[Minnow]

Maxine, I was in a similar position as you are, except my hang-up was that I had left my pole at  the studio I was helping out and then could not get it disassembled for about two months after that. (Pesky old threaded type pole.) So now that I'm getting back into it, I'm veeerrryyy rusty. Things that used to be second nature to me like wrist sits (I ate s*** the first time I tried it once getting the pole up at home) and inverts are suddenly difficult again and I was struggling to even make my spins look as graceful as they used to be. Calluses gone, muscle tone gone…hey…where did I pick up these extra 5 pounds?

 

Then I finally broke down. I paid the darn $20 and stopped surfing youtube and member videos, trying to break things down. And man, was it worth it. She breaks down the points of contacts, exactly how to position your limbs/body, and she's just plain cute to watch, to boot. I couldn't be more happy, and it's wonderful to progress a bit as I slowly build up my strength and flexibility and get back some of that "bruise proofness" that I'm lacking now. I like going through the categories (beginner and intermediate for me so far) after my warmup and doing the moves as kind of a "checklist" watch the video, do the move – yes I can do that one! When I get to one I'm rusty at, I'll go through Veena's steps and break it down, figure out what I need to improve and most past it. I'm working on my Gemini right now, gotta build up that knee pit toughness!

 

Go for it, when you think the timing is best for you!

[Minnow]

Here’s a selection of the slower stuff from my dancing play list https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_DJ.gif

Amber – 311
Carnival – Natalie Merchant
Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band
Far Behind – Candlebox
Hey – Pixies
In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins
Low – Cracker
Lunatic Fringe – Red Rider
Make Me Bad – Korn
No Diggity – Blackstreet & Dr. Dre
Oops (Oh My) – Tweet
Set the Mood Prelude/Until the End of Time – Justin Timberlake
You Look Like Rain – Morphine (VERY slow and sultry)
Zombie – The Cranberries

Some of these have really cool, subtle melody and harmony lines and it’s a fun change from a strong bass beat – I found that some really make my dance flow softly and smoothly (Carnival is one of my favorites)