Get In The Picture
One of the common things I hear lately when working on tricks or routines is someone quietly confessing, "I wish I'd taken pictures when I first started poling".
Actually I hear it a lot now that I've progressed from being a junior poler to an intermediate one. It seems to be common to this stage of our pole journey that we reflect back on how far we've come and can really see the improvements we've made. Maybe it comes from watching those coming up below us as they start, or it's the confidence we've developed within ourselves along the way. I like to think it's a combination of both.
I'm sort of guilty of doing this myself. I'm lucky that I do have a few pictures from my foundation levels, not enough of course, but more than some people. I do have my completed level routines on video, so while not completely from the beginning, not too far off it either. Screenshots will be my alternative to individual images.
My advice is...
FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY YOU START LEARNING TO POLE, START TAKING PICTURES.
Yes it's awkward, yes you're a bit shy, and yes the last thing you want is to see how much of a complete beginner you are, but you will thank yourself for it later.
When you're first new to poling, especially if you're a go-it-aloner, you're placed in an incredibly unfamiliar environment. It's truly like no other physical space and it's perfectly natural to be shy, guarded, and hesitant.
I can clearly recall how wet-my-pants excited I was about starting this new adventure, and I can still remember how shy I was in my very first class. I remember forcing myself to speak and to introduce myself to the others in my group. I was lucky that a lot of the ladies were alone and diving in head first like me as well, so we kind of bonded over that too.
Over time as you progress, become stronger, improve your pole skills and abilities, and really nail the moves, the tricks, and the choreography you learn in your pole class, it's natural that your confidence grows. It's in this stage that the phone cameras come out, that you start recording your videos and you have pole friends lined up taking your picture while you try to execute your latest 'new' trick.
Used with permission: http://poledancingadventures.com/comic/when-pole-dancers-take-photos/
This is when you start saying, "I wish I had a picture of my first climb", usually as you are scaling up easily to the very top of the pole now. Or "I wish I had a picture of my first sit", usually as you are coming out of a confident layback.
My layback during my latest performance. My feet aren't even on the pole!
I'm not saying you need to display your photos or videos for all the world to see, unless that's your thing. But as I can attest to it personally that these past few days while writing this blog post I have taken a big trip down memory lane. It's been really lovely to see how far I've come, the set backs I've dealt with along the way, the injuries, and the time away I've had to take.
I've found reflecting back on these pictures incredibly motivating, they've filled me with gratitude and love for my pole family, and they've encouraged me to take risks and push my boundaries a little harder.
For the first time I put a video of myself doing a pole move on my Grip And Squeeze Facebook page. It's nothing mind blowing, just body rolling, but the anxious few hours I spent after I uploaded it, questioning myself, how it would be received, had I made myself a troll target, what was I thinking, well I definitely got out of my comfort zone that's for sure. I feel braver for having done it and I feel like I now own that move.
So, get out your phones and take those pictures. Use them to see your improvements, your nemesis moves, what you are conquering, and the pole goals you're kicking as you progress.
If you want to, share them, if not keep them private and just for you, but whatever you do... get in the picture, or help someone get into theirs.
Oh, and don't forget to point your f*#king toes, everyone will comment on it otherwise, bloody pole dancers!
