SOPHIE LI

Warning: There are some pictures of, um, people on, um, poles. So if you are sensitive towards this type of content, please skip this post and come back on Monday 🙂

Hello everyone!

One of my goals this year is to post more about my non-bookish hobbies, so… Yes! I am making another post about pole! Eeeeeeek! (That’s me being excited and nervous at the same time!)

I want to share with you guys two moves that I am VERY VERY SUPER DUPER EXCITED to have learned in the past few months. I’ve been working on these since forever, and I am SO GLAD that I can finally do them without, well, falling on my face.

The first one is the twisted-grip Ayesha:

As you can see, this is a move that requires a lot of grip strength and arm strength, and some balance as well. (Without enough balance, you would just tip over to one side.)

It is called a twisted-grip Ayesha because of the positioning of my top hand. The twisted grip makes this move a lot easier because your grip is more secure. I am still working on the regular grip Ayesha, which really scares me!

You guys might have seen this picture from one of my previous posts! This is a much more beautiful Ayesha. See how her legs are angled parallel to the ground? On the other hand, when I do this move, my legs are tilted upwards. One of my upcoming goals is to improve my hip flexibility to be able to make this move look better.

The second move that I am proud of is the BRASS BRIDGE!!!!!!

This is a pretty difficult move to get into (it takes like a bajillion steps!!) Also, if you do this move wrong or slip out of it, YOU WILL FALL ON YOUR FACE. (Hence the mat underneath me.) The secret to this move is that it is ALL in your knee pit.* Your hands do almost nothing and are kinda there for a placebo effect.

*Knee pit is a term that I learned once I started pole dancing. It essentially is the back of your knee, which you use to grip the pole in moves such as this. It like your armpit except for your knee. 😉

However, this move doesn’t look very impressive yet. Here is how it is supposed to look like:

See that CRAZY back arch!? (Which is pretty much non-existent in my version of the move.) Back flexibility is something that I want to work on this year. Flexibility in general really isn’t my forte. I can muscle my way into many moves but I get stuck when it requires bendiness :’)

My Pole Goals:

1. Improve hip and back flexibility by stretching lots.
2. Practice the regular grip Ayesha and the handspring Ayesha.**
3. Find a pole studio in Vancouver where I have recently moved to.
4. Set up my own pole & crash mats at my new place!

** I haven’t talked about the handspring Ayesha in this post. That’s because I don’t have any photos/videos to show you guys since it doesn’t exist yet!

PS. Thank you everyone for your kind wishes for my flight from Toronto to Vancouver! Charles and I have landed safely in Vancouver and moved into our new place. However, there has been some miscommunication between the building and property managers and… basically they are not sure anymore if Charles can stay (he is a greyhound which is considered a large breed). SO we might be kicked out 😦 😦 #life #adultingREALLYsucks

Otherwise we are fine and dandy :’)

Let me know if you like this post, and if you want to see more updates about my pole journey! What do you do to stay fit? What are your fitness goals this year?