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Wow!! I learned something new!! So I am not sure if the question was address, and I agree with some of you guys, I dont use tampons for those reasons too!! But back to my question, could you use this over night than while you are sleeping? Just curious, and I wasnt aware about that while inverting on the pole soo way good to know! Even though I dont exercise much anyway when im on my friend for the week!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif

They can be left in up to 12 hours, so imagine just putting in your cup the day before your period is supposed to start and checking it morning/night until you get it…no surprises! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

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That does help, actually. =) I’ve only used the x-stage from x-pole, I haven’t tried their removable ones. On the x-stage the holes at the center connection are really rough… is it just a problem with that particular pole? If the removable ones don’t have them in the center or are smoother, that wouldn’t be too bad. Any idea how chrome compares to a well seasoned stainless?

I bet this is because the sections had been locked together and the openings were bent trying to pry them apart with the little rods they give you. I bought my x-pole used and one of the sets of holes is rough that way, but the good news is that can be fixed with a little very careful hammering.

Either way, the joints come from the factory very, very smooth. You’ll never notice the holes.

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Knee hold to shoulder dismount? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif

I’d love to see a vid of that, because I can’t figure how you’d get your hands right for the dismount in time to…well…not eat it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

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Well said by all again! I personally don’t think pole in it’s current form needs to be in the olympics, either. When you think about it, there’s just not a lot of standardization in the art form right now…it’s still a developing art form, and it’s still primarily an expressive art form. I think if pole does make it into the olympics, it will be in a form different to what we recognize as pole dancing right now.

Even if it doesn’t make it, I could see the development of a National Aerial Sports League or something like that with different divisions for pole and hoops and silks…all aerials! And having youth level designations and gyms all over…just like gymnastics or ballet. I think having a system like that might even allow for aerial sports to develop toward a more olympic-ish format. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to broaden the reach of aerial sports in general so that more people have access to it….the natural consequence of that is that there will be whole new different sexual and non-sexual approaches to pole, all of which I think could be lovely. I particularly would want to see what some really kickin’ 10-15 y/os would come up with, because kids are so body aware I bet they could really show us some stuff if there were trained to the point of skill where they were coming up with their own moves, putting their own variations on them and etc. I definitely know a couple girls in that age range in my family who I think would come up with awesome pole routines if they were shown/could do the moves/were more familiar with pole etc. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

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In hopes that no one would take what I said the wrong way, I decided to step way outside my comfort zone and do an entire day of just sexy practicing–or, what I think comes out sexy to me, I guess–and post a vid of it, awkward though it may feel to me to really flaunt. I had an excuse today because those damn 3 H’s came together in the worst way for me and my hands were so sweaty and my pole was so slick I seriously couldn’t do any tricks without feeling like I was about to kill myself, which is not my idea of fun. So, here’s my first day of practice in 2010, an all out slinkfest, dedicated to you. I took some of what I thought was the best for this vid…I’ve got some comedy GOLD in outtakes though. I just might have to post some of those. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif I hope this proves I wasn’t trying to judge anyone, just expressing the extent to which I have a difficult time with it myself and blush too easily. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif

So here I lay prostrate before the forum. Be kind, I don’t think I was built for sexiness.

http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2683" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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3. According to the DivaCup Web site, "Yes, The DivaCup can be worn for women with a tipped or tilted uterus. Since it is worn lower in the vaginal canal it does not interfere with the position of the uterus." Yay! I went to SoftCups’ Web site and unfortunately they do not mention whether or not we tilted ladies can use it. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif

The softcups have to be hooked over the end of your cervix to work, so I’m betting no https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif

I tried instead softcups….they’ve never worked for me. Luckily, silicone cups fit differently. But every time I’ve tried instead, I’ve had leaks. And I know with total certainty I had it placed right. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif

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OMG!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

When I left to go back to school, there was 1 reply to my post. I get back, and everyone is curious!!! I’m so glad I was able to open this topic up for conversation! Now that I see this much interest, I’ll give my backstory.

I’ve never had a consistent period ever. For the first 2 years after I started at 13, I only got my period every 6 months. Then for the next few years, it fluctuated every cycle. Sometimes it was 6 months, sometimes it was "normal," then once I got my period twice in 2 weeks. That led to on-again off-again with birth control. Haven’t been on it in a year. But, I’ve always had a lot of frustration associated with my period, which sucks because it should be celebrated imo. I’m on a general mission to make the week a more harmonious time for me as a person, and for my body as a whole, and for just my ladyparts too!

