[Runemist34]

That happens sometimes… very confusing!
Anyways…
Hello! Welcome to the forums!
By the title you have there, I’m guessing you’re going to be training at home, if not entirely, then primarily and perhaps supplementing with some studio time.
Working out at home can be a bit tough- you need to learn not to listen to your “motivation,” but instead get your stubbornness out, and get on the pole even when you don’t really feel like it, if you promised yourself you would! It can be tough, but super rewarding!
Quite a few of the ladies here dance exclusively at home- myself included, until recently!
We love to post videos and blogs here, so that we can let everyone know about our progress, and enjoy the sense of community here that we may be missing from previous studio life.
Veena’s 30 day takeoff program is AWESOME, and it gets you more used to creating a good workout routine and habit. You can take it as many times as you want!
Her pole lessons are also placed in order of difficulty, so try not to jump ahead too far. We’re all very much about safety here! If anything hurts, maybe back off that move for a bit. Try to make sure you’ve got a quality pole (we recommend either X-pole or Lil Mynx), even though they can be expensive, they will keep you safe from falling! I’ve heard far too many stories of poles falling, breaking, or generally being awful when they are cheap.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, or even search the forums to see what people have said previously!
Looking forward to seeing you progress on your journey!

[Runemist34]

Hey!
Generally men’s shoes and women’s shoes are sized differently- I wear a women’s size 10 shoe, but in a men’s, I would be around an 8. However, I find women’s shoes to be narrower (which is also a size that you can look for, it’s usually in A, B, or C and they make women’s in a narrower size than men’s).
When it comes to heels, it can be a little difficult. All shoes, much like most clothing or bras, are made a little differently, so trying them on would be fairly important! Sometimes, heels can fit a little small and stretch out depending on what they’re made of, or they can fit a little large. Sometimes, they just fit small. It’s hard to know! If you’re buying online, many people will leave comments about how “true to size” things are, so look to that.
Heels also fit differently because they are shaped differently. More of your weight will feel like it’s moving forward into your toes (this takes a while to balance out, but bringing more of your weight to your heel, other than when dancing, is going to be better for your feet!), so they shoe may feel tighter because of this. Depending on the type of shoe, it can feel really uncomfortable having your toes crammed into little spaces for a while!
Not sure why your boots would say “Large,” kind of like having a bra that says “large,” it’s not a very helpful measurement!

Personally, for your first heels, maybe try some nice pumps with a bit of a platform in the toe (like, less than an inch) and see what you think! I found normally shoes with a slight platform to be much easier to walk in.
Pole shoes, however… it’s like walking in stilts! They can take a lot of time to get used to.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

[Runemist34]

All, thanks Phoenix!
Sometimes I wonder if I’m engaging properly and such. This helps a lot! I’m always worried about muscle cramps when I’m working on my middle splits, lol! This should help to work those out.
I would absolutely love a video, but it’s not mandatory! Your explanation certainly helps a lot 🙂

[Runemist34]

Hey there!
Welcome to the site! Feel free to post any videos, even just of you practicing! We all like to post videos to show our progress and our challenges.
Also, many topics have been discussed on the forum previously, but feel free to search, or ask, to find out answers to any questions you have.
Hope you enjoy it here!

[Runemist34]

Honestly, I’m sorry to say that your pole doesn’t sound safe at all.
Pole dancers have to be very careful with the quality of pole that they dance on, because we are trusting our full weight and safety on them. Without the materials and serious strength in the pole, any kind of exercise upon the pole where it carries your weight, including a spin or climb, could be a serious risk.
Most poles do look very much the same- Lil mynx sells poles that are powder coated, and can be many colours, including black, red, and pink. My own is purple.
Many other poles are silver, bronze, brass, and are sometimes made in one full, single piece, and sometimes made in separate pieces that you link together.
But, despite these similarities, many poles exist that are of inferior build quality, as well as inferior materials. It can be extremely dangerous, as many poles masquerade, and even advertise that they are adequate for inverted moves and spins. The most notorious for this is the Peek a Boo pole, or the Carmen Electra pole made by the same company.

Most people will only purchase a pole from one of three companies: Lil Mynx, X Pole, or Platinum stages. Depending on your preferences about how your pole is made, and how it is put up in your home, you can choose from there. I, personally, enjoy Lil mynx poles, and many other people here prefer X pole. Otherwise, there is no actual standard for building of poles, and not often have I seen any other company create a safe pole.

I would seriously recommend looking into purchasing a new, safe pole. I realize it can be quite expensive, but your safety with this form of dance is very, very important. Injuries can really damage your progress, or perhaps even your permanent mobility.

[Runemist34]

Wow, what kind of pole do you have?
It sounds pretty scary to me that you are able to bend any part of your pole- your body weight, plus the centrifugal force of spinning, could likely equal the force of you kicking your pole down.
Sounds to me like some of the screw-in parts have stripped, perhaps from being screwed in too much- maybe not, though, as some things just sort of do that, as far as I can tell.
Now that it’s bent, and partly stripped, I don’t know of any way to fix it.
If you got one from one of the bigger manufacturers (X-pole, Lil Mynx, Platinum stages, etc) you may be able to inquire about getting a replacement part.

