Mobility

Mobility.  I'm losing mobility.  I feel old even saying that.  Today is one year since California shut down for two weeks to "bend the curve."  Friday the 13th was the last day I was in my office working a traditional "8-5," and California issued a mass quarantine order relating to the covid-19 pandemic effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020.  Also, today is the 17th anniversary of my weight loss surgery -- a journey that helped me lose 165 pounds.  

I have had so many surgeries in my lifetime.  Ten times, I have gone under anesthesia to allow a surgeon to cut into my body, sometimes having multiple procedures during the surgery.  Each cut is a scar.  Each scar locks my body down a little bit more.  You know, when my plastic surgeon did my "arm lift," he cut a "Z" into my arm pit.  This was so that I wouldn't lose the ability to raise my arms over my head.  Whenever I get a new massage therapist, even when I warn them, I feel them pause dramatically when they get to my lower body lift scar.  The scar itself is thin and well-done, so looking at it isn't all that exciting.  However, when you touch it, you can feel the thick scar tissue underneath.  It holds one part of my body tight, pushing gained fat into weird places my body normally wouldn't have carried it.  

The last year has been rough.  I've gained weight (with fat in places I've never seen it squish into before).  This is certainly not the highest post-gastric bypass weight I've ever been, but I'm not trying to make that a contest.  However, when I look at photos of myself from just a year ago, I can tell a huge difference (no pun intended).  In the world of loving your body, I know I shouldn't judge myself, but let's be real -- I'm judging myself (plus I feel like crap and everything hurts).  I'm not moving as much.  I'm consuming too much sugar.  My knees and hips ache.  My hamstrings are weak and short.  My calves are knotted.  My core is weak.  My mid-back hurts (if I'm being honest, so does my lower back).  I'm pretty sure I have a SLAP tear.  I shuffle like an old lady when I first stand up.  I couldn't squat without intense pain.  My hips are so tight, that thinking I could handle frog pose is a fun little joke I play on myself (which is a move I could do ten short years ago).  My new neck pain is sometimes unbearable.  I assumed it was my pillow and have tried all different brands.  I used the foam roller and a lacrosse ball for self-massage.  I saw a chiropractor and did all the exercises to strengthen my back, which was supposed to lead to less strain on my neck.  Didn't really help.  Finally, I saw a physical/massage therapist.  Her brand of massage is more therapy - what I imagine Thai massage might be like.  She contorts me into strange positions, then starts to work out the knots.  When I first walked into her office, she said, your chest is pulling your entire body forward!  She's right.  My shoulders and back round forward, toward all of those scars around my chest, arms and side, which is putting strain on my neck.  The two types of mesh anchored to my insides aren't helping either.  It all hurts.  All the time.  

2019

My running joke for years has been how I will feel like I'm doing the craziest, deepest backbend and someone will take a photo, and I will just be standing up stick straight.  In fact, I bought this little contraption that you can lay on that will give you a little back arch.  I figured it would be good to use if I'm going to be doing something like watching TV.  It has three levels.  Level 1 makes me feel like I'm doing a deep, painful backbend.  It causes maybe a two inch arch in my back.  Level 3 might kill me (I've never even tried it), but its hardly full wheel pose.  I have contraptions all over the house.  Foam rollers, yoga mats, straps, blocks, yoga wheel, neck traction hammock.  I even have a brace to wear to remind me to keep my shoulders back.  We just re-did the bonus room (i.e., my office and yoga room) so that I would have more room for my exercises.  All in the name of erasing pain.

Recently, I decided it was time to change up whatever I'm doing.  I purchased a physical therapy system.  It was designed to rehab a single certain injury.  I decided my entire body was the injury.  So I have some basic exercises I'm doing each morning to separately rehab my feet, hips, shoulders, hamstrings, knees, neck and back.  I also found a website offering mobility exercises (probably the first time I'm glad Facebook was listening to me complain since it showed up as a suggested ad).  It's called KaisaFit.  I have been doing those three times a week and am now going to subscribe to her entire site so I can have access to additional classes.  I'm still doing yoga with my favorite instructor, but I let myself get out of shape so I needed a little different care.  

