[PippiParnasse]

I tried a Chinese medicine practitioner years ago who came highly recommended-not acupuncture but herbal stuff. I had the same experience with the pulse taking which I thought was fascinating! Unlike in your case I thought his diagnosis sounded accurate. But alas the nasty tea and abstaining from coffee and chocolate for a month did not help me at all.

I have tried MAT and found it promising but prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, Feldenkrais worked for me after 1 session and was cheaper. 🙂 (note that all these visits were for different issues so it’s not a side-by-side comparison!)

[PippiParnasse]

Everyone is right–you can improve your grip strength even if your hands are small. We do some grip exercises in my conditioning class. Aerial silks and rock climbing are great ways to cross-train your grip.

For people with small hands, it can be beneficial to focus on cup grip (for things like handsprings). When you are using cup grip, it doesn’t matter how big the pole is since you’re not trying to wrap your thumb around. So for any move that has a cup grip variation, try learning it. It seems hard at first but once you get used to it it’s fine!

[PippiParnasse]

I’m not competing but I’m volunteering. I’ll be pole cleaning from 2-5!

[PippiParnasse]

I have sickling feet, especially on my right. I find that I can get it to point the right way, but I have to think about it–it’s not my body’s natural movement. I’ve just had to develop the habit over the years of externally rotating that foot when I point it. Because my version of externally rotated is everyone else’s version of normal! And if I’m not concentrating on form, it’s the first thing to go (lots of videos where it looks like my right foot is floppy because it’s sickled). It’s just a matter of awareness at this point!

[PippiParnasse]

I don’t have the sweatiest hands, but I do use gloves occasionally in the winter. They make me feel warm very quickly, which is helpful to get me started when I’m too cold, and they let me grip the cold slick pole without using up my grip aids. I don’t use them in the summer because they make me sweat too much (not just on my hands, all over).

[PippiParnasse]

I don’t know yet if I’m going but I live in the area if anyone wants to meet up. Especially if you want to take a day trip to the best town in America, Salem!!

[PippiParnasse]

Thanks for the input guys! I wish I could go with them…

@Allyson I did a photo shoot at R Bar shortly after they opened. I was going to play there with my band before I moved away, but we ended up booking somewhere else instead (Delancey I think). Would still be fun to play there sometime!

[PippiParnasse]

They also mentioned they wouldn’t mind going to a lesbian strip club. I’m sure if such a thing exists it’s in NY, but for the life of me I have no idea where.

[PippiParnasse]

Teehee, I was narcissistically checking my blog stats and backtracked to here. 🙂 Thanks for sharing my article Robyn, you’re the best!! And thanks for the kind words Amiloo.

[PippiParnasse]

Hi LunaBella, you are very close to me! Did you just move here?

I’ve popped into several studios in the area, and I like to document my experiences…

North Shore Pole Fitness: http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2012/11/studio-review-north-shore-pole-fitness.html

Boston Pole Fitness (they are in Allston, not sure if that’s too close to Boston for you): http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2013/06/studio-review-boston-pole-fitness.html

Gypsy Rose, also in Allston (I occasionally pop in to teach a class): http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2013/07/studio-review-gypsy-rose-exotic-pole.html

SuperShag (in Charleston, probably too close to the city for you): http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2012/12/studio-review-supershag-charlestown-ma.html

There are a number of other studio’s that I’ve popped into as a non-student (for instructor jams, to teach, just passing through). We should get together and I’ll bring you up to speed! 🙂

[PippiParnasse]

I’ve had http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com for long enough that it’s not going to die. I don’t post every day or week, but I try to keep the posts informative when I do.

[PippiParnasse]

Definitely the cold, also your skin might be drier because of the weather too (I have that problem). You may need to moisturize your legs with something grippy like Corn Husker’s lotion.

[PippiParnasse]

I’ve taken co-ed classes and plenty of co-ed jam sessions. It’s never been an issue, but then again those weren’t sexy classes per se. There is a place around here (I see you’re from MA) that admits men to any class, including sexy stiletto dancing. And apparently they even come to that. Actually, that seems like a good compromise: men can come to pole class only if they wear stilettos! 🙂 🙂 🙂

[PippiParnasse]

I love going to different places, just to see the different styles of studios and teaching. I’ve never been a regular at more than one place–how that would work out probably depends a lot on community politics. Some studios are friendly and happy to share students, others can be a bit of a drama so you might be exposed to some trash talking. (For example, if one studio is losing a lot of students to another studio, they might try to convince you not to go there.) I would try it though–you will end up with a broader perspective than your classmates, and a bigger circle of pole friends. 🙂

[PippiParnasse]

I don’t know of anything pole-specific, but I keep the following on my bookshelf and reference them as needed:
* Stretching Anatomy by Nelson and Kokkonen
* Strength Training Anatomy by Delavier
* Fitness Professionals’ Guide to Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Human Movement by Golding & Golding

I’m working on a handout for my conditioning workshops but it’s going to be extremely basic.