[Runemist34]

Yes you do! All access to any of the lessons on the site, for as much as you want or need. Any new lessons that Veena posts are included 🙂

[Runemist34]

Hi there!
Happy to see you here! We welcome new members, and if you have any pictures or videos, feel free to share them! You can also ask lots of questions here- I’ve never seen a single one thought of as “silly” or not worth asking! We’re a very large and diverse group, so someone is bound to have interesting answers for you!
It’s always awesome to hear that someone is finding community and connection through pole dance, too. It can be really hard when you just moved to a new place!!
Some of Veena’s lessons here can also be done without a pole- she has chair dance, and even hooping lessons, as well! You can always poke around in the lessons section, in case there’s something you’d like to learn about before you officially get your own pole. Also, if your studio has “open pole time,” you can take some ideas with you to try out!
Hope to see you around!

[Runemist34]

Hey there! Greetings from the West coast!
I am visually impaired in that I have wicked bad astigmatism, and I’m quite near-sighed. I wear glasses, and it pretty much fixes most of the issues.
In your case, use of a mirror may not be the best option- you could always record yourself dancing, and then watch it back later! Lots of people do this on here, and they find it extremely helpful. It helps with not being overly judgmental while you are dancing and enjoying yourself, and then learning about what worked for you afterward.
For everything else, just take it slowly and be careful. You’ll learn where the pole is and how to find it without really needing to look at it eventually, but with new moves and tricky positions, try to sink into your body and feel what needs to happen, especially if you have depth-perception issues. This way, you can move carefully and be sure you’re safe, and find the pole without too much trouble!
You can always ask questions here if you’re not sure, too!
Hope you have lots of fun with it!!

[Runemist34]

Hey there!
I think there are a lot of underlying things to this, which might be helpful to look at a little closer.
First of all, the question of “What is sexy”? I mean, for many of us, sexiness is often playing to the social image of sexy- usually a lot of flowing hair and long legs and low tops, graceful moves, and not a whole lot of smiling or “fun.” Personally, while I absolutely love to see this type of “sexy” (many of my favourite dancers are russian, who do this style SO WELL), it doesn’t have to be everyone’s kind of sexy. Out here, the pole dance studio usually has it’s “sexy” style informed by a lot of sass and cheekiness! The women are encourages to have fun, to tease and play with their “audience” (even if you don’t have one) and to slap their own butts, because why not?
In other words… Sexy can be created in so many ways, with so many different influences! I often “find my sexiness” by taking my time, slowing things down, and simply enjoying how my body feels and looks. Sometimes, it’s just putting on moisturizer after shaving my legs. I’ve been running for two years, my legs have drastically shifted shape, and I love them. That’s all it really takes.
Secondly, and sometimes more importantly… ARE YOU COMPARING YOURSELF?!
In all caps because it’s very, very important to think about!!
I actually learned this lesson here, on Studio Veena, and I am reminded of it every single day, doing almost every single thing in my life. Yoga? Yes, even though I do it at home with Youtube videos. Running? Hell yes. Work? Yep. Dancing? You betcha! Writing? Sometimes too much.
So, let me put this very directly: Please, do NOT compare yourself, to ANYONE. EVER.
There are so many dancers out there, and none of them are like each other. Veena doesn’t dance like Alethea Austin, and Eva Bembo doesn’t dance like Dirdy Birdy. They are all beautiful, wonderful, sexy, and alive women with their own strengths, and their own styles. If they compared themselves to any of the others, though… Well, maybe they would see themselves come up short! But, that kind of behaviour could be true, all the way around the circle. It could just be one big demoralizing circle of comparison.
Instead, set your bar against yourself. Did you do better today than you did yesterday? Did you achieve a particular goal, such as feeling really good about how sexy that one angle of your leg looked that one time, and see a glimpse of what could be? Did you get up and do the thing you intended to do today, whether that be dancing and working hard, or having an awesome rest day and stretching out those sore, abused muscles?

You are incomparable to any other person. You are beautiful simply because you are you. And, the more YOU that you can be, the more awesome and sexy you will be.
No, you can’t be Veena. Just the same as I can’t be Felix Cane. But, we can look up to them and feel like we want to emulate them, and then just… modify things to be more “us” instead of so “them.”

And finally, yes, practicing movements that are super foreign to you can feel very, very silly. It’s a lot like suddenly trying to get into affirmations if all you ever do is tell yourself bad things: it feels weird, and insincere. Just keep at it, and eventually, it will become your new “normal”!