2021

In November, I had a self-diagnosed LCL strain (knee), right before a big hike I had planned for Nature Goddess Adventures.  The pain was excruciating.  It killed me to cancel that hike, but I didn't have a choice.  I wouldn't have made a ten mile hike.  Shoot, I wouldn't have made it a mile.  Now only a few months later, I did a deep squat (all the way to the ground) without pain for the first time.  Sure, my heels pop up and I can't keep my feet as wide as I'd like, but I was able to squat.  That was a huge win for me.  I feel a little silly saying this but some days my exercises include things like: "sit on your knees."  I can't do it for long, but I can do it again.  I can also relax in child's pose (and am almost completely flat in pigeon on the right side).  I had continued yoga after my injury, but child's pose was painful (and I couldn't lay my chest on the floor in pigeon).  Now I am just back to regular stiffness during yoga, not pain.  They say (whoever "they" are) that one of the signs of how you're doing as you age is the ability to get up off the floor.  So I am on the floor all the time.  Nothing makes you feel older than saying one of your exercises is just getting up off the floor!  How am I facing this at the age of 44??  I faced the same question with my hip around the age of 33.  I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair by the time I was 40, but I completely cured myself (with help).  I can do it again.  Perhaps it is metaphysical, perhaps it's a real injury.  I need to do some soul searching to figure it out.    

Twice in the last few years, I have purchased those "do the splits in four weeks" or "be more flexible" types of programs.  In four weeks, I'm no closer to doing the splits than when I started, and I usually feel like I've pulled something (no matter how much I warm up beforehand).  I should know better.  I know my body.  Forcing it into weird shapes is never the right way for me.  My new programs are different.  More gentle.  And more appreciative of what my body can do instead of what it can't.  

The last year has been a lot (for everyone in the world).  There have been a lot of changes for me personally.  Yes, covid changed everything, but I bought this house and moved to suburbia.  I started working from home more often.  I was moving a lot less.  Maybe I'm happy in my relationship so I let myself get fat (also, all those people who said if you make more food at home, you'll lose weight, lied).  Maybe some of it is age.  But I wonder if this is how people get diagnosed with diseases like fibromyalgia.  Everything huts but there's no obvious cause for the pain.  I have been through this similarly before with my hip, although that was an acute pain and this is more like a general ache all over my body, especially in my knees and hips - they just kind of feel tired all the time.  I don't necessarily think it's my joints.  When I eat gluten, my hands hurt, and I believe that is joint pain.  The knees and hips are something else.  Generally, I can gauge inflammation by a psoriasis flare.  It is also an indication that I am stressed out.  But my skin looks okay right now, so that is confusing.  I also went through a minute of adult acne (I now believe it was related to wearing a mask, but I was worried it was hormonal), and that also caused some concern.  I've always had clear skin, so I get worried when issues pop up for no known reason.  I know I need to figure out what to balance to put my body back into homeostasis.  

January 2018

I sometimes wonder how I got to where I am in my life (like, how my body works).  Sure, we are born with certain limitations, but I believe most of mine were probably nurture over nature.  (The day after I wrote this blog, my friend Ellen sent a newsletter with a most fantastic subtitle: Genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.)   I was the oldest child and took some weird mental responsibility for my family's well-being.  I was put on birth control at 15, which was probably one of the worst things that could have happened to my body.  Although I took on the chunky kid role around the time my parents split when I was 12 years old, I really gained weight after I started taking the pill.  Even worse, I stayed on it 24 years, completely messing up my hormones and my body's natural ability to regulate itself.  I preferred reading books over playing softball.  I took a job at 18 that causes me to sit all day, which has clearly blessed me with a shortened psoas.  I went to college and worked full time, choosing lots of fast food as my easy meal option.  I gained all that weight in my late teens and early 20's, leading to a decision to re-arrange my insides at the age of 27.  I then decided to have even more surgery to remove the sagging skin at the age of 30 (and multiple other times), which gave me all these scars.  I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if even one of those choices had been different.  My mom is thin and had knee replacements in her 50's, as well as hip replacements in her 60's.  Perhaps I was destined to have these issues, but my life choices contributed to the problem.

