Week Two – Pole
After my first pole class, I couldn’t wait to get back to the studio and start training with Hannah again! All through the weekend before I had been thinking about it and making sure I remembered everything I had learnt from week one.
19:30 rolled around on Monday and I was ready to get back to it! As usual, we warmed up (after week one, I was able to follow Hannah a little better, but my coordination still needs some work!) and then began to do some conditioning on the pole.
After being shown how to do a simple pull up on to the pole for conditioning, I attempted it myself, I suddenly felt an awful stabbing pain in my upper abdomen! I took a few minutes to get my breath back, had a sip or two of water and was ready to try again. But the pain came back! Hannah spoke to me and asked how I was doing, and I explained the problem. With concern she suggested I take an extended break before giving it another try. After the break, I tried one more time, but it was no good. Unfortunately, I had to cut week two of my pole adventure short. Hannah suggested I get myself home and do some gentle stretches to make sure I work out the issue. I also picked up some heat pads and a box of ibuprofen before heading home and calling it a night. I was absolutely gutted I couldn’t participate, as I’d been looking forward to class the whole week before, but as a lot of people have said to me since; “you have to listen to your body,” and mine was telling me to slow down for the meantime.
Bonus lesson: Aerial Yoga
After taking it easy for the rest of Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday loomed and my Aerial Hoop lesson with Ellie was getting closer. I was a bit worried that I might not have given myself enough time to recover from whatever I had done to myself in Pole two nights before.
A few colleagues suggested I try the aerial yoga class that takes place at Aerial Attic before my regular Hoop class, as its very relaxing and good for stretching. Aerial Yoga is something I have been intrigued by for quite some time, so I didn’t need much convincing!
I arrived to find my instructor for the lesson was the awesome Jessica Ashby, another X-POLE show/exhibition alum! Of course, I let Jessica know exactly what I had done in pole class two nights previous re my little injury.
I can’t even begin to describe how relaxing but fun the session was. Afterwards, I felt completely zen, thanks Jess! Also, thanks for the tip on proper breathing (i.e. exhaling when about to attempt a lift or exerting effort, this helped massively!).
Week Two – Aerial Hoop
I had about an hour to wait between my Aerial Yoga and Hoop class, so made sure I drank plenty of water and had a bit of a nibble on some fruit before heading back upstairs from the office to the studio. Being mindful of what I had done in my pole class, I did talk to Ellie and we decided to take it slow this week.
Ellie ran us through the warmup and stretching before getting us to do some conditioning on the hoops. Taking Jess’ breathing tip to heart, the pain was absolutely minimal, I could feel a slight pull still, but that was to be expected, I think.
We worked on what I had done last week, specifically Gazelle and Man In The Moon, but added transitioning into Amazon and also Double Knee Hang
I must admit, this week, getting into the hoop and manoeuvring inside it felt a lot smoother for me. I think this was a combination of being used to the movement of the hoop (it still swings a fair bit when I get in, not got that nailed just yet, but I’m getting better) and the fear of falling is getting less and less the more I’m in the hoop. Getting out of the hoop