criticise than give praise. It's not that we are being mean, it's just a different way to motivate people, that some (me included) think is more powerful.

To be honest, I find the "american" style hard to navigate sometimes as well. To people like me, who are used to being told when something we do simply sucks, that kind of discussion doesn't sound supportive – it sounds dishonest, just as I often come across as mean-spirited when I talk to americans.

So my point is – cultural differences are hard 🙂