December 2014 Blog Hop: My Year in Photos!

It has, once again, been a crazy year.  Here are some highlights.  Sorry, I couldn't just pick one photo to represent each month and I'm sure I missed a bunch of things because I got tired of downloading photos.  And, since my life isn't just about pole, I really did include everything I did.  Enjoy!

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My Fifth Anniversary as a Twirly Girl

I really can't believe I have been on this pole dancing journey for five years.  On December 2, 2009, Rita and I walked through the doors of Twirly Girls and we never left.  Not long after, Bel nicknamed me the Twirling Viking Warrior.  This has been a really difficult week, so I would have otherwise planned a longer tribute to my family at Twirly Girls, but I think pictures speak louder than words, so enjoy a few photos from the last couple of years of my journey.

Dangerous Curves III

This weekend is the third annual Dangerous Curves, a celebration of plus size pole athletes, created and hosted by my friend, Roz THE DIVA Mays.  Roz has been a cheerleader for plus sized athletes in pole dance since the birth of modern pole and I appreciate all the love and support she gives me so I try to give it right back when I can.  I cannot be in New York this weekend (but am hoping this is a trip I can make next year, either as a spectator or maybe even as a competitor!!!?).  However, if you ARE in New York, please check out the show and give me a review! 

If you need more incentive, my loves at the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association are giving away a free ticket!!  Click THIS link for more information.

I encourage everyone to support the shit out of Roz and Dangerous Curves!  Please check THIS link if you're in New York and want to purchase tickets! 

Graston Technique: A Story About My Sad Feet

In my last pain update, I reported that I injured myself at Pole Expo and was dealing with some major foot and back problems.  It is about six weeks later, and I am happy to report that my back is feeling much better (though it is still a little tight).  I am finally back to doing mini backbends in yoga (in my world, standing upright is a back bend).  My left foot is slowly following along (well, the top of it and the toes -- we will get to the bottom of my foot later).  Last night in yoga, I was actually able to roll over my toes from plank to downward dog without having to lift my feet up and carefully place them on the ground in order to avoid the sad toes.  However, now my left hip, which had responded well to the myofascial release therapy (I actually had quite a few completely pain free days!), is suddenly hurting.  A lot.  I can't win.  Ever.  

Don't tell anyone I was wearing these shoes...

Anyway, I met Angela through a fellow Twirly Girl, Jessica.  Angela, owner of Body Strong Massage, came out to NCPP and did chair massages for most of the day.  When I met Angela, she was in the process of setting up a location pretty close to my house so I promised to set up an appointment for a massage.  It took me a few months to pull it together but I finally got out there last week.  While she worked on me, we talked about all of my body issues.  Scars.  Injuries.  We talked about my foot surgery.  It took about a year, but my right foot is now mostly pain free post-fascia release, however, there's still kind of a bump in my foot where the fascia was cut.  Sadly, my left foot (even before the latest injury) was starting to have the plantar fasciitis type pain.  I expressed my frustration and she understood.  Angela does those crazy ultra marathons.  The ones I couldn't even dream of walking, much less running, with all the issues I'm having right now.  Anyway, she pulls out this little metal tool and starts talking about the Graston Technique.  She tells me she battled plantar fasciitis for a long time and it almost ruined her.  So she does foot work for a very reasonable price because she feels so passionately about helping people live without pain.  

What is the Graston Technique?  

"Graston Technique^® is an evidence-based form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively address scar tissue and fascial restrictions through comprehensive training, resulting in improved patient outcomes.

The technique uses specially-designed stainless steel instruments, along with appropriate therapeutic exercise, to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation. The instruments also are used diagnostically to follow the kinetic chain, to locate and treat the cause of the symptom as well as the specific area of pain."

Angela tried out the technique on me during the massage.  She likened the knots in my body to many plastic bags stuck together.  You know, like those little bags in the grocery store that we need to lick our fingers to separate and put our produce in?  Those ones.  The tool is this small metal, almost brass knuckle-looking, thing.  I think of it kind of like a squeegee.  Think of laying tint on a window and you're trying to get all the air bubbles out.  That's how it felt for me.  

Although, Angela worked on me a little bit with the tool last Friday, I made an appointment for last night just to have my feet worked on.  It was crazy.  I could feel all of these little cracky things in both feet and calves.  She could feel where I was tight and then follow the yellow brick road to another area of the leg that was also tight.  I am a little sore today but have another appointment for next week.  

This was a really great experience for me.  I am not lessening the amazingness of Keith but it is nice to have someone very close to home.  I am realizing that, although Keith really put me back together when I was in the worst place, I needed to be seeing him a couple of times a week for a few months in order to have truly reaped the benefits of what he does.  I didn't really get that until I watched my doctor work on my hip.  So I am going to be more proactive with my feet and not wait until I can't walk to take care of the problem.

So, between my doctor fixing my hip and Angela fixing my feet, my goal is to be relatively pain free in 2015!  I have not been that way in over five years.  

Have you ever tried the Graston Technique?  Someone mentioned that it can be used on scars in general so maybe I'll start having her run it over my plastic surgery scars that have tightened down.  I'd love to hear about your experiences with it!

Artista Active Wear for the Plus-Sized Pole Dancer

When I posted about Pole Expo from the perspective of a plus-sized pole dancer, I mentioned that Artista Active Wear was one of the very few vendors who actually brought plus sized clothes to the show, and they were sold out by the time I stopped by to visit.  After my mention, Artista contacted me to offer a pair of their boudoir shorts to try, so I ordered a matching crop top and finally got to try them out this weekend!

I am six feet tall, 240 pounds and my measurements are 49 inches at the fullest part of the bust, 45 inch waist and 48 inch hips (I thought I was oddly shaped but I have been informed that people really do come in all shapes and sizes!).  I ordered both pieces in a 2X and they fit perfectly.  I technically could have worn the crop top as a sports bra (sans bra underneath) but did ultimately choose to wear a bra while I danced (and I know they offer other bra options that will provide more support should you need it).  I found that the bottom of the crop top kind of rolled up into my fat rolls when I sat down, so I just pulled it up to reside right under my bra line to kind of wear it sports bra-style, and it was perfectly comfortable.  The shorts provided wonderful coverage.  At no time did I feel like I was flashing the goods all over for everyone to see.  All-in-all, I felt like the clothing was well made, comfortable and beautiful.

Below, you can see some photos and a video I took.  I'm sorry I put the lace top over the outfit while I was dancing.  You probably won't get to see much more than the shorts.  But I do promise they were comfortable to dance in!

If you have any questions or have your own experiences with Artista to share, please feel free to leave a comment below!

Trick or Twirl 2014

Ginger and I performed another routine together.  This time, for Twirly Girls' Halloween show, Trick or Twirl, we did a Jeni Janover/Liquid Motion-inspired piece to the song, Motivation.  I really enjoy working with Ginger and I felt less silly with the sexy this time.  Don't get me wrong, I still feel silly but I am getting more comfortable with it.  Enjoy photos and videos below!

Chunky Girls at ConVolution

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of being invited to ConVolution in San Francisco to speak on a panel with the other girls from Chunky Girl Comics.  Definitely not the "normal" nerd convention that I am used to, ConVolution was a lot more sci-fi, but it was still a lot of fun. 

On Saturday, Marisa and I headed a panel called: Fierce, Fab and Fluffy: Women and Body Image in Comics, Cosplay and Pop Culture.

We were nervous.  Would anyone show up?  Who wants to hear us talk about being chubby?  Our back-up plan was to turn on music and booty shake for an hour and a half, if necessary.  It turned out, we had nothing to worry about.  We had a great group of ladies (and one gentleman), and we had a conversation about a whole bunch of things.  We discussed our personal body issues.  We discussed Chunky Girl Comics and the importance of seeing diverse bodies in the world.  We even discussed health issues and how you can address "food issues" without making them "fat issues" (because, let's be honest, a lot of the food in this country is lacking nutrients; and skinny people are eating the same crappy food as larger people). 

I did video the entire 90-minute event and still need to figure out how best to break that down into smaller video clips.  In the meantime, I wanted to thank ConVolution and Chunky Girl Comics for inviting me to be part of the event and I am looking forward to doing it again!  Until the video is ready, please enjoy a couple photos from the day.