Express The Sensual

Oh god.  I am on a rampage.  If I have to read one more pole article that says  “if you notice pain in your wrists or shoulders after pole dancing, just make sure you use the other side” I might just scream.  Really, no REALLY?

Come on pole advice authors, please consult a physiologist or a book on progressive exercise training.  You can’t just “use the other side.”

You have to figure out where the injury came from in the first place or all you will be doing is INJURING THE OTHER SIDE!  Even better, figure out how to avoid the injury in the first place.

Proper Form before Playful Action

Yes, overuse is a major concern with pole dancing, but even more critical is improper form during overuse.  And perhaps, the student simply hasn’t built enough strength for that particular trick yet.  Pole instructors & students should consider these questions…

• Can you point out when your rotator cuff, rhomboids, lats, or core muscles are activated and in use?
• Do you know why the rhomboid muscles are critical to every spin you do?
• Do you know why you should NOT let your body hang from your rotator cuff muscles? (HINT: they are small *support* muscles that help you avoid dislocating your shoulder)
  
• Do you know how to ensure that your abdominal muscles are properly positioned to carry most of the weight, instead of just using your shoulder?
• Do you know how to develop these muscles BEFORE depending upon them to hold your body suspended off the floor?
  

I’m a big believer in building body balance into my training sessions: which means that I train every student to execute every spin in both the right and left hand directions. This technique balances the use of muscles on both sides of the body and does help avoid overuse. HOWEVER… my main concern is that each student understands the proper body form for each trick first. And even before learning the trick, we use strength training to develop the appropriate muscle groups.  This is called EXERCISE PROGRESSION  and I believe it’s a fundamental requirement of pole dance training.

My general method of exercise progression looks like this;

1. Learn which muscles you need to activate to accomplish the trick with both strength & flexibility
2. Learn how to activate these muscles in a safe environment, meaning with BOTH feet on the floor at a minimum.  (You don’t want to be upside down & suddenly ask yourself “Gee, where is my foot supposed to hook?” unless you like debilitating head injuries.)
3. Learn how to place your body into the appropriate form.  What goes where first?
4. Build strength in the key muscles while using the proper form & appropriate range of motion.
5. Learn the trick.
6. Over time, your body will develop an intuitive muscle memory for the proper form and you can learn the small changes that take a trick from enticing to delicious to breathtaking.

Make every step playful and fun along the way.

You can build abdominal strength with pelvic circles, pelvic isolation, and the fabulously flirty hurricane.  You can build flexibility in your hips with some seriously sexy booty popping exercises.  You can learn the proper body form for spins while you’ve got both feet on the floor doing some wonderfully *naughty* transitions called chugging.  (Think Ginger from Gilligan’s Island meets Betti Page, ROWR!)  These are some of my favorite dance moves, and I make sure my students know them so they can enjoy their strength, stamina, flexibility and sensuality all at the same time.

Progressive training can help make sure you don’t develop an injury from improper form OR overuse.  Progressive training can also help previously injured pole dancers recover their abilities and their strengths without getting injured again. Injury is a critical issue for the pole dancing community that I talk about with every new student. Your instructor should be able to discuss both recovery & modification options that are customized for you.

For your pole dance training, please search out an instructor who understands these things.  I learned to teach progressive pole training from Shawn Francis Lee, a classically trained dancer, a personal trainer, and a 20 year veteran of exotic dancing; and from Greg Welch, an exercise physiologist, faculty member of Cal State Fullerton, and AFAA board member.

If learning to pole dance is hurting you, then find out why.

First talk to your doctor or a physiologist and follow their advice.  Then speak to a knowledgeable pole instructor who understands your injury and can help you return to pole dancing with safety & with strength (and the permission of your doc).

I implore you, my beautiful fellow exotic dancers and awe inspiring aerialists, please, please, please don’t just “use the other side.”

Do you believe in Progressive Training? Have you ever had a pole dancing injury? Please share your opinions in the comment section.

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Twirl, Swirl, and Fly!

Ladies, you know I love the art of pole dancing, the delicious joy of moving a sensuous curvy feminine body.  But I cannot and will not sign or support Pole Dancing in the Olympics. You can throw sticks and stones if you disagree, but names will never hurt me.

Truly, I can’t understand why our community feels the need to “legitimize” pole dancing as a sport.  Pole dancing is about reconnecting with our lost femininity.  It’s about discovering that we don’t need to be afraid of the natural curves of our body.  It’s about learning and expressing our true sensual style in a safe and caring environment. When we each discovered pole dancing, something about this movement captured our hearts and titillated our senses.  I know the ladies who created this petition understand that, but I really don’t see how developing it into an Olympic sport will maintain that passionate spirit.

Why must pole dancing be “legitimized?”  Is the passion and intensity you feel while dancing “legitimate”?  Is the stretch you feel in your legs and back as you invert & brush your hand across your hips a luscious expression of your life… or is it “legitimate”?  I don’t care if society defines it as “legitimate”…when I dance, I feel what I feel.   I understand why the world of corporations and bureaucracy needs legitimate documents, legitimate processes, and legitimate products…..  but we don’t need that kind of distinction here.

