Body image

This week, Natasha Wang wrote a great blog about body image.

What you see in the mirror…

When I was in Wellington, New Zealand, I had a rehearsal session at a studio called well, The Studio. Like any dance studio, The Studio has massive floor-to-ceiling mirrors in which students can check and correct their form, make sure their toes are pointed and lines perfect.

Scribbled on one side of The Studio’s mirrored wall were choreography notes for The Studio’s students who were competing in the New Zealand Pole Championships 2011, Andre Wotton and Mei.

But scribbled on the other side was a list of corporal punishments for pole ‘misdeeds’ — flexed feet gets you 5 push-ups or a 10-second plank, while the more severe ‘I quit’ gets you 10 push-ups and a 20-second plank. But the real punishment is incurred when a student makes an anti or negative body statement. This gets you 100 press ups or a 5 minute plank!

[Read the rest of the post and see photos at the link below...]

http://natashawang.com/?p=705
 
Don't miss the PUNISHMENT LIST, which Natasha received from Shirley Jones of The Studio in New Zealand.

*****

I usually have a lot of negative self-talk.  I'm in this weird place.  I'm 70 pounds heavier than I was 7 years ago.  But I'm still 100 pounds lighter than I was 9 years ago.  I'm definitely 50 pounds heavier than I need or want to be.  I'm in a lot of pain from whatever is wrong with my hip...more pain than I ever dealt with at 350 pounds.  At 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, saying I'm a "big girl" isn't necessarily me talking badly about myself -- its the God awful truth!  Maybe everything is about adding a marketing spin.  I see Shrek.  Bel sees a Viking Warrior.

Except, I don't always see Shrek.  Sometimes, I DO see the Twirling Viking Warrior.  Sometimes, I see a gorgeous girl.  Sometimes, I see an ugly girl.  Sometimes, I see a fat girl.  Sometimes, I see a strong girl.  Sometimes, I see a tired girl.  I'm 35.  Why did I just call myself a girl?  Oh, because in my mind, I'm not five years away from 40.  There are so many different sides of me.  And my brain never seems to know which one I am.  Maybe I am a different one each day.  As I'm trying to dance gracefully on the pole, I am the hippo ballerina.  As I'm shoving jellybeans in my face, I'm just the hippo.

I am trying to cut down on the negative self-talk.  But it's hard.  I get so frustrated with my crazy brain and the things it wills me to do -- like eat food I don't need.  I keep beating myself up because I am thinking, what if I had taken care of this weight gain when it was 10, 20, 30 or even 40 pounds?  Now at 50 pounds, I feel hugely fat again and hopeless about losing that much weight.  I've already had gastric bypass surgery.  What's my "magic pill" this time?  There is no magic pill.  There never was.  Even gastric bypass wasn't a walk in the park or a free ride by any means.

So I will continue to take this day by day.  Watching my food intake and working out as diligently as possible.  I will continue with pilates, yoga, pole and silks.  I will continue to battle myself over the cardio that I know I need to do.  But I know I can do this.  In fact, I have no other options.  I will not be a gastric bypass failure.  And I will do the pole tricks that I've been enviously watching the other girls perform.

Here is my pole goal:  There will be at least one invert in my Lovely Rita routine in April 2012.  I have less than six months.  LET'S DO THIS!

Studio Spotlight: Shirley of The Studio -- Pole Dance Aotearoa

Shirley is a Facebook friend.  When I first asked her to be in my blog, I sent her the Power of Pole questions.  But now I realize she's a studio owner so I am calling this a Studio Spotlight!  It's a bit of a mix of the two -- so here's a Power of the Pole Studio Spotlight!  :-)

How long have you been pole dancing?
4 years as at 17 October (is it really that long???)

What first drew you to try it?
My recruitment agent/ friend said she did it and I thought it sounded like fun

Where do you take classes?
At my own Studio, The Studio - Pole Dance Aotearoa [http://www.polefitness.net.nz/] and with Bonnie Black from Vertical Aerial Dance [http://www.vadpole.co.nz/] in Dunedin whenever she's up in Wellington.  She's a tough mistress!

Do you have a pole at home?
Not anymore... I have 11 to play with at The Studio  :O)

How often do you pole?
6 - 15 hours p/w, Friday and Sunday are rest days and I get the odd Tuesday.

What else do you do to keep your body in shape to pole?
A functional fitness strength class each week, which we call Vertical strength.  This is run by a friend who is an amazing fitness professional and has designed this class for pole dancers to gain strength.  She also takes monthly splits workshops for us too.  Other than that, nothing but pole.

Do you like to dance in shoes or barefoot?
Barefoot is preferred.

How do you deal with dry skin on pole days and on off-pole days?
Aveeno moisturing cream in the morning does the trick all year round.  On really bad days (winter), I've been known to wax a pole to get grip.

What is your favorite product to help you stick to the pole?
Skin!

Where do you buy your pole clothes?
At chain stores  Usually leggings that are heading to "legging heaven" get cut down at mid thigh and turned into pole clothes and I just purchase singlets from chain stores.

What is your favorite song to dance to right now?
It depends on the mood - Krezip "It's probably me" is one I'm working on as a routine; the Roxanne Tango from Moulin Rouge and a pile of others, including classical.

How do you feel like pole has improved or changed your life?
I've dropped a lot of fat, I get enamoured with my biceps (justifiably so too) and I'm a lot healthier and stronger than when I started.  I'm also a lot less concerned about my body image and my self-esteem has improved: so what if I have a wobbly belly or cellulite, I can hang upside down by one knee and do oblique sit ups off the pole... which is more than a lot of people can do.