[ferrous]

I was quite advanced before I got preggers. I stopped when I was just 12 weeks pregnant because I was dizzy from low blood pressure.

After about a year off the pole, I had a go and could do some stuff (very messily and clumsily inverted), and after another year of inactivity I’d lost practically all core strength. I was just like Veena in that my brain and my my body knew what to do, but my body just wasn’t physically able to do it. It was the strangest feeling.

I can’t give you any info on poling soon after birth, as I didn’t have the chance to give it a go any sooner than less than around 10 months after pregnancy.

[ferrous]

I think that you, Webmaster, and Veena should have your own special stars. Like maybe completely purple or something. 🙂

[ferrous]

And the not-quite-yellow star will be useful for letting people know when their subscription has expired, too. Assuming there still isn’t some sort of email letting people know it’s coming up. 🙂

[ferrous]

Wheeee! I have a star! 😀

[ferrous]

I was under the impression that one can pay with a credit card via PayPal without needing to sign up or have an actual PayPal account.

Is that option not available for SV lessons?

[ferrous]

The extra thickness would bother me with a pole sleeve. I have little hands, so I have a 45mm. I got stainless steel because I didn’t want sweat and humidity to ruin the finish. I haven’t worked back up to doing much on my pole yet as I’ve been busy with other things (mainly using it for strength exercises as guided by Veena’s lessons), so I don’t yet know if it’s going to be super slippery for me.

Phoenix Hunter, when you say you can’t do pole spins with a sleeve on, do you mean the pole won’t spin anymore, or that your own body won’t spin around the pole in static mode because it’s _too_ grippy?

[ferrous]

If you get a stainless steel pole and find it slippery, perhaps a pole sleeve is an option?

I’ve not yet read much about them here, but I had a quick look at their site and the idea seems awesome!

[ferrous]

Even with being a slack bum, I noticed tonight that I can get up from our couch (one that is easy to sink into) while using both arms to hold my sleeping two-year-old more easily than I could a couple of weeks ago.

When I say ‘easier than I could’, I actually had to get my partner to hold my hand and pull me up. But not anymore.

Yay, abs! 😀

[ferrous]

Goodness me, I’m so far behind! I’m only up to day 11, and I’ve not done any exercise at all for 3 days! Well, unless you count carrying in about a dozen boxes of our belongings from the undercover area that was swimming in 2 inches of water after heavy rainfall. Amazingly, nothing was damaged!!

Oh, except my foot. I had a run in with a pole, but not the good kind. Some heavy metal table legs broke through the bottom of a soaked box and one landed straight onto the top of my foot. Thankfully, just a little bit of swelling and bruising. It could’ve been so much worse!

Oh, and so now my pole room is full of boxes, and half unpacked stuff. :-/

Mind you, there’s still room to do the abs work. Phew!

[ferrous]

I’ve not found any issues using the lessons from my iPhone. In fact, I haven’t accessed SV even once from my laptop, I think. I’m not sure I even know what the desktop version looks like. LOL!!

I load the videos on my phone and move it around the floor/room even during exercises to put it where I can see it while I’m doing an exercise.

I love that I can use it from my phone. 🙂

[ferrous]

More thighs on that idea, perhaps video and pic uploads could be something that paid members could use. I dunno. Current forum members who have access to that now might not feel it’s fair, though. And rightly so, I guess.

Hm.

Just thoughts.

[ferrous]

Do you think it could work to have membership fees for some parts of the forums? A free, public forum for those who can’t afford to pay and enjoy the social aspect of it, and different members only sections?

I’m not exactly sure what would be different about the paid sections of the forum, but it’s an idea to add value to the site for those who won’t use lessons.

And then perhaps there would be an upgrade for those who are paid forum members if they then would like to pay for full membership.

[ferrous]

And you’re totally welcome. Hard work, dedication, and skill deserve praise. 🙂

[ferrous]

Not kind. Just true. 🙂

[ferrous]

I’ve never had any problems with PayPal. I do use it, but when there are other options, I choose those options purely because I don’t like some of PayPal’s business practices. But in regard to financial safety, I don’t have any issues with them.