I had some time to mooch about before I got my train and landed myself in Primark, Boots, H&M (you know the drill!) - much to my debit card's dismay...
I love all the Autumnal items that are making their way into stores, it's without a doubt my favourite season.
Here are a  few of the items I picked up :)
Slight shoe obsession at the moment! They're all flats too which is odd for me! Not so sure about the coat, it makes me look a bit washed out. I think I'm going to take it back and purchase the River Island version instead. It's a bit more expensive (£60, as opposed to the £25 Primark dupe) but I think I'll get a lot more wear out of it and this version feels quite cheap.
Obviously had to pick up some nail polish while I popped into Boots for Glamour magazine (rude not to!). Loving Essie's Bikini so Teeny - wearing it now as I type! Goooooorgeous shade!

This is the fabulous Revlon lip butter in 'Peach Parfait' wore it as soon as I got on the train. Feels soft and moisturising on my lips. It does feel a little grainy due to glitter flecks, but it's worth it for the subtle sheer colour as I don't own anything like it.
Cute little pleated skirt/shorts/skort?!  Have been looking for a black pleated skirt for a while, saw this and had to have it! Will also work for a night to save my dignity if I find an unsuspecting pole to dance on - I can invert safe in the mind that I won't be showing off anything I hadn't planned on!
Also love the top, The chest and sleeves are sheer with a gold zip detail at the back, while the rest is soft cotton. I'll get a lot of wear out of it for sure!

Quite a nice unsuspecting haul and a fun way to kill an hour waiting for the train! :)

xo

So I've been working on putting together my first routine. I love the music, love the moves I've chosen but when it comes to the 'attitude' I'm just not getting it...
I've chosen one of my favourite RHCP songs, 'Don't forget me'.

I've accomplished a fair amount in my past few lessons. I got my Pole Splits & Shoulder Mount ( see previous blog entry for those two!)
And most recently my Extended Flexi Embrace [though it's not THAT flexi yet.. It will be in time though ;)], Figurehead and some new handstand variations.





I'm going to use this blog as a tool to help track my achievement's and to set myself attainable goals with realistic time-scales.

Leg Flexibilty
I'm quite lucky in the sense that I seem to be quite naturally flexible. I currently have my splits on my right side pretty much down, I don't need to be warmed up too much to get straight down to the floor - which is great! However, I'm going to focus on my left side and my middle splits. I'm not too far off on my middle splits, but my left side is terrible - so it's definitely a focus area!
Time scale? I'd say 1 year of regular stretching!

Back & Shoulder Flexibility
My back is pretty much rigid. It likes being straight and that's how it plans to stay for the foreseeable future. I have had a little bit of a breakthrough when I discovered I can do this...

But I still think it's probably on par with my leg flexibility, where realistically I'm going to need at-least a year of regular stretching! It's my upper back and shoulders that seem to be the real problem. I constantly have tight, sore shoulders and really struggle with my posture due to sitting at a desk all day on a wobbly chair (I definitely need to book myself in for a massage!).
Time-scale? 1 year of regular stretching!


MOVES I WANT TO NAIL

Extended skater
Will try this next lesson, no promises though...

Cocoon
This may take a while, and will obviously benefit from increased back flexibility. As I'm being a realist, and I don't want to push my luck too much I'm going to say around 2-3 months

Stag/Ballerina
I would LOVE to get this move. I just think it's so pretty and looks really impressive. I'm setting a realistic target of 6 months to give me chance to improve my back flexibility and gain more strength in my dominant arm. It will be a verrrry good day when I get this move!

That's all for now, hopefully I'll stick to it!

NOON-xo

Around 8 months into my pole adventure I hit a plateau. I was in a rut. The studio where I had previously attended classes had moved out of the area, I was working A LOT of additional hours across the North West and most of the girl's I'd gone to class with had lost interest. I didn't pole for 2-3 months. I focused on Pilates, stretching [ AA dvds ;) ], yoga and even considered buying a hula hoop! Although enjoyable, not one of these activities substituted the feeling I got from pole dancing. I feel so confident and powerful whenever I get a new move, I become more aware of my body and subtle movements and I love watching in awe at dancers more advanced than me and just thinking ' wow...!'.
I was absolutely ecstatic when I was introduced to my current teacher by a friend. She has been poling for around 5 years and is the most advanced dancer I've ever seen. She's in a whole different league when compared to the previous teacher's at my old studio. In the past 2 months I've seen a HUGE jump in my ability.