[grayeyes]

Looks about right to me. I stop and surf through videos trying to find something I wanted to try or seeing if any of my video actually looks decent and by the time I get back up the pole is cold again!

[grayeyes]

I think your group is a great idea Allyson. I don’t have any in-person pole buddies either. I went to a studio in my city for a while and it was okay but I didn’t really fit in. I keep hoping to convince a friend to try poling but no one’s biting.

I did a little poling at my local park yesterday and I love it and it makes me wish I could do more outside and have some friends to share it with.

I would like to win the lottery and build an awesome, humongous aerial/rock climbing/obstacle course/gymnastic gym.

Veena, it makes me sad too that your new place has been lonely. Every time I see your IG posts of your beautiful studio and deck I want to go house hunting and find something similar.

[grayeyes]

Lots of really good advice has been give. I am 46 years old and agree with what everyone has said. Now is the time to try it. It is much harder to go after a dream later in life when perhaps you are married or have children. It’s also harder (not impossible) but harder to go from a more comfortable lifestyle to a simpler one. Of course it can be done but once you live more comfortably you generally don’t want to give those things up. In the big scheme of things, a year is a short time and following your dream for a year likely won’t make a big difference in the final outcome if you end up choosing to go back to school and go a more traditional route.

I think Runemist’s advice that a hobby or passion can become a chore when it becomes your career is very wise and something I had not thought of.

[grayeyes]

@zoilife6233 I am so glad you like your MAT practitioner! I love mine too. He really listens and pays attention to all my many little aches and pains and genuinely seems to want to figure them all out. Most doctors, etc. glaze over by the second or third thing I mention. Wish I had started seeing him sooner.

[grayeyes]

Agree with the others–just start poling and do whatever other workout floats your boat. Personally I feel like I need to do some lower body stuff to keep up with the upper body strength gains from poling.

And welcome, I wish more guys would try this.

[grayeyes]

Welcome back to the pole! Glad you’re feeling good as new!

[grayeyes]

I have not but I would like to. I emailed them for a catalog. The minimum order they will ship to another country is three costumes–so kind of expensive to try it out.

[grayeyes]

My MAT practitioners use their hands–really fingers to apply pressure to the insertion site of the muscles. In many areas I find it tender–usually didn’t realize I was tender there–but they ask if it’s okay and will stop if I can’t tolerate it. I have never had to ask them to stop.

[grayeyes]

Thanks ladies. I’ll check out your suggestions. 🙂

[grayeyes]

That’s about what I was charged as well. I think my initial was $175 and my follow up visits are $130. I have it performed by licensed physical therapists so my insurance covers it, which I suspect is rare but I am lucky to have very good health insurance.

I suspect it would be more than one session too but perhaps not many. For me they work on an area and send me home with a few exercises to do (usually quite minimal) to help whatever area they worked on stabilize. In the very beginning I think I went weekly or every other week and now I’m going more like every three weeks. My practitioners are very aware that it is expensive and an out of pocket expense for most people so they don’t insist that you come in every week or whatever–they make a recommendation and leave it up to me. I don’t know if all practitioners operate the same way.

The initial problem I went for is healed so if I was paying out of pocket I would probably not still be going but since it’s covered for me I’m attempting to have them fix all the many aches, pains and stiffness in my 46-year-old body.

[grayeyes]

I called local companies and I am being quoted anywhere from $125-225 for a 9-foot pole.

[grayeyes]

Check out Muscle Activation Technique. https://muscleactivation.com/

I am not a provider of this service nor do I have any reason to promote it other than it has been helpful to me, my husband and my sister for various chronic injuries. I have it performed by a physical therapist and am lucky that my insurance covers it but it can also be performed by trainers, etc. who have gone through the training. It’s pretty amazing how the technique can improve range of motion and muscle resistance on the spot.

[grayeyes]

I love TJMaxx–I buy most of my fitness stuff there. I’ll keep my eye out for New Balance. Thanks!

[grayeyes]

I’m copying in a post I made a month or so ago about a hamstring injury I sustained working on splits in a yoga class. I truly hope this is not what happens to you but thought I would post it for the progression of treatment I went through at the direction of sports medicine physicians. On the positive side, it did finally heal but, man, did it take a long time.

I just wanted to post this in case it can help somebody else with a hamstring injury that just won’t heal. I injured my hamstring way up in my butt cheek where the muscle attaches working on splits in a yoga class. It took 14 months to heal–I actually had kind of given up on it ever healing. When it happened I assumed it was a pulled muscle and gave it six weeks of relative rest with no improvement. Then saw my doc who ordered physical therapy which included strengthening as well as some myofascial release and electrical stim. No change, back to doc, MRI done showing no tear. Doc sent me to his partner who did some more myofascial release and acupuncture and he attaches electrical stim to the acupuncture needles. No change. This second doc then did two injections of prolotherapy, which is injecting dextrose into the area to irritate it so it will heal itself. Three weeks after the second injection it started to get a little bit better, which it hadn’t done for a year. Around then I also started getting Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) therapy ([muscleactivation.com)] as recommended by the second doc as well. I just noticed about two weeks ago that it’s finally gone. I believe prolotherapy was probably the biggest reason and the MAT probably helped too. I’m continuing the MAT for a few other aches and pains that won’t heal and they think they’ll be able to help my back flexibility (or lack thereof) as well.

I know from some previous posts that there are many of us with hamstring injuries so hopefully this will help someone.

And this is the only community who will understand how happy I am to be able to genuinely work on flexibility again!

[grayeyes]

Thanks for the reply. I’m glad it’s not just me. I felt like an idiot even posting the question but every time I wear tights somewhere I wonder how you all do it–they drive me nuts. I couldn’t get over the price on the Nike’s so I bought them new off ebay for half the price and I still think that’s outrageous. I figured maybe buying “better quality” was the answer. Apparently not in this case.