In fact, I feel a certain amount of anger that someone might take this beautiful art form and scrub it of it’s sensual feminine components — Because that is the only way it will be accepted by the Olympic masses.  No more heels, no more booty shorts, no more bodystrings.   No more pelvic circles or hair whipping.  And I’m sure the Olympic panel won’t allow you to let your fingers glide along your curves either.  God forbid you touch your own body!

Perhaps the pole community is trying to find a way to expose more people to our beautiful art form?  But, most pole studios only allow students that are 18 years and older for a reason.  You can’t ignore the roots of this dance, which come from aerial, acrobatics, circus, bellydance, and STRIPPING. I’m not ashamed of those roots and I don’t want to remove the flavor and style that those roots impart.  I want to share it with others BECAUSE of that fabulous flavor and sexy style.

Maybe I feel this way because I’m a pole DANCER instead of a pole TRICKSTER…. Because I focus on the feminine, sensual, dance aspect of this beautiful art form instead of it’s athletic/gymnastic aspects…. Because I prefer continuous movement that celebrates the seamless transitions and emotional expression of life just as much as the gorgeous variety of tricks.

Would you call Cirque Du Soleil a sport?  Would you call Ballet a sport? Would you call BellyDance a sport?  Or would you need them “legitimized” as a sport?  I would call them art.  The expression of art is about how it makes the artist and the audience feel — not about how many points the artist can earn.

Obviously, gymnastics is defined as a sport. And if all they want is to take the gymnastic aspect of pole dancing into the Olympics, then I wish them luck.  But, this will completely take the DANCE out of it; and I respectfully request that they don’t call it pole DANCING anymore.  Call it Pole Gymnastics or Gymnastics Pole.  A little vocabulary change could make a big difference.

I realize I’m a small voice in a minority here, and my interest isn’t to incite a flame war on my blog.  I very much understand why other pole dancers are trying to share our movement with the world, I just don’t agree with the way they wish to do it. In fact, I’m actually in tears now, hoping some of you will understand how precious this dance form is to me.  It’s a beautiful movement that has helped me create a life of playfulness, confidence, and sensuality.  It’s a major reason why I’m not afraid of my body or my sexuality anymore.

Pole & Exotic Dance has opened me up to the inherent sensual nature of life and my path within that life as a woman (instead of the androgynous person trying to be “better than a man” that I used to be).  I don’t want to steal the athletic Pole Trickster’s right to share her awesome gymnastic ability with the world, but I don’t want someone to take away my ART of Pole & Exotic Dance either.

So, I urge you to consider how pole dancing will change, before you sign a “Pole Dancing in the Olympics” petition. Is this really the best way to share this art form with the world around you, when there are so many other ways.  I believe it’s as simple as turning to the woman sitting next to you and telling her your amazing story.  I know I’d love to hear it.

Do You disagree?  Please share your (respectful and honest) opinions in the comment section.

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Twirl, Swirl, and Fly!

Have you ever noticed how much we all tend to focus on the mistakes we have made, or the problems we might face. 

Our lives are filled with perpetual, consuming worries for everything except for what is happening RIGHT NOW.

Take a moment and ask yourself if you really have any problems in this EXACT second.  Not earlier this morning, or two minutes from now, or tomorrow.

But RIGHT NOW.

What are you thinking about RIGHT NOW…

Do you feel the need to worry about something that’s happening later?

But is it really a problem RIGHT NOW?

Do you feel the need to worry about something that happened yesterday?

But is it really a problem RIGHT NOW?

If you are breathing with sufficiently warm clothes on and a roof over your head, then you’re probably doing pretty okay at the moment.  I’m not saying your concerns are baseless or unimportant.  I’m saying that spending your time worrying about them is wasting valuable energy that you could use for loving your family, working on your dreams & goals, or just having some serious playtime (on the pole of course).

What if you practiced living and dancing in this moment, EXACTLY AS YOU ARE?  Without any worries of the past or of the future.  What if you gave yourself the chance to let go of your problems for 5 minutes and just be.

Be your breath.  Be your movement.  Be alive.

You don’t have to prepare for who you are, you can simply be who you are.

Sometimes you need to live as a human being instead of a human doing.

Let go of the past.

Let go of the future.

The more you ask yourself… “What is important to me in this moment?”

…the more calm you will find…
..the more gratitude you will feel…
..the more abundance and joy will permeate your life…

So tonight, don’t get dressed up to dance.  Don’t plan your play list beforehand.  Don’t even decide exactly when you’ll begin your practice.  Walk to your pole when the moment is right (and you’ll know it’s right when you feel that odd pressure in your head that says Gosh, I wish I was pole dancing now), put on the song the seems to pop into your consciousness or under your fingers in your ipod, and dance.

Dance as you were, Dance as you are, Dance as you wish to be.

Knowing that this moment is the most precious one in your life RIGHT NOW.

Because this moment is all you ever have.

How do you find acceptance in the present moment? What other techniques do you use to create flow? Share your ideas in the comment section!

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Twirl, Swirl, and Fly!