[MissMoloka]

Definitely video tape yourself and watch your favorite dancers. I like to Notice their lines and extensions, how they point their toes, extend their arms to their wrist and fingers, move with control, intention and expression even throughout the tricks. I think its fun to Play with how slowly or quickly you do a move or exaggerate it. Make it even bigger, even smaller, even straighter, even bendier, even sexier. I guess polishing is a time to play, ingrain the move even more in muscle memory and the best part – Add your own personality and flare 🙂 yay

[MissMoloka]

I’ve lurked around a lot wondering whether or not to get your lessons. The main reason why I don’t is because, like others have also said, I feel like I can already do a lot of the moves the lessons cover. There are a lot of pole studios where I am so there’s lots of places for me to learn in an actual class.

I’d be enticed to buy lessons if I knew what other new moves or unusual transitions/combos Veena was planning to release lessons for. Is there a “Coming Soon” list of that somewhere? 🙂 Otherwise, I think the site is awesome – love the community, support, the forums and videos. Such a great resource!

[MissMoloka]

Everyone has given great tips!

I only started to fall in love with spin mode this year because I had to learn spin mode for competition – it really forced me to get my act together on spin and was left with no choice but to just do it.

Spin used to make my heart beat so fast (it still does, lol) and I’d feel so out of breath even if I feel like I didn’t do much at all! But, here’s what helped me and I hope it helps you 🙂

– Breathing, taking your time and mentally focusing and refocusing. Focus on what you’re doing and try not to let the fast spinning deter you. When you feel a moment of “OMG, this is going so fast!!!” Take a deep breath, take a moment to pause and focus on what you’re trying to do as much as possible rather than focus on how fast the pole is spinning. It’s not spinning as fast as it feels. Don’t ever feel pressured to rush in to your next move. In fact, I love how spin can make every time you pause a moment to showcase something pretty… which leads to the next point:

– Start with simple, pretty movements. It helped me feel like I was still being productive just by doing something pretty. I recommend watching Rachele Ribera on youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIOXCkrc-5A]. She really takes her time with every little movement so that all movements – no matter how simple – count in looking pretty. Take the time to spin around and make shapes with your legs, like you’re skating around the pole. Don’t rush in to your next move. Just play and have fun.

– Think of the movements as broken down in to segments. This really helped me and kept me from feeling intimidated that I couldn’t do a series of things on spin. You can focus on working each separate segment on its own and piecing them together little by little and again, without rushing. Always take a moment to breathe and mentally refocus if you feel yourself starting to worry or freak out…

You can start off like this:

– Segment 1: Simple spinning around in a pretty chair pose (hold for about two rotations)
– Segment 2: From the chair pose, bring legs to pole to climb (hold pole between shins for about two rotations – breathe!)
– Segment 3: Start pulling up in to a climb (keep breathing and don’t worry about the spin speed). Again, take your time and it’s your chance to make it look pretty if you don’t rush.
– Segment 4: Breathe – get ready to wrap legs around for a sit. Mentally prepare yourself because spin will increase, keep breathing, focus on getting in to that sit. Hold for a few rotations, catch your breath as the world spins around you and relax…
– Segment 5: follow up with whatever your next move is….

Sorry for being so wordy but hope this helps! It can be done! To recap, I think of spin pole as taking your time with each move, taking the time to breathe and refocus during a move and in between moves. Make each move count and if the pole slows down and can’t be sped up,just do your best to dismount beautifully and start a new sequence. A lot of getting through spin is a mental thing for me I guess :p Good luck!!!

[MissMoloka]

Your plan sounds good and I bet you’ll do awesome! I’ve only been teaching less than a year and I was very nervous and self-conscious at the start. I can be pretty shy, but one big thing I learned so far is that my first real priority as a teacher (after making sure everyone is safe and not doing anything to injure themselves) is to make every student feel fabulous and comfortable to be in your class. That means being warm and welcoming, learning everyone’s name (if possible), being encouraging, cheering them on and telling them they’re doing great and that things take time if they can’t nail moves right away or find them difficult. Friendly chit chat and getting to know a bit about each student helps build a connection that will remind them you care about them 🙂 This of course takes time, so in the beginning, when it’s my first time meeting certain students – I ask their name, if they’ve poled before and just ask how everyone is feeling 🙂 After making every student feel good about themselves, next task is to teach pole/fitness! :p If students walk out feeling like they had fun, learned something new or made progress then I think it was a good class :)I just think of my favourite teachers in the past and replicate what I liked about them whether it was their friendliness, precise instruction or ability to keep classes dynamic etc. Good luck and have fun!!

[MissMoloka]

I know how you feel! I had a chrome pole and it would take FOREVER to warm up that it really deterred me from practicing. As everyone says, a warm room does help and yes, there is hope. I love dirty girl poletice for my sweaty hands. That’s my main problem and it has helped so much! I still need to try different grip aids for my hands though as I don’t use any – just the dirty girl antiperspirant. Good luck!

[MissMoloka]

Thank you jsheridan and dustbunny! I will play with your suggestions 🙂

[MissMoloka]

Wow, 3 years! I hope things get better! I've just scheduled an appointment with a massage therapist, so hope that helps. It's annoying when you think things are getting better, but the next day, you're back to feeling pain or tightness 🙁 Oh well…

[MissMoloka]

Hey, 

Thanks for the insight! Will just take it easy and try not to aggravate it.I wasn't given any exercises to do… Thanks for the tips! I do find it much easier to walk fingers up a wall rather than raise the arm by itself :p 

[MissMoloka]

Thanks for all the awesome suggestions!!! Tigerlillies, I love your idea!!! It would be awesome to do rotations to different countries/cities and stay with other pole people who can show you around their studio! It would definitely be a great way to save and less intimidating when you have someone guiding you and showing you around 🙂 It probably wouldn't be too hard to coordinate either.