Rachel Osborne
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t think of SV as social media – this is like my virtual studio where I get to hang out with lovely pole obsessed people and it’s all safe and 💜💜✨✨💜💜
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I don’t know if you will believe me when I say this is normal and something almost everyone who poles (or dances, or trains in any creative or movement discipline) feels and goes through. It can be cyclical as well, it often comes before a period of growth and it’s like you have to go through the Autumn and winter of slowing down, or no new growth at all, before it all starts growing and rising up inside you again. Nothing is linear, all of life is about cycles of rising and falling, growing and slowing.
We should not expect constant non stop growth and progression; nothing on this earth has that naturally and anything that tries to force it crashes and burns out.
It’s hard though (can you tell I am in one of these funks myself at the mo?). All I can say is, keep the faith. You may not think you are getting better, but you are. If you practice, all is coming. Practice what you love to do. I forget which world class pole athlete paraphrased the martial arts saying ‘I do not fear the pole artist who has a thousand tricks; I fear the competitor who has practiced HER tricks a thousand times’. And she’s right. You do not have to have super sonic splits or strength powers to be the best you can be, to amaze yourself, to delight yourself with what you can do.
It might be one simple transition that you do from the pole to the floor that becomes YOUR perfect pole moment that defines your dance style – but the way you do it on that beat, with that hair toss, with that look of love on your face because it makes you feel beautiful – that is what makes you a beautiful wonderful pole dancer. And from that transition, you play, and you move, and you build a dance vocabulary through trial and practice that becomes your own. And that’s where you graft and practice, for love, for yourself.
And you know what? By doing that, the other stuff will cone anyway. Because you will get stronger and flexier. But it won’t be something you beat yourself up about any more.
I’m writing to myself as much as you.
Keep dancing.
Keep going.
Keep the faith. -
Good video. It can be so disheartening to go through IG and watch everyone being amazing.
Sometimes it bums me out and overwhelms me, more often it is inspiring. I post a lot on IG – it’s my creative hobby, my training record and looking at my pole and yoga gallery and my progress gives me a great sense of instant achievement that really helps me when I feel down about my life. It’s been a privilege to connect with so many amazing, motivated, motivational dancers and yogis and it’s been an amazing resource for me. However I have got a bit burned out and overtrained taking on too many challenges and not allowing recovery time.
I assume everyone is posting their best bits on IG. Personally I love it when people share the struggle and I like to post my fails and my falls too. I also always assume everyone doesn’t have a perfect life. My day to day life is often lonely and exhausting and very repetitive – the flying pole spinning sparkly disco lights world of Tropical Vertical is my escape hatch. Do I want to talk about my day to day struggles on social media? Nope. It’s my happy place. I assume if I see someone whose social media world is nonstop marvellousness that they are probably like me, doing what I do to keep going.
I really only want to use social media for pole and yoga and movement inspo and connections. I am trying to discreetly block and unfriend non polers on FB but it’s such a social mine field, people seem to take it personally! I just don’t want to share pole stuff with school gate mothers etc! It doesn’t mean I hate them, it just means I want to use my social media for my hobby and nothing else! Argh!
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Hello I’m 45. I have recurrent inflammation in my forearm muscles and rotator cuff and it’s always from over training, inadequate warm up and stretch down, not taking critical recovery days and skipping the conditioning. Every time I head back to the physio for trigger point fascia release I am given a set of exercises to do.
Lo and behold they are exactly the same as Veena’s conditioning routine here.
https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/528af759-bbfc-4825-9755-47180a9aa0eb
20 minutes, 2-3 tines a week and ta da!
So the moral is….
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Agree about simple – my best shots are usually things like scissor leg plank, a pole sit with the torso turned prettily and a smile and expressive arms, or a nice floaty Leg hang or hip hold I can hold easily and extend arms and point toes whilst breathing and smiling. Trying to hold something like an elbow hold or an extended butterfly for a photo I look like this 😤😤 which doesn’t make a good shot!
Also why not have a look at the gallery here for ideas? The best shots often have the dancer turning her face to the camera with the dancers arms and legs extending out to the edges of the picture equally to avoid foreshortening of one or more limbs – for example, in a butterfly the dancer needs to be sideways to the camera, same in a plank or a layback. If you print out pics from the gallery you can show the photographer how the lines of the pose fill the frame so he can get in the right spot.
Re costume, I think one plain colour works well not patterned or fussy – and you can quickly get different looks by using hats, floating scarves, wind machines, barefoot and heels, hair up/down, and black and white photography.
Have fun!
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Caterpillar. And caterpillar climb.
Which shuts down a lot of moves I could probably do like Ayesha and Straight Edge. -
It’s a shoulder roll variation holding the pole. Not a beginner move, despite what it says on the video!
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Gosh thank you! â˜ºï¸ Well, hope you can upload vid – this is a great site and I’m sure everyone will be happy to help if they can!💕
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It is common when you’re learning! Is it your body or your leg that slides? Can you post vid? Have you got the SV lessons?
Things to check: is the pole warm and are you warm? No body lotion? Skin grip is helpful, it’s harder in a tank top or T shirt. Sweeping the arm round and squeezing back with the tricep as you lift your breast bone and engage your whole body rather than hanging off the leg helps. Finally are you sure you’re strong enough? Some studios rush students into inverts before they’ve developed the necessary scapula and core strength. It took me almost a year to get a solid Scorpio. There is no shame in taking time to train yourself up as a pole athlete so you have good form from the beginning – it takes slightly longer but boy is it worth it 😉 -
Happy anniversary 😎💜💜💜💜
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My profile pic is me in a Titanic demonstrating the above points 😅😉ðŸ‘
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Can you post a vid? We can try and trouble shoot better if we can see. It’s a hit and miss move for me. When successful, the following things occur
1. I have entered via Gemini – superman and my superman starts off at an angle, with legs pointing down, not parallel to floor.
2. I never ever break the superman lock between my thighs, which are internally rotated, as if knees are trying to kiss. If I break the lock and try to readjust, I can’t stay on pole.
3. Scissoring and squeezing my thighs I feel for the pole with my front foot and push the pole back hard as if I was trying to kick it behind me.
4. Meanwhile I have the pole hooked in an elbow and I lift my breastbone up high to the sky, tipping back my head as a counter weight to falling forward and leaning my neck against the pole.
5. I REALLY arch UP as well as back and have my raised arms up and back whilst squeezing pole with legs and pushing back with foot to stop myself toppling forward. I imagine I am balancing on a fence post that’s tipping forwards and I have to lean back to stay on.
6. Finally, I need bum showing – I can’t hold this on spin in modest shorts.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
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Ugh yes, the pain. It really does get better. If it hurts, point your toes. My top tip is: point your toes. Not just your toes, point your foot. Not just your foot, point your whole leg.
Why? Not only will it make it look pretty as you smile through the tears but – POINTING YOUR TOES PROPERLY ENGAGES ALL THE MUSCLES IN YOUR LEGS.
And if the muscles are pumped and working hard, as Phoenix says, they push up against the pole under your skin and you have better grip and the pole isn’t sliding and dragging on your poor soft skin but wrapped and firmly held by your muscles working under your skin. Your skin is protected and you are a safer dancer, as well as a prettier one.
And feel your way into things. Hold with your arms in pole sit if it’s excruciating and practice switching on your leg muscles. It’s not a race. Little, often, with recovery days in between and yeah, as Veena says, period week sometimes just looking at the pole makes my eyes water.