August 2018

Anyway, here we are.  Seventeen years after weight loss surgery changed my life (not necessarily for the better since lower weight doesn't automatically equal healthier body).  One year after covid changed it some more.  I've thrown around the idea of joining a program like Noom, or maybe even doing a cleanse.  I've already tried intermittent fasting with almost no weight loss (I thought giving up my morning sugary vitamin waters again should have given me something).  But I worry about what diet culture does to my mindset.  I know when I try to "diet" (i.e., concentrate on losing weight/count calories), I end up in a binge and a huge gain.  Instead of the number on the scale, I try to gauge my health by how I'm feeling (currently, like a sausage) and how my vitamin levels are (iron was low last year and it is time to get them checked again).  I'm currently taking tons of vitamins and recently added my protein shakes back into my meal plan.  My best bet is usually to "set it and forget it:" come up with a plan to make healthier choices and allow that to flow into my life.  I lost 35-40 pounds five to six years ago without counting calories.  I can do it again.  

I keep pondering how long I will keep up this blog.  I know I'm not writing much anymore.  I feel compelled to write on occasion just so it doesn't completely die (since I have been here for 11 years!), but I have no clue if the clicks I'm getting are real people still reading what I have to say.  I feel like, at one point, I was helping the cause, whether you were a plus sized poler, a gastric bypass patient, or just a regular person dealing with body issues.  Now I feel like I'm mostly using this like an online diary complaining about getting old, fat, and ugly.  Plus, I can tell Facebook hides my links in order to get me to pay for ads, which further lowers my audience reach.  So, if you're still out there reading these posts, feel free to leave a comment!  How's the last year been for you?  

I'm turning 10 today

No, not really, but kinda. On this date, ten years ago, instead of drinking beer for St. Paddy's Day, I was knocked out on the table having my guts rearranged. What have I learned in the last ten years? That my stomach wasn't the problem. It was always my brain. And that I wish I had taken care of that problem a long, long time ago. Food was my drug of choice until I could no longer eat, then I turned to shopping. When that was taken away from me four years ago, I turned back to food. So here I am, almost 80 pounds heavier than my lightest post-surgery weight, wondering how the hell I fucked this up.

HERE is my update from year nine.  I feel like nothing and everything has changed in the last year. I had my foot surgery and got out of a job I absolutely hated. I am fully aware of my issues, yet I can't make them go away. I continue to be at odds with half my family, and fully expect I will never speak to most of them for the rest of my life. Yet the thing that keeps bothering me most is the war I've waged up myself - upon my body. I have spent my entire life hating myself. I really wish I could make that go away.

I'm in a weird place in my life right now. I am unhappy with my appearance and lack of strength (working on it!!).  But I am stoked to be in new job with a healthier atmosphere. However, my boyfriend is interviewing for jobs that will move him out of the area. And his cat keeps pissing on all of my stuff (so then I may not be so sad he's going to move). I am trying to write for the PDBA and keep up on various projects. I have my own blog, which I'm not managing well. I am trying to teach at Twirly Girls, take classes and keep up the social media stuff for the studio. I also have other projects in the works. I could not have even guessed the mountain of work that would come with putting on NCPP. My weekend to-do lists are so long that I never get to everything, and yet I also don't get to relax so I don't get to rejuvenate before the next week is upon me. I don't know. I know I sound like I'm bitching -- probably because I am -- but I sometimes wonder why life is never easy for me. I guess I'm the one making it that way. 

So yes, in the ten years since I had gastric bypass, I have learned that food was never my enemy. I was always my own worst enemy. I'm almost 40 years old, so I certainly hope I can figure this out and end the war.

Thank you for being on this journey with me. It means a lot to know I have so many supportive friends in my life.

My 9th Surgiversary

On March 17, 2013, I turned 9.  That is, my gastric bypass surgery, the supposed new beginning in life, was nine years ago.  Sure, my life has changed a lot.  For better?  For worse?  Who knows.

I spent my new-birthday doing what most 9 year olds would love to do...I went to Disneyland.  I had such a good time.  I will post some photos below. 

I am otherwise in a weird place mentally.  I don't really have much to say that I haven't ranted about already lately, so I will post some of my recent gastric bypass related posts, starting with my 8th surgiversary post last year (which links to other helpful posts):

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-8th-surgiversary.html

Read about ulcers: http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2013/03/ulcers-after-gastric-bypass-no-no-list.html

Read about bone spurs and calcium: http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2013/03/bone-spurs-calcium-heart-attacks-and.html

I knew it wasn't the case but somewhere in the back of my mind, I guess I thought I'd have surgery and be thin, rich and beautiful.  Here I am, still working too much, still fat and not necessarily feeling very beautiful.  Happy new-birthday to me.  But thank you to Jimmy and Yolanda for a really, really fun Disneyland adventure, where I didn't think about it even once!  :-)

Now, THAT'S How *I* Pole!

December 2 is my Polerversary (March 17, 2004 is my surgiversary and my bloggerversary is January 29, 2010...love having -versaries...).  December 2, 2009 was the first time I took a taster class with Bel at Twirly Girls Pole Fitness, which completely changed my life.  I wrote about what I had learned from two years of pole dancing in this post:

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-have-i-learned-in-two-years-of.html

Today, Heather posted a link on Facebook to the questions I answered for her blog two years ago.  I was only two months into pole dancing.  Check out her post here (credit should also be given to Heather for being one of my inspirations, along with Jennifer from PoleSkivvies, to start a pole dancing blog!):

http://thatshowipole.blogspot.com/2010/01/meet-lori-myers.html

Heather asked me if any of my answers had changed.  I thought it would be fun to go through and re-answer them to see!

Meet Lori Myers: A 33 year old Pole Enthusiast from California!

1. How long have you been Pole Dancing? How often do you do it?

1/28/2010: I started with Twirly Girls Pole Fitness in Pleasanton, California a little over two months ago with my friend, Rita. I initially started looking into pole dancing a couple of years ago and took the intro class at S Factor in San Francisco. But it was a little too far for me to drive every weekend. As soon as I found Twirly Girls, Rita and I signed up for a taster class and have been hooked on the pole ever since! We take class once a week at the studio, plus I try to sign up for extras at least once a month. This month, we took an Ooh La La burlesque dance class. Just this past Sunday, I got my very own pole at home so I have been on it every day!

I printed out the core strength test that you posted this week. I failed miserably! If you do all of the things you asked, you'd be in plank position for 3 minutes. I was able to hold each variation for about 10 seconds, so the entire thing took me about a minute. I have much work to do!!

2/17/2012: I take  pole class with Bel twice a week -- Wednesdays and Saturdays.  However, I am now teaching burlesque (Sassy Pants) and beginner pole on Mondays.  I also take Twirly Tuff with Bel's boyfriend Doug (gets us ready to be amazing polers) on Tuesdays and Saturdays (sadly, I will be dropping back to Saturdays only soon because I've been burning the candle at both ends lately). I've been doing pilates reformer, and recently just started doing pilates chair...trying to strengthen that core.  I still suck at plank.
 
2. How did you discover Pole Fitness?

1/28/2010: I was turned on to pole dancing about two years ago when I heard the S Factor girls on the radio. I thought it sounded interesting and so I looked them up online and went in search of a friend who would be interested in coming with me.

3. What do you love MOST about it?

1/28/2010: I LOVE that I'm getting myself back into shape and having fun doing it. I lost 165 pounds about six years ago. But being thin(ner) doesn't mean being healthy and in shape. A couple of years ago, I started spending a lot of time at the gym and got into pretty good shape. In the last 6 months or so, I got lazy. And I was having a hard time motivating myself into working out again. Pole fitness is it!! I am having fun and I can already see a difference in my arms (which is good because it was my arms flapping in the wind that made me realize it was time to get back into shape).

2/17/2012: Well, as most of you probably know, I've been floundering in the weight loss/strength gaining department.  I'm getting stronger but not losing weight like I had hoped.  I'm also two weeks into a cold that has been kicking my ass all over the place.  *sigh*  I will probably always be a work in progress.  What I LOVE is the camaraderie at Twirly Girls and all of the doors that have been opened for me recently thanks to pole dancing.

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2012/01/year-of-viking.html 

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2012/01/found-motivation.html

4. What is your favorite song to 'pole' to?

1/28/2010: I have three favorite songs right now. Actually, five. haha! My ABSOLUTE favorite is My Pony by Daniel Wesley. But I also love Rihanna's Rockstar 101, Beyonce's Video Phone, Mazzy Star's Fade Into You, and (of course -- its so cliche) Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me.

2/17/2012: I think my Twirly Girls play list has over 100 songs in it right now.  Everything from rock to R&B.  I need to pick a song for the Lovely Rita Fundraiser very soon.  For one of the monthly challenges for February (can't remember if its Studio Veena or Pole Junkies), I'm going to do a Phantom of the Opera song! 

5. What do consider your 'Pole Essentials'? (What do you need or typically use when dancing? I.e. Certain outfit or article of clothing? Certain Prop? Certain Music? Etc...)

1/28/2010: When I am actually on the pole, I generally like to wear plain workout stuff: shorts and a tank top. For learning how to climb (which I am still doing, and not very well), my patent leather boots help me stick like glue. So, now that I'm advancing, the boots are probably my must-have.

2/17/2012:  Not much has changed, other than I try not to rely on boots or grip aids to help me stick.  I want to get strong on my own. 


6. How do you feel about the stigma that is attached to Pole Dancing? i.e. people associating it with stripping...

1/28/2010: Ugh. This was such a hot topic on my Facebook page today. I understand where the stigma comes from, although I also feel like people should get over it. I love the shirt that the Twirly Girls have for guys: Pole Dancing Is Not A Crime! Anything that encourages women to get in shape and be healthy and sexy and feel empowered should be celebrated. I feel like pole dancing has been associated with stripping (not that there's anything wrong with either one), and my attitude is this: I'm an adult, I'm not hurting anyone, and its no one's business. Shoot, I have respect for a stripper who incorporates pole dancing into their routine. That takes a lot of physical strength! Good for them!

I do occasionally catch myself bristling when people ask me if I'm wearing my g-string to stripper class. And I am trying to get over that. I have so much fun in my class, so it shouldn't matter what other people think. Bel teaches us to be sexy and strong but also encourages us to dress up, be silly and have a good time, which is totally my personality! 
 
2/17/2012: I've stopped caring for the most part.  Most people who are going to give you a hard time about pole dancing don't care if you explain the difference between pole dancing and stripping (and I don't feel like they are owed that explanation anyway).  Here are a couple of posts I've done about the subject:

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2012/01/stripper-versus-pole-dancer-debate.html

http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2012/02/twirly-girls-at-sarah-vinnie-secret.html 

I actually have another blog on the topic in the works.  I should be releasing that in the next week or so.  

7. Favorite Pole Move?

1/28/2010: I don't know if I have a favorite move yet. I am still doing such basic moves. Pretty much every move my instructor, Bel, does is my favorite. She is so graceful and makes it look so easy. I feel like Buddy the Elf at Christmas. Every time Bel does a new move, I hear myself saying, THAT ONE! That's my favorite! haha!

2/17/2012: Pretty much any move I do.  I am feeling so fat and out of shape...  I guess handstands are becoming my signature move.   



8. What do you hope to accomplish by Pole Dancing in general? What would you like to accomplish within the next 6 months?

1/28/2010: Within the next six months, I hope to be able to climb and invert (without breaking my neck). Ultimately, I want to have the core strength to hang off that pole like its nothing. I've been all over youtube watching pole dancing champions and I want to do EVERYTHING they can do! I'm six feet tall and probably not built to do some of the stuff they do. But I can dream!
 

2/17/2012: Nothing has changed.  I still need to climb better and invert.  I'm closer and closer every day though!

9. What do you friends & family think about your Pole Dancing? How does that make you feel?

1/28/2010: Most of my friends and family are very supportive. My boyfriend is VERY supportive of my new hobby! My mom's side of the family is pretty religious, so I don't know how *excited* they are about my new choice in fitness classes. However, no one has directly called me out for it either. My sister worked in a bar that had a "stripper pole," and she was given a very hard time about "tarnishing the family name."

That may be part of why I reacted so badly yesterday on Facebook to some of the people who were rude to me about being in pole dancing classes. But the majority of my friends think this is great, and that makes me happy. I have an amazing following of friends on Facebook who look forward to the weekly posts of photos and videos. So, its been fun to keep them all updated on my adventures.

2/17/2012: I am trying to surround myself with supportive people in general.  Whether it's pole dancing or whatever...I'm tired of wasting time on people who aren't worth it.  I've been judged my whole life so it gets a little easier every day to ignore those who are saying things about me.  So I can honestly say that my core group are very supportive of me.  Mostly because, if they weren't, I wouldn't be friends with them!  