I found the divacup for $20 on amazon, I think I’m going to go ahead and order it today. It probably won’t make it here in time for me to use it, but if the one day shipping isn’t outrageously expensive, I’ll go ahead and try. I’m just worried it will be too long https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif But from my (hilarious https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif ) attempts at measurement, I don’t think I have a particularly short canal or anything. Hmmm.

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Freethesun, and Luvlee, I think you hit the nail on the head. I commented, but I tried to keep it short, polite, and not too intrusive. I was called a garden implement for it, and that’s pretty much the only response I got at all! So, I agree, she just wanted to ruffle some feathers and whatnot. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif

LOL I never got the use of the word "hoe" myself….sleeping around = loosening topsoil? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

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I just can’t get over how hilarious it is that she’s trying to present herself as superior when she types like a drunken ten year old. I’ll take her opinion seriously when she starts typing it coherently. (And, by the way, the only women I know in my personal life who type like that all over the internet, are, well, pretty dirty, trashy, and slutty, and certainly not women I see garnering much respect from males)

Does she really think men will respect her more than a strong, fierce, sexy independent pole dancing woman when she can’t even be bothered to type like she’s over the age of 13? That behavior in women cries out to men "look! I’m as stupid and passive as you want me to be! I’m innocent and cute and I’ll never challenge your intelligence! I’m not a threat to your manly superiority!"

It’s this "I’m too trendy to be smart, teehee!" behavior that drives me up the freakin wall! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mad.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mad.gif

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Let’s look at the other side of this. I’m a thin girl. At the moment I weigh 100 pnds and hate how I look. I think women with curves are so much prettier. And there are def. drawbacks from being too thin. My heart for one. My doctors are constantly telling me I need to gain as my heart cannot support me on what I weigh and what I eat. I have lots of loose skin on my stomach from having kids and I do have the dimples on my legs. I constantly worry "If I eat, I’ll get too big" And yet I know I need to gain weight. My face is gaunt and that shows every wrinkle, every line. I looked so much younger when I was at about 120 pnds. Thin is not always better.

Personally I think everyone has something about their body that they don’t like but beauty comes from within yourself. So when I start feeling bad about how I look, I step back and think about the positive things about me. Always makes me feel better.

I’d like to be the first (probably won’t be the last) to tell you that you are gorgeous !! Definitely one of the most beautiful dancers here with a body to die for and a smile that can light up a room! Seriously have you ever just looked at your smile? Because you have a fantastic smile! Probably some of those "lines" you worry about come from being blessed enough to have smile lines from that beautiful grin. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

But I do understand the frustration of being thin. I really hate my body. Really, really hate it. I feel like i’m flubby in the wrong places and flat in definitely the wrong places. I haven’t even made a vid here yet that did not involve the padding of my bras https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif Even if you ladies would never judge me, looking at myself in pics/vids without faking a rack makes me want to cry. I absolutely despise the way my figure looks without chest. I don’t think it would be possible for a person to hate their body more than I hate mine. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif I don’t feel like a woman at all. When I look in the mirror I see a cleavage-less preteen. I can’t shop at lingerie stores…there’s nothing sexy in my closet because lingerie is built for women with breasts, not 12 year old training bra teets like mine. Even all the "cute" bra and panty sets are cut for girls with a nice pretty natural C. So I have a closet full of plain ugly pushup bras I can stuff and some cute panties here and there that halfway match the bras. I mean, this is the first guy I’ve ever been with that I don’t have sex with a shirt on. And I’ve just recently stopped wearing 2 pushup bras when I go out because my guy will poke fun at me for faking having boobs since he found out it’s all a lie. He says he likes them but I could tell he was disappointed when he saw what was really under there (he swears he wasn’t, I justify myself by thinking he was). I’ve actually duct-taped my boobs together and then worn 2 bras over that to feel like I looked like I should.

All the talk of "real women have curves" can be really, really hurtful to someone who has none.

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Yeah! I’m so glad folks are discussing this. Sometimes I feel like "sex" is the elephant in the room we can’t talk about.

I guess I have two issues… 1) Pole dancing and sexuality, and 2) sexuality and culture

It seems as if we are constantly bombarded with two big messages — SEX!!!! and Sex is BAD!!! (so, you need to pay a lot for it!) This bugs the hell out of me. Humans are the most sexual animals on this planet. We are the only females that have intercourse when we are not fertile. And we are very successful animals! Supposedly, sometime in our history, the human population almost went extinct, and only a small tribe was left… Like maybe only 100 people… And they repopulated the planet! That’s a lot of sex.

