Every pole dancer’s learning curve is different, and we all have different experiences in learning to pole. I thought it would be fun to share the path I’ve taken in my own pole dance journey.

First Time – December 2007

After two weeks of anxiously waiting for my pole to arrive, and more hassle than I would have liked getting it installed, I found my first moment alone with my new pole wasn’t filled with the excitement I had anticipated. Truthfully, I was nervous – I felt awkward. A bit scared, even. I had just spent a few hundred dollars on this thing – what if I didn’t like it? What if I was no good at it? And how was I going to figure out how to use it? The all-consuming pole obsession that had hit me so suddenly now seemed like a drug-induced haze, and, for a moment, I wondered what in heaven’s name I had been thinking.

Stiff and unsure, I tried a spin. I didn’t know how to move yet in a swinging motion and I found I didn’t really know what to do – despite all the Youtube videos I’d been watching while waiting for my pole. Fortunately, the DVD that came with my pole was very encouraging and I soon felt I could figure this thing out.

Early Thrills – January 2008

With a bit of practice and a few more DVDs, I managed to get a few spins. I was having fun and seemed to be learning rapidly, at least – since I only had me to go by – by my own expectations. I still wasn’t sure how to dance it, but I was so busy trying to get my new spins on both right and left sides, that I wasn’t focusing on much more than that. So far, so good.

First Setback – January 2008

After about a month on the pole, though, I was getting a bit of pain. I had landed hard on a toe and thought I might have broken something, but that wasn’t really the problem. The real problem was in my shoulder and arm – I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong, or if it was just that I was pushing too hard.

The thing about teaching yourself pole is, if you don’t know a lot about anatomy and proper physical alignment for aerial sports, you can get injured pretty quickly. Luckily, I have a chiropractor who plays a lot of rugby (I specifically chose her because I wanted someone who knew sports), and she was the one who helped me understand what was wrong. Turned out I had tendonitis and I had to stay off the pole for a few weeks.

Plateau – Spring 2008

When I had recovered from the tendonitis and gotten back on the pole, I figured the problem was in my posture. I had learned enough by this time to know that shoulder position was everything in pole, and I also knew that I wasn’t quite getting what everyone on the forums was describing. So, I played with my shoulder position and my back posture and hoped I’d soon get back on track.

Everything Falls Apart – Summer 2008

Instead, it all got worse. My endurance disintegrated – I could do, literally, only about five minutes of spins before my heart was pounding and I simply couldn’t do any more. I had never been out of shape, so this was really surprising to me, but I figured I didn’t have enough arm strength yet, and I just tried to do what I could. But even that seemed impossible – spins I had been able to do with ease seemed to be falling apart on me. Even my Fireman seemed off. Worse, I was getting worried about re-injuring myself, which seemed even likelier now that everything was falling apart, and I found I was getting nervous to do even basic spins.

Proper Instruction – Fall 2008

I decided the time had come to get real pole instruction. Since there are no pole instructors where I live, this meant either video courses or private online pole dancing classes. Since private pole lessons – online or otherwise – don’t come cheap, I thought I’d try the video instruction first. I went with Vertical Dance, and liked it. It was easy to follow – you could pick the moves based on your skill level, and it had warm ups and cool downs. But what it didn’t have, and what, at this point, I really needed, was somebody to look at what I was doing and say, “Whoa there, girl, do this instead.”

That’s when I started with Alena. The first class with her, I told her all the problems I’d been having and how I’d been getting worse, not better, and she watched how I was doing my spins. She took me back to basics and finally got me to understand the proper shoulder position – but, even more than that, she saw that my grip was off and was causing me to fight against myself with every move. That, it turned out, was what was causing the aches all up and down my arms and the near-immediate exhaustion. She coached me on proper grip and, that very day, I could go 20 minutes on the pole before I got tired.

Progress – Winter 2009

Things were looking up. I was getting new spins and building strength in both arms. Best of all, I wasn’t getting injured. Well, yes, there was some pole burn and bruises, but those I wore with pride – I showed them off at work. But my tendonitis hadn’t returned and I felt like a powerhouse.

Dancing – Winter 2009

I still wasn’t ready to deal with inverting – that scared the hell out of me. But I did want to learn to dance with the pole, not just spin around it. This turned out to be much more difficult than I expected. After all, I had a ton of dance experience – surely I could meld the two styles with ease.

Actually, though, belly dance posture and pole posture are very different – I had a struggle pulling those two together. And dancing in a circle around a pole – as opposed to a full stage – felt bizarre to me. I just didn’t know what to do.

In the end, I did what I always do when the dancing won’t come – I changed music. I found burlesque-y sounds worked best for me, and I started to get the ability to just relax and let myself dance with the pole. Nothing stunning, but a good beginning.

Second Plateau – Spring 2009

Then things started leveling off again. I was doing well with my current spins and even getting a couple of basic inverts under my belt, but my arms were starting to ache again. My endurance was disintegrating, too. Since I was working full-time and also starting PoleSkivvies, I figured I was just tired. Which I was – exhausted, in fact. So I re-worked my life to make sure I got everything done, and still got a decent night’s sleep.

Re-Learning – Summer 2009

This helped, but my arms were still aching. I just figured I wasn’t as strong as some and would have to go slower. I eased up on my workout, but it made little difference. All it seemed to do was allow my arms to recover between sessions, but it didn’t really prevent the aching in the first place.

Slow on the uptake as I can be, it finally occurred to me that I might be screwing up my grip again. In my next class with Alena, I mentioned that and we really broke down exactly what I was doing. On the plus side, I wasn’t doing what I had been originally – but I wasn’t doing it correctly either. Another few hints, and I could spin without aching again. I made a mental note to mention problems with my arms to Alena earlier, instead of trying to figure it out on my own, or just assuming it was a lack of physical ability.

Where I Am Now

The class with Alena where we fine-tuned my grip was just last week, so I’m still working on that, trying to make the new approach feel second-nature. It’s already made a difference, though, and I’ve been dancing more this week. I feel physically stronger when poling, as well as happier – nothing like feeling I’m getting somewhere to make me smile.

My goals right now are to figure out the no-handed Scorpio and smooth out my dismounts from inverts. I also want to get stronger on the plank and find ways to dance more when I’m climbing or sitting on the pole. As ever, I am still trying to bring more dance into my poling, and I think that’s made a step forward recently.

Overall, it’s good, but I have a few physical challenges. My foot, which was aching for over a month in the spring, turned out to have arthritis, a parting gift from a surgery I had a few years ago. This means a whole new shoe wardrobe, arch supports, and extra care when stepping on the ball of my foot. I had already known my high heel and platform days were over, but I hadn’t expected to have so many problems being barefoot, so this took some effort to work around, and, I admit, left me in a funk for a few weeks.

That’s doing better now, though, so I’m mainly struggling with my Scorpio, since doing it no-handed seems to leave me with back tightness and spasms. The main goal now is to figure out what I’m doing wrong there, or what needs to be strengthened to support me in that move. I received a bit of coaching from Leela of Pole Bliss Studio, who told me my conditioning routine was out of balance and gave me some core strengthening exercises to try. That is number one on my list to work on. I also want to work with Alena to come up with a better conditioning routine.

All in all, a good year and a half’s progress. I figure, one more year and I’ll be able to dance smoothly and fluidly, the way I wish to – and that’s when the fun will really start!