[Runemist34]

Hey there!
First, take a deep breath! All those things, those horror stories online that you’ve been reading… they’re just that: Horror stories! We don’t often hear about things like “Oh yeah, my surgery went great and everything healed well.” Doesn’t make for a very good blog post or media coverage, does it? So, take all of those things with a pretty big grain of salt, and try to relax.
Also, maybe ask your GP about your healing process and your recovery, and what kinds of things may be possible for your dancing, and your life in the future? You should have access through the health system to all of that information, but sometimes you have to specifically ask for it to get it.
And, finally, remember that ligaments and such can take a LONG time to heal. Much longer than muscles! They are more difficult for your body to heal, and receive less blood, so you’ll definitely get healing, just slowly. I learned this when I damaged my achilles tendon, and was asking why it was taking SO LONG to heal!

An easy way to explain to your doctor about needing grip strength and stuff is to liken it to rock climbing. The needs are similar (though, obviously, not exact).

Keep your chin up, and try not to get too into those downward thought processes. You may have your pole dancing back! It just might take a bit.

[Runemist34]

Hey there!
I’ve actually never heard anything about Fitpole, but they do seem to have some knowledge of how things work with poles. I don’t actually know how they are mounted, however, so I can’t say for sure if they would be easier than an X-pole.
That said, any kind of powder coating on any pole, be it X-pole, Lil Mynx, or Fitpole, is likely going to grip the same or very similar. I really love my powder coated Lil Mynx pole, and I find it very stable and strong, too! I used to slip a lot on my stainless steel. I know many women also love other kinds of finishes and pole materials, such as Titanum Gold, and Brass.
I know that there are LOTS of women here who love X-pole and their products. They could probably advise you best on how to get your pole powder coated.
But, as far as I know, because the X-pole comes in pieces, you can powder coat some of them for added grip, and not others, if you do not need them coated. I’m fairly certain Dirdy Birdy powder coated part of hers! I also think perhaps Veena did hers, as well 🙂
Best of luck!

[Runemist34]

Oooh, I should ask you about this!
How good is Avis?
They apparently include CDW and Theft in their prices! I already budgeted the price, so I know I can afford it, but I do want to make sure I am not going to get some kind of horrible service or terrible car!
They also have Wifi and that’s super tempting, because I would love to have my phone with me (especially for directions when driving!) and that would help out in roaming charges a LOT! Haha “Oh I just gotta check something on the internet, I’ll be at the car!” I could see that happening 😉

[Runemist34]

Iceland was fantastic 😉 We literally landed on the last day of winter (the next day was the first day of summer, and thus a holiday!) and everyone had taken their chains and stuff off their cars… and it snowed like heck when we were landing! Landed in the early morning around 7am, but we’d been flying a long time and had a LONG day before that, so we went for a nap once we got to the hotel. We woke up… no snow, anywhere! It was all gone! I think there are actually pictures on the internet of that day, haha 😉
But I loved it. I loved seeing the Icelandic giant jeep drivers have fun in the dirt while we were going to the glacier, and finding out what the meaning of the longest word in Icelandic meant (I don’t know the word, but the meaning is describing a door, on a house, in a place, in Iceland, LOL) and I loved hearing the Icelandic stories. And the music. And just… everything else! I didn’t get to see some things I wanted (Puffins, Northern Lights, the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft, and the Penis museum, among other things!) but it was fantastic and I’ll definitely be going back one day. Highly recommend the Blue Lagoon hotsprings, too! I had a 60 minute massage IN THE WATER and it was the best thing ever. Especially after a long night of celebration and dancing for like 8 hours!
I have to say, though… coming home back to BC really made me appreciate how lovely my home is, and that I would never want to leave it for long 😉 I’m very attached to it!

Thank you SO much for the explanation! I finally understand this crazy insurance thing now. I thought it was going to be like, how you would insure an owned car? And I was so confused! But this makes much more sense. Maybe I’ll be able to check out their prices on their website for that stuff!
We could, feasibly, also take the bus… but one direction takes 14 hours because you have to stop for the night in this tiny little town that doesn’t have any hotels (except for one castle) and two B&B’s. I’m also worried about my boyfriend’s stress level when driving out there. Here in Canada our roads are wider and fairly predictable, and in the UK… well, I have heard many things about craziness, business, and tininess of the roads!! I’d rather have a relaxing trip, haha 😉

I’ll also be pole dancing pretty hardcore for a year leading up… gotta get my shoulders and arms and back to look fantastic in my dress 😉 haha! And also I really want to see what I can do when I challenge myself to pole dance all the time, and see what I’m made of!

[Runemist34]

Thanks Polekat!
I have actually been to Iceland, as well! we didn’t rent a car, though. I went on a big tour for a day, while my boyfriend had fun being nerdy at the convention they hold there! I wanted around Reykjavik and had lots of fun. The only disappointing part was that we didn’t get to go see the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft- I wanted to see the pants made of human skin! (Morbid, I know, but I had a lot of questions!)
I’ll check out the sites you linked!
Basically, when I go to rent the car, are they just gonna be like “Oh gee you need insurance too!” and then I’ll be dinged with a bunch of charges? Because that sorta sucks!