Express The Sensual

How long can you DO IT? How long can you GO AT IT before your luscious energy starts to wane? How long before you cry out for breath or have to stop and rest?  How long does it take before your arms and legs start to shake from exertion?  Really?  I’m talking about GOING AT IT without resting, without stopping and starting again. Just one long continuous SENSUAL EXPERIENCE?

10 minutes? 20 minutes? An hour? (WOW!)

In order to have a truly amazing experience every time, I think it’s essential to really develop your stamina. In fact, I think stamina is just as important as your technique and your transitions. (You did know that I’m talking about POLE DANCING, right?) So at the end of almost every warmup, I include some extra songs specifically for this purpose.

I throw off my warmup pants (or strip them off if I’m in the mood) and let my sensual spirit fill the dance floor.  I don’t stop moving until my body feels warm, grounded, and excited about developing a new technique, trying out a new combination, or just building my strength in an advanced trick. It’s a great way to make sure you start every training session with gratitude and joy.

To try it, first you have to pick two songs that entice you to MOVE, twirl, swirl, float and fly!

Then, challenge yourself to drag each extension of your arm, slow down each delicious step, exhale through every luscious invert. Make a point to take this chance to dance slowly.   But… DON’T sacrifice your personal style! Just notice when you rushing into the next movement and consciously choose to take your time.  This isn’t about making yourself dance agonizingly slow (unless that’s your style).  It’s about giving yourself the chance to expand and take ownership of both your dance time and your dance space.

Once you can dance for two whole songs, try to extend it to three.  I promise you’ll love your new found stamina (in more places than just the dance floor)!

Do you prefer long or short dancing sessions? How do use pole dancing to develop stamina & cardio? Share your ideas in the comment section!

If you enjoyed the article, please subscribe to ExpressTheSensual.com and share it with your friends using the Share & Enjoy social bookmarking sites. Thank you for your support!

Last week, after a really long day at work, I came home with a problem.  I realized that somewhere along the day, I’d let my ToDo list take over. I felt as if I was coated in the grime of working an 8 to 5 job, driving through LA traffic, picking up groceries, feeding the dog, cleaning the house, calling a client, checking my email, and on and on and on.

For some reason, I couldn’t figure out how to stop focusing on all my ToDo’s, relax and just be myself.

So during my pole improvisation session I decided to accept all of my “doing” layers and wear them like a badge of honor….

I kept my hair up in a tight bun to represent my working diva self. I kept on the blue tank top that covered my hungry belly while I shopped for groceries. I put on the standard bikini top and leg warmers that I use when I teach a pole session.

And then I waited for the music to lead me…

We Run LA She Wolf Good Girls Go Bad

First I let my mind and body move within all the layers. The dancing felt controlled, contained, and even a little shy.  Then, with each new song, I washed away a layer of ToDo grime. I let my hair down and played with the wild feeling of it whipping around my face.  I stripped off the tank top, transforming it from just a shirt into a sexy skirt, and then simply throwing it away.  I even seductively removed the legwarmers and bikini top (although that is NOT included in the video).

I made space for me by deliberately separating myself from everything that I do. I had to dance for 25 minutes before I remembered

What You Do is Not Who You Are

When you remove varnish layer by layer, you reveal that natural, organic wood beneath.  The imperfect but truly beautiful grain.  So often we forget to strip away all of the layers and just be ourselves. You may live the life of a business executive, of a mother, of a loving wife, of a caring sister….. But there is a deeper core of authenticity waiting below the surface.  And sometimes, when the layers get too heavy to bear, its time to let them slide off you body, and just allow yourself to be.

ps, if you’re having problems hearing the audio, check out the video on my site.

How do you find your authentic self? Have you ever used pole dancing to release your ToDo list worries before? Share your ideas in the comment section!

If you enjoyed the article, please subscribe to ExpressTheSensual.com and share it with your friends using the Share & Enjoy social bookmarking sites. Thank you for your support!

Have you ever had a problem you simply couldn’t bear to face today? Or maybe even tomorrow?  Just the thought of accepting that the problem exists makes you shudder and shake?

Don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t dealing with it right this second. Skirt the issue until you are ready to resolve it. And I don’t mean ignore it completely!

Tonight, wear a soft skirt and give yourself permission to dance around your problem (and your pole). Ignore the problem (and your pole) when you want to. Or shake it when you need to.  Climb it. Kick it. Twirl around and around it. Float toward it as if some force of gravity is pulling you and then exert your own luscious forces and float away.

Notice how your movements effect you body and your skirt.  The skirt changes shape, swirls and twirls around you hips, rides up and down your body and you flip and slide.  Feel how the problem effects you, changes you, gives you goosebumps as your movements cause the skirt to tickle your legs.

There’s no need to run from your problems. Instead, learn to play with your pole (*wink*) and your problem. Accept that it exists and that you don’t have all the answers but perhaps there is something wonderful that you will create by searching for them. While you skirt the issue, your mind can relax and develop new ideas, new solutions.

Find the joy in pole dancing through life, letting the trials and tribulations of your journey tickle your legs and swirl around you.  Maybe they will show you that enjoying the life (and sometimes even the problems) that you have is so much better than just giving up.

To see a world in a grain of sand And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour –William Blake

How do deal with your un-faceable problems? Does pole dancing give you a sense of creative relief and release? Share your ideas in the comment section!

If you enjoyed the article, please subscribe to ExpressTheSensual.com and share it with your friends using the Share & Enjoy social bookmarking sites. Thank you for your support!