(science nerd warning) Dolphins also have sex for pleasure. We are the only two known species that do. Also, we were reduced to 1000 breeding adults, several thousand if you count those who were too old or too young to breed at the time. You know what saved us? We discovered shellfish and subsisted off that for generations. Go figure. (/science nerd)

I think you all make great points, because of course being present in your body is what you have to do to really dance. Sometimes I know when I am really in the moment is when someone would tell me that I look sensual or passionate or sexy, but that usually could not be farther from what I’m feeling. Dancing to me is not always sexy. In fact, it tends to be quite painful. I dance to get my troubles out, and often times I find myself on the ground after a spin and just…falling over on my pole and sobbing. Which doesn’t feel too sexy (also why there aren’t any recordings of me that don’t involve performing some specific trick.)

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Pole is hard for everyone, whether you use static or spin. I don’t care what kind of pole you use…it could have a motorized spinning function for all I care….hanging on while you’re whipping around a pole is flippin hard.

Glitter…you know I adore you….tell that chick to piss right off. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif What good can we possibly accomplish by knocking each other’s methods of approaching this ART FORM. For instance, certain things are harder on acoustic guitar and certain things are harder on electric guitar and vice versa–you don’t see anyone knocking BB King because he plays an electric, or John Mayer because he prefers acoustic. It ALL takes skill and if what you produce at the end is pretty……SUCK IT BYOTCHES!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

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As I’m not really comfy using the words "my" and "sexuality" in anywhere near close proximity, I will just say that the first time I ever encountered pole dancing was at a strip club, and I wanted to get lost in the aerial sport factor of it, but the sexual element was there because, well, duh. Heh. And all it did was make me uncomfortable. I offended one of the dancers because she was trying to be sexy and look me in the eyes and I pretty bluntly turned away from her. I didn’t even do it on purpose, I just got so instantly embarrassed that I looked down. I felt really bad. If it was a woman I had known personally, where I could appreciate the personality driving the sexual energy, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so awkward. But she looked at me like I was expecting her to flirt with me, and that made me feel 100% awful.

Just think, for example, uspdf having floor work requirements….good lord I hate doing floor work! It’s just uncomfortable for me, I can’t figure out how I’d do floor work that doesn’t make me feel like I’m dancing too sexy. And I hate that it’s somehow thought of as an expected portion of a routine. No one expects an aerial silks performer to do floor work. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif
Sometimes I just feel people *expect* sexuality in pole dancing, and when I see that expectation in non-dancers who find out what I do, it makes me feel instantly objectified. A woman should never have to feel she is "expected" to be sexual in any of her pursuits if that’s not what she wants. Owning your own sexuality as an adult means you also have the right to not show it to anybody else if you don’t want to, or the right to put it out there if you do.

I’ll repeat the disclaimer that this is not intended to judge anyone’s dance style. Some of my favorite dancers bust some pretty blatantly sexy moves, and I can appreciate watching, and I’m not saying dancers who have a sexual style are slutty or showy or anything like that. I just personally don’t feel comfortable projecting it, so it bugs me to think I could never get away from that image of pole being tied to sex.

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hehe window cleaner/shaving cream…ah the tricks of our trade! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Hair spray is my saviour in this horrible weather.

First I turn the heating UP, then get my pole as warmed up as possible, (pole ups/small spins), then I spray a tiiiiny bit of hair spray on each hand…then as I’m using the pole, the pole will end up getting easier and easier to grip! Make sure u don’t use too much though because then you just stick like a fly on wall paper…good for some moves…not very graceful for spins!

Rrrrrreally?? What brand are you using? Aerosol or spritzer bottle? Hmmm I’m going to have to give this a go as I have…shall we say…a repertoire of hair sprays haha

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Since I’m just learning with this move myself I thought I’d share something I have trouble with in the odds it actually helps you https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Veena’s lesson for it reminded me that when I get fatigued or just frustrated with the move I have a tendency to sort of lean on my lower arm (this is going in from gemini). In other words, if I let my body weight hang on my lower arm, it means my torso is kind of pointing slightly towards the ground. If I focus on keeping symmetry in the angles of my top and bottom arms by also focusing on squeezing the pole between my legs, to maintain that push/pull pressure between the knee grip and thigh, it works out much better because then the thigh hold is bearing a lot of your weight and it’s easier to keep symmetry in the arms and lay out flat instead of being leaned downward. It’s when I’m leaning downward like that that my top arm is too low such that I can’t get the top leg unfolded. Top arm too low = no place for leg to go = graceful dismount https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif It’s really hard to keep your torso perpendicular to the ground when you’ve been trying the move over and over…I find between ouchy no-no bruises and some pole burn and the fatigue of holding my body up like that, my patience with this move doesn’t usually last more than a few attempts.

/reminds Veena to make an ins/outs lesson. Pwwwease? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif