September 2014 Blog Hop: Hot for Teacher

You've heard the saying:  "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach."  While I know a ton of amazing pole teachers who can do *and* teach, in my case, that is actually true!  When Bel asked me to become an instructor almost three years ago, I really didn't feel qualified.  I didn't have a background in dance or fitness.  I really had only a very basic understanding of body mechanics.  I had been working out, doing yoga, and paying trainers for almost 18 years, but that still does not make me an expert.  However, I started to shadow Bel (who is a certified fitness expert and is also Xpert certified in pole) and eventually started to teach a beginner pole class. 

Many of my students were also friends and ended up dancing with me for over two years.  We also had new students come through, so I was teaching a mixed level class.  Again, I didn't feel qualified.  A few months ago, we started trying to encourage them to take other classes so that I could get back to basics and teach the beginner levels again.  The plan is for my class to provide a solid foundation so that little baby pole dancers can go on to intermediate and advanced classes with confidence. 

While I miss my regular class and friends terribly, I also really enjoy teaching beginner pole.  I feel like I can actually provide useful information and teach moves. 

I have been frustrated with my pole journey lately.  I recently lost 21 pounds and wanted to start taking more classes so I can grow -- not only so I can be a better pole dancer but so I can be a better instructor.  As seems to happen to me, injuries, time, money, life...it all gets in the way. 

I really do enjoy teaching beginners because I feel like it allows me to continue to be an ambassador for pole.  Each time I teach someone who has never poled before, I feel like I am responsible for helping them see how awesome pole is.  I see Yelp reviews for studios and instructors who are horribly mean and nasty to their students.  That will never be me.  Everyone is welcome in my class.  You won't learn how to Iron-X in my class, but I promise some dancing, sweating, and a lot of laughs. 

Who was your first pole instructor?  Do you still take class with them??  Leave your comments below!

July 2014 Blog Hop: Mid-Year Review

It is time for the blog hop again and we are doing a check-in!  How is 2014 going for you?

My year has been fantastic!

I got a new job, have started gaining strength, and Rob is also working.  I am out of my dark place.

When I wrote about my intentions in January, I set four goals:

Flexibility:  I am hitting up yoga 3-4 days a week.  I still feel very inflexible but I can still tell the difference now that I am doing yoga so often.  I love how I feel!!  I feel strong. 

Deal with foot issues:  My feet hurt on occasion, but for the most part, I think my surgery foot is all healed up!  If I walk A TON, it will definitely be sore, but it no longer hurts.  It is such a relief.

Do more, do less.  Weeeeellllllll....I might need to work on this a bit.  I am doing too much and I'm exhausted.  But I feel like it is all stuff I need to do.  I have to work.  I have to work out.  I have to do NCPP stuff.  I have to foster friendships by spending time with people.  Sooooo....what do you cut out?

Be healthy.  I am on a journey and I am doing really well.  Ellen is literally saving my life.  You can read my latest post on that HERE.

 Anyway, there's my quick check-in.  Now you can check out a photo journal of the past six months.  I like to say that I'll sleep when I'm dead.  If I had more money, my adventures might be more grand.  But for what I have, I feel like my life is pretty fun. 

January: Volare Variety

February: Cowboy Wild's show at 1220

February: Yoga in Lake Tahoe

March: Volare Variety

March: Twirly Girls

March: Hey look, I'm doing yogini!  hahaha!

April: Twirly Girls

April: Stiletto Night at Twirly Girls

April: Fun night at Diablo Gym

April: Lovely Rita Fundraiser

April: Twirly Girls

May: Playing Candy from Chunky Girl Comics

May: Dressed up as Snow White

May: Twirly Girls

June: Twirly Girls

June: From Liquidpulp photoshoot

June: Horseback riding on the beach

June: AIDS Walk Fundraiser...Bitches be like...

June: Twirly Girls

July: Fly Gym at Twirly Girls

July: New hair!

June: Twirly Girls

I am looking forward to the next half of the year!  Tell me how you're doing with your goals!

My first Bodybinds post!

My first article for Bodybinds went up yesterday! I understand it may be a little less risque than the bb crowd is used to but I do feel that keeping your body in shape helps us all feel a little more sexy! 

 "If you are looking for a well-rounded work-out and want to get the most bang for your buck, then an option worth exploring is yoga. Depending on the type of class you choose, you may be able to combine weight training (using your own body weight), cardio (flow) and stretching in a single class."

Read the rest of the post HERE.

February Blog Hop 2: Why I'm Comfortable With Men In The Studio

My first post for this month's blog hop highlighted the Twirly Boys in my life.  This post is about to get a little more serious.  In various spots around Facebook (and earlier this month on Twitter), there was some debate about whether pole studios should have women-only classes.  You will find some who passionately argue that there should be at least some women-only classes.  Shoot, there are some entire studios who only allow women.  In the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association group, there was a comment made about straight men in class sexualizing women and that making some women uncomfortable.  

That's when it hit me.  Duh.  I don't worry about men sexualizing me because I haven't felt sexy in probably 25-30 pounds.  I wear a veil of fat.  I am invisible.  And, if I don't find myself sexy, how would anyone else see me that way?

It is no secret that way too much of my personal identity is tied up in my weight.  There is not a single day that goes by that I don't think about weight in some capacity.  Whether it is not liking how my clothes fit or counting calories or blaming body pain on the weight I've gained -- my weight is a daily reminder that I don't like myself.  

That being said, I don't shy away from throwing on my tiny shorts and dancing around on video or for photos and posting them on Facebook.  But I think that's more about thinking that if I force myself to share my large body with others, then it will become more common place and people will think nothing when they see someone with some extra fat on them.  But it also doesn't mean that I don't cringe when I see some videos and photos.  I was just watching class videos from AJ's class last Saturday.  My legs are chunky and I almost waddle when I walk.  No, it's not even a waddle.  I tip from side to side, much like I think Humpty Dumpty would walk.  My bra cuts into my back fat, leaving a crease that cuts around my entire back.  I reminded myself to start wearing black tank tops and stop wearing stripes.  My thighs jiggle and slap the ground in a grotesque way.  My thigh scars give the illusion that every wide-legged move is showing off my labia when it isn't (although if you can't handle a little labia shot, you shouldn't pole dance).  I sweat profusely, and am making myself wear a head scarf so I don't drip sweat all over the floor or have to wipe my face every 30 seconds.  My face has become soft and my chin now disappears into the rolls in my neck.  Nothing.  There's nothing I can come up with that I love about my body.  AJ has such beautiful choreography too, and I already figure he has probably dumbed it down so I can keep up in the first place.  For that, I love him.  But I don't love me.  

And that's why I know straight men in pole class wouldn't give me a second look.  I clearly don't love myself enough so why would they?  I'm comfortable saying, "hey dudes can come to my class -- no problem" because I have never felt like anyone is sexualizing me, which might make me uncomfortable or self-conscious (I would like to believe, though, that it would only happen if a guy I actually liked was watching -- dancing for strangers seems much easier to do).  I know Twirly Girls is a safe place for me and so almost anyone can come into that environment without ruining that experience. 

When I weighed 180 pounds, I found myself at odds with men in general.  Suddenly, they were opening doors and smiling at me.  I didn't really get that at 350 pounds.  And now, at 257 pounds, I feel as fat as 350 pounds and my self-esteem is worse than it was then too.  I definitely notice that men don't notice me or jump to open the door for me like they did 80 pounds ago.  Is that because I keep my own eyes averted and so they pick up on those cues and don't bother to help me?  Or has society told them my large body isn't beautiful and I'm not worth helping?  I certainly noticed my first head-turning experience was only shortly after gastric bypass surgery.  I couldn't have lost more than 25 pounds, and was easily still close to the 300 pound range.  But I was happy as a clam that the weight was dripping off of me.  I passed a man in a crosswalk and he almost got whiplash as he turned to take a second look.  I have always felt like that was a product of my clear happiness and self-assuredness, not of any weight loss.  

There was something I noticed years ago when I dated a very large man.  He was 6'5" and well over 350 pounds.  The bigger something is, the less people seem to notice it.  People would walk into him on the street on almost a daily basis.  As if he was so large, they couldn't even see him.  I feel that way about my weight sometimes.  The bigger I get, the more invisible I feel.  Whether that is self-imposed or not, I can't really say.  

So, I can't tell you whether I would be uncomfortable with men in the studio if I still weighed 180 pounds.  I want to say that I wouldn't have cared then because my self-esteem was high and I was just happy to be alive.  It sounds like, for myself, I need to get back to that place mentally.  I need to not care whether men, or women, adore me -- not because I'm so fat that I'm hiding in the corner -- but because I'm so confident that it truly doesn't matter.

There you go.  That was a whole lot of words to say I don't really know whether straight men in the studio would bother me if I was at a lower weight or in a different place mentally.  I know that gay women wouldn't bother me, so why should it matter if a straight man was in her place?  They both like chicks, right?  So much to ponder and I may never truly know the answer...  Food for thought, though...  How do YOU feel about men in the studio?  

Photo journal of my journey.  Note: despite my negative attitude here, I look back fondly on all of these photos and memories.  My life really doesn't suck.

 

2003: 347 pounds - highest weight

2005 (February): 179 pounds - lowest weight

Possibly 2006 - probably 215 pounds

2006 - post-plastic surgeries, weight 200-215

2008 (June) - Climbed Half Dome at 215 pounds

2009 (March) - pre-Twirly Girls at a bar - close to 200 pounds

2009 (August) - climbing back toward 215

2009 - around 225

2010 (March) - Twirling for four months, up to probably 230

2011 - 240 pounds

2012 - 250 pounds

2013 - highest post-surgery weight at 263

2014 - 257 pounds

 

January 2014 Blog Hop: Setting My Intentions For The Year

This month's PDBA blog hop is about setting goals, intentions...or that yucky word, resolutions.  Why is that word so horrible to me?  A resolution tells me I'm doing something wrong, and need to do it better.  Even if it's the truth, sometimes you aren't ready to hear it.  Setting goals makes me feel shitty since I'm four years into pole dancing and still not hitting many of the goals I set early on in my pole dancing "career."  So many what-ifs.  What if I hadn't gotten a hip injury a few months into pole dancing?  What if I didn't have to start commuting to San Francisco for work?  What if I didn't get a bone spur in my right foot, causing me to have foot surgery?  What if I didn't have a problem in my left foot now?  What if I didn't gain a bunch of weight?

So I am going to set some intentions.  They seem like so much less pressure than resolutions or goals. 

January 2013

Flexibility - especially back-bending.  I am not a flexible person.  Even in 2008/2009, when I was "in shape" and going to yoga three times a week religiously, I was not a flexible person.  That is all the more reason to work as hard as I can to stay "flexible" -- well my version of flexible, which is still very inflexible by many others' standards.  My body hurts when I don't do yoga, and I lose a lot of muscle.  So there are many incentives to continue with my yoga practice.

Deal with my foot issues without beating myself up.  I am frustrated beyond belief.  I started this job in San Francisco in October 2012, and almost immediately started getting a pain in my right foot.  It was weird to me because the extra walking and standing on BART to and from work shouldn't have caused it, as I was fairly active already.  The only thing I could come up with was that I went from wearing flip flops every day to wearing "real" shoes.  (By the way, I was wearing good contoured flip flops and not dollar shoes from Old Navy, since everyone seems to mention that.)  Anyway, my body had clearly gotten used to walking in flip flops, and moving to shoes (and probably the extra walking and standing) irritated my plantar fascia, which started touching the bone spur and swelling.  Lucky me.  Flash forward to August 2013, where I have surgery to release the plantar fascia.  I took a month off work and two months off exercising.  I returned to exercise a tiny bit too soon.  Now that I'm back into it, that foot still hasn't fully healed.  It doesn't hurt as much but there is still swelling, which could eventually lead to the fascia touching the spur and hurting again.  It also feels like the integrity of my foot has been compromised and the foot in general just hurts every day, all day.  Foot pain sucks...there's no way not to walk on your foot so every step is a jarring reminder that you hurt. 

December 2013

And from limping, then walking in a moon boot on my right foot, my left foot -- which I call the "good foot" -- started to hurt within the last couple of months.  In April 2013, I actually stepped down really hard on that foot and got a jarring pain.  The next two days, I couldn't walk on it.  I thought I had a hairline fracture.  My regular doctor (not the podiatrist treating my right foot) felt like it was no big deal, it seemed to heal up.  But now that I have limped on it and maybe since the weather has gotten extremely cold (yes the 30's is cold for California), the pain is excruciating.  It is slightly different pain than the right foot, so maybe I did actually break it back in April, but if I push around on my heel, I can "make" it hurt like the other foot, so who knows.  I have another doctor's appointment in two weeks (with my podiatrist).  Frustrating. 

I often like to say, here is the reason I'm doing something.  It may sound like an excuse, but it is simply the reason.  No, I can't go run 5k's, because neither of my feet is physically able to handle that kind of pounding.  I can cycle a bit and do yoga.  But even walking for short distances leaves me in a lot of pain.  If we're talking about the 0-10 scale, I wake up as a 3-4 and am up to an 8 by mid-day.  Every time I stand up, I get to steady myself and kind of warm my feet up before I take a step so I don't topple.  Anyway, I'm trying not to whine about it, and also trying not to be mad at myself about things out of my control.  Would my pain be lessened by some weight loss?  It's possible.  But it's not a guarantee.  It is difficult for me to lose weight quickly (especially when my exercise is limited).  It has to be a combination of exercise and better food choices.  (I have officially been counting calories for about two months and go up and down the same five pounds, so no true/real loss yet.  No, I'm not eating hidden calories or "forgetting" to count everything I eat.)  But I will never be that person who can drop 20 pounds in two weeks by doing a liquid diet.  That pushes my brain into crazy mode and causes a binge, which leads to weight gain.  I've been playing this game for a long time.  I play by my own rules but that's just how it has to be.  (By the way, pushing pyramid scheme diet products on me isn't helpful and is actually extremely rude.  Also pointing out I've gained weight and need to do something doesn't motivate me.  It really makes me want to no longer be friends.) 

Do more.  Do less.  I plan to do more of the things that make me happy this year and do less of the things that I feel obligated to do, but don't enjoy.  Certainly, there will be things I have to do because I AM obligated to do them.  But I truly can't attend the birthday parties of every child of every acquaintance that I have.  It's just not feasible.  I also plan to spend less time with people who feel that they need to guilt me into it.  I enjoy my friends, I really do.  And I am a busy person.  It's not a game I play to feel important or special, it just is what it is.  But the number of people who feel the need to make snide remarks about how little time I have or make for them aren't people I need to spend time with at all.  I'm all about making my down time fun and relaxing.  I am excited, however, to do more in the pole dancing world.  I am still excited about future projects in the works with the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association and am working hard on getting that Nor Cal pole competition set up this summer with Amy Bond. 

Be Healthy.  Not just with food and exercise, but with my work life, my home life and every part of my life in between.  Everything requires some kind of balance. 

*****

I am at a cross-roads, that is for sure.  Either I can throw the towel in and call it a day, or I can make the effort to get up every day and make it a good one.  For now, I am making the effort and I appreciate every one of you who reads my blog and sends me messages letting me know we are all on our own journey. 

Please tell me if you are setting goals or resolutions (or intentions) for the new year.  I'd love to hear them!

January 2014 - Pole Photo Challenge for PDBA!

If you would like to join PDBA's Pole Photo-A-Week Challenge, check out the prompts below and tag your public photo on Instagram or Twitter with #pdbloggers. 

For more info, read the instructions below:

http://www.pdbloggers.com/2013/12/january-2014-pole-photo-challenge/

December 2013 Blog Hop: Best of 2013...

I have been avoiding this blog hop, mostly because I didn't know if I had a bunch of things I loved about 2013.  Did I love my foot being injured and having surgery and losing strength and gaining weight and feeling crappy?  Not really.  But when I look back, I really didn't have a terrible year.  So, I thought I would go through my posts for the year and pick some of my favorites to re-share with those of you who may be new or may have missed them.   While I will discuss some posts at length, others I will just list so you can decide if you want to read them or not. 

Random stuff about me:

I posted in January about sweating and magnesium.  Sweating is still an issue for me.  I sweat from my head, which can be gross when flipping around wet hair, and I can't run my hands through my hair otherwise I will slip on the pole.  It's not super sexy.  My hands and body, however, are generally overly dry.  I have Dew Point for my legs and Mighty Grip for my hands.  Just to make life interesting, if I flip over in some way, into a handstand or inversion, my body suddenly gets nervous, and then my legs will sweat.  It's super awesome to be a pole dancer with these weird problems.  I have been taking magnesium this year and I feel like some days it helps and some days it doesn't.  I have contemplated taking medication to help with hyperhydrosis, but am worried that it would cause more issues in my body NOT to sweat (we sweat for a reason!).  If you have any tips on this issue, I would very, very much appreciate it.


My foot injury made its debut in February.  

The mini documentary about me and pole dancing!

I joined UPA's Sexy Back Week.  Kinda.

Twirly Girls on TV! No really, we were on TV!

Defining myself in the pole industry.

Blog Hops:

My very first pole post for 2013 was a PDBA Blog Hop!  It was listing pole goals.  Did I hit my goals?  Yes and no.  I was on track until my foot derailed me.  Not only could I not take a class each week, I couldn't even teach my own class for a couple of months this year.  It has been a very frustrating year in the physicality department and I am very much looking forward to setting (and attaining) the same pole goals in 2014 that I set for 2013:  Take a weekly class, work on flow and get stronger.  I have not yet made it back to taking a weekly class on top of teaching my weekly class, but that is on the list for January.  I also feel like taking workshops with Tracee Kafer helped reignite my desire to dance again.  And I have been a beast at yoga so I am already feeling muscles in my arms and legs again.  I got this.  I know it.   (I later updated old pole goals with photos but haven't progressed in any.)

The February Blog Hop discussed our love of pole.  

The March Blog Hop was about pole products.

The April Blog Hop was about PPC.

The May Blog Hop:  Questions for a Pole Dancer.

June Blog Hop:  Things I wish I had known when I started dancing...

The July Blog Hop is about a day in the life of a pole dancer. 

The August Blog Hop is all about social media.

Perfect timing for the September Blog Hop.  We talked about wellness.

October Blog Hop...I had to do two!  First up:  stripping the stripper out of pole.  Second up:  the sanitization of pole.

November Blog Hop:  Gratitude.

From a business perspective:  

Music in the Pole Studio.  

How much does it cost to run a pole studio?  

How much does it cost to put on a pole show?

Pole in General:

If you share a pole at your studio, how do you find your grease-mate?  

I posted about Derby Skinz shorts in January as well.  Still my favorites because they are fully customizable!  I think I have three different pair now and I love them all for different reasons. 

Do you train on both sides?

Twisted Grip?

Pioneer of Pole:  Anna Grundstrom.

As I watch all of us age and get injuries, I wondered...how many years can you pole dance anyway? 

For those who have never pole danced.

Pole dance is for everyBODY.

The History of Pole Dance, Part Three.

Discussing the crazy complex moves people are doing in pole lately...

Poletry in Motion - visiting other studios, pole events and/or meeting pole friends:

Studio Botan in San Francisco.

Entangle & Sway in San Francisco.

Nadia Sharif rocks!

Pole Expo.

Meeting Angela of Ascending Slowly.

Aeriform Arts in Hollywood.

Poletential's 7th anniversary.

California Pole Dance Championship in Los Angeles.

Roz the Diva.  Nothing else needs to be said.

Kitty Kats' Korner in Vacaville, California.

Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland.

BadAzz.

Volare Variety, a burlesque show in San Francisco.

Cowboy Wild's Un-Pole-Lievable Pole Show in Walnut Creek, California.

So, did I REALLY just list every pole post I made in 2013?  Shockingly, no.  But I did list most of them.  You know why?  Because every single thing I do in the pole world makes me happy.  These are a lot of the awesome things that happened to me in 2013, and this post serves as a reminder to myself that I am blessed.  

I feel very fortunate to surround myself with a lot of amazing people.  I am so happy to be part of the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association.  Valentina, Sheena and Nina (ummm, do all of your names rhyme and I JUST figured that out?!) are awesome at pushing me into being more aware of myself and my writing and I am so happy to have been invited to be on the Board.  I didn't list any of my posts here, but I am grateful to be a writer for Vertical Art and Fitness Magazine, and although I haven't been asked to do a post in awhile, I appreciate that The Pole Dancing Shop gave me writing projects for a very long time.  Non-pole related appreciations include joining the Chunky Girl Comics family this year and having a job to pay for all of my adventures.   

Thank you to everyone who was part of my 2013 and I look forward to what 2014 has in store for me!  Please share your highlights for this past year in the comments section below.   

PDBA's November Pole Photo Challenge

I have been really excited posting photos from PDBA's October photo challenge.  I am hoping to get even more pole dancers involved.  If you pole dance, please join our Facebook fan page and start uploading those photos!  

Read HERE for the instructions on how to participate.  You can also get ideas for your photos.  

Here are the challenges for November:

Now post away!!!

September Blog Hop: Beauty, Body & Wellness

I am a little late getting to this month's blog hop.  I went straight from surgery recovery to Las Vegas for Pole Expo and then back to work.  I am having a hard time getting caught up and back on track with how to work and have fun.  Check out other posts on Beauty, Body & Wellness HERE.  

I want to discuss taking care of yourself in general when facing an injury.  I want to discuss weight with Health At Every Size in mind.  I don't want this to become a discussion about weight loss, but I do want to discuss how my body feels right now having been so inactive for the last several months.  

I started my new job in San Francisco last October.  I went from driving in my truck to a job about 25 miles away (up to an hour sitting in traffic) to sitting or standing on a train for 40 minutes with a 7-10 minute walk to the BART station and a 8-12 minute walk to work from the BART station.  Even though I have been pretty active for years, my foot started hurting almost immediately.  It wasn't until January that I actually went to the doctor and found out I have a bone spur in my heel, which was aggravating the plantar fascia and causing pain.  In April, the pain started to become unbearable.  Flash forward to August, when I had surgery to cut the fascia, and now, to September, where I am in the middle of my recovery phase.  Full recovery takes about three months, which will be the first week of November.

My body hurts.  Not always the foot that had surgery (sure, it's sore but it rarely hurts), but the rest of my body hurts from not moving enough.  My opposite hip, knee and foot are in pain.  My lower back hurts.  My mid-back hurts.  All because my body needs more movement.  

I am a compulsive eater.  When I am stressed out, sad, bored, tired, or whatever, I use food as a soothing mechanism.  I have used activity for most of my life to counter-act the overeating.  I had gained some weight a few years back but had maintained a fairly stable weight for at least the past two and a half years.  Removing activity from my life puts me in danger of gaining weight.  I don't want to act like gaining weight is the worst thing that can happen to a person but, for myself, I am not comfortable at this weight and would not like to be any more uncomfortable  Pole dancing is one of the activities I use to keep myself at a comfortable weight.  

Pole dancing is a sport that puts many of us at high risk for injury.  We put a lot of stress on our wrists, arms and shoulders.  Some of us go upside down and are at risk of falling on our heads.  We can pull muscles and throw out our backs.  We smack our legs.  We pinch our inner arms.  We get bruises.  And sometimes when we get injured, we just keep going.  No pain, no gain.  That's what we are told.

That isn't always the best way to deal with an injury.  I was not really able to dance toward the end, but I taught my class right up until surgery.  I don't know if that was the best decision, but I did what I felt I needed to do.  Post-surgery, however, I have tried to be kinder to myself.  Recovery is a very important part of growing and becoming stronger.  

The first two weeks post-surgery, I was on crutches and I sat in my chair and rested, just like the doctor ordered.  I could do some leg lifts and would stretch from the chair, but I did not push any limits.  After I was released to swim, I got in the pool.  I could also do a few more yoga poses and foam rolling on the floor.  At Pole Expo in Vegas, I wasn't technically released to do pole, so I canceled my pole workshop but did sign up for non-pole workshops:  belly dance, exotic fire dance and SWAG with Roz.  They were all a really good introduction back into the world of dance and exercise.

I have recently been released to ride a bike.  I am going to start spin classes next week and am hoping to start yoga in October.  I also plan to return to teaching pole in October.  We have a showcase at the end of October called Trick or Twirl, but I will not be performing.  I don't want to push it.  I have another doctor's appointment at the end of September and hope to be released to hike a little.  Once I am released to jog, I want to start signing up for 5k's again.  I felt like doing races gave me a goal to work towards.

So, if you are facing an injury, even though I know you will be eager to get back to pole as soon as possible, take time to allow your body to heal properly.  In the long run, it will make you a stronger poler and hopefully help you avoid re-injuring yourself. 

Be well, my pole family!  I miss you all and hope to be back very soon!

August Blog Hop: Pole Dance and Social Media

This month's blog hop is about pole dance and social media.  This is a very popular subject!  If you want to check out other posts in the blog hop, click HERE.  

I almost can't remember a time before Facebook (*cough, cough* Friendster and MySpace, although I really feel like the pole dance explosion happened after Facebook became THE social media site).  What an amazing tool to help me meet people around the world I never would have had the opportunity to meet in the not so distant past.  My very first memories linking pole dance and social media were finding the blogs of Heather Yesko and Jennifer of Pole Skivvies.  They both lived on the East Coast, but I "met" my first pole sisters very early after I started my pole adventures in 2009.  


Flash forward a few years and I interact on a daily basis with amazing pole dancers all over the world and feel like I know some of them very personally even though I've only met them once (or not at all).  Without blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and the myriad of other social media outlets, I know I wouldn't be as in touch with my extended pole family.

Mina and Nadia

Even the subset of the Pole Dancing Bloggers has taken on its own form and we now have our very own social media sites.  Just for us bloggers!  Find us on Facebook.  Follow us on Twitter.  Join us on Instagram.  This month, we started a weekly photo challenge, so please feel free to participate!  The group was spearheaded by my beautiful pole sisters, Sheena in New York and Valentina in Italy, and I am very excited to be part of another group of amazing polers who are working hard to promote the pole industry.  I actually have an assignment for the PDB and need to get off my sorry injured butt and start pulling together my part.  :-)

I'm sure I have posted this many times in the past, but if you are trying to find me on social media sites, here are my links:

https://www.facebook.com/TwirlyGirlConfessions

http://www.twitter.com/lolorashel

http://www.instagram.com/lolorashel 
(sorry, there are a lot of selfies, bruises and cats...I really can't help myself)

 

Cosplay with the beautiful Leen Isabel

Other important links (for me) are pages I manage on Facebook and would love for people to join if you're interested.

Nor Cal Pole Posse...I try to keep Northern California studios and events posted on this page:  https://www.facebook.com/NorCalPolePosse

Twirl for a Cause...our fundraising pole dance page for events around the Bay Area:  https://www.facebook.com/TwirlForACause

As most of you know, I post about many topics, not just pole dancing.  But I try to tag things appropriately so you don't waste time reading anything you might not be interested in.  I feel like without the power of social media behind me, how else could I turn a simple legal secretary into a fiery pole dancing Viking Warrior?  Before the invention of Facebook fan pages, where it was suddenly okay to toot your own horn, I may have been committed into an insane asylum for telling people I had a Viking alter ego.  

Miss you, Cupkates Truck!

Without social media, I also wouldn't have access to so many fat/size acceptance groups to help build my confidence and self-esteem (and now to my new cosplay/Chunky Girl Comics friends!).  I wouldn't have so much support to help me realize that I am fabulous no matter what I weigh and that I shouldn't wait to lose weight to do all the things I want to do, whether its on the pole or in regular life.  I started using the hashtag (another social media invention) #myfatwashere to track the fun stuff I could do even though I'm not society's "normal" body type.  And without social media, how would I share my cupcake obsession?!

Kate of Pole Etak

I feel like social media is essential to the health of the pole industry.  Even when I can't make it to events, I love seeing photos and watching videos posted by others.  So social media keeps me connected.  I also feel like seeing others working on their moves motivates me to work on mine.  Part of why I was so eager to hurry and have surgery on my foot was so that I could heal and get back to pole dancing the way I used to.  


How do YOU feel like social media affects the pole industry?  What changes would you make, if any, to how we all interact with each other?

BadAzz

Jill Anne

Nadia n my boobs

SeanMichael