10. Pole Dancing in the Olympics. Your thoughts?
 
1/28/2010: I absolutely believe pole dancing should be in the Olympics! I am so impressed and in awe at the amount of strength it takes to do what these women (and men -- hello Chinese pole acrobats!) are doing. When I'm watching videos, I swear some of them must have strings holding them up. But I know they don't.
 
I don't even have the words to express how awesome it is to watch pole dancing. If someone thinks pole dancing is inappropriate or dirty...put them on the pole and just ask them to pull themselves up and hold it for a minute. When they can't, THEN they will understand the amazing shape one has to be in to be a pole dancer!

2/17/2012:  Barely a month after this post, I weighed in officially.  And my attitude hasn't changed in two years.  I'm not against it but I am not passionate enough about it to rally for it.  http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2010/03/weighing-in-on-debate-pole-dancing-in.html   
 
11. On your Facebook I saw that you had mentioned something about a contest involving a Fire Dept...Tell me about that!

1/28/2010: At our studio, Bel likes to give us fun assignments each month. The winner either gets a t-shirt or can take Bel's portable pole home for the week.

Around Christmas, we were asked to take interesting photos in our Twirly Girl shirts, so Rita and I took a picture with Santa (he was a good sport, you can see the picture on my Facebook page). I also went to Texas and took my Twirly Girl shirt everywhere and put it on for some really funny pictures (hanging off of Neptune's arm in Galveston...rocking a Bumpits in Houston).

This month, Bel thought it would be fun to take photos in our Twirly Girls shirts at fire stations with poles in them. They're actually kind of rare on the West Coast, which is part of the fun...finding them!

Anyway, I shot off a bunch of e-mails to local fire stations. I was honest about WHY we wanted the photos (we are girls from a pole fitness class) but promised there would be no monkey business (a couple of girls in jeans and t-shirts...no pole tricks or "stripper clothes"). Most fire stations turned us down. Some were polite enough and just said they couldn't help us (and they may not have had poles, so that was an easy "no" for them). A couple came right out and said that they thought it was inappropriate and wouldn't help us (even though they admitted to having poles). One station actually set an appointment with me and apparently someone higher up found out and e-mailed me to say we weren't welcome. Another fireman (who was referred to me by a friend) initially said he could set up an appointment and then came back the next day and told me he wasn't willing to put his job on the line for me (uh, not sure why standing in the station taking a photo would put his job in jeopardy). It was a very difficult day for me. I felt like they were making a moral judgment about my choice in fitness classes. And I was also irritated because all of these fire stations have websites that say they are open to tours with the public. Had I been dishonest and just asked to come in and take a tour, I'd have shown up in my Twirly Girls shirt and gotten my photos without incident.

I can somewhat understand where they are coming from (they don't know me, and who knows if I was really going to try to show up and pull off some shenanigans), I just don't like how most stations handled it. So, I was (and still am) disappointed and I feel very judged. Its now become less of a desire to win the contest at my studio and more about proving that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH POLE DANCING. The saving grace is that my friend's stepdad has a station with a pole and is welcoming us with open arms. So we have an appointment next month to come in and get our photos. We will definitely come bearing gifts -- shirts for the boys that say "POLE DANCING IS NOT A CRIME" and cookies! :-D

2/17/2012:  A post from March 2011:  http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/03/firemen-rock.html
 

12.  What is "Twirl Around the World?"

1/28/2010: A side project that I'm putting together to have other people find fire stations willing to take a picture with their guys and gals (and if people don't have time to go inside a fire station, just stand outside...this is more about making people aware of pole fitness and less about fire stations).

I have a logo from our studio I can e-mail. Or, they can simply write "I heart Twirly Girls" on a piece of paper. Take a picture, and e-mail it to me at tazzie at yahoo dot com (with a short description about where they're from and who they are).

I want to mark them on a map and put their photo in a Facebook album. I am calling it the 'Twirl Around the World'! So if you know anyone willing to participate, please send them my way!

2/17/2012:  Definitely still taking photos for this project if anyone is interested in participating!  http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/10/twirl-around-world-update.html 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Pole Dancing Lori!!
  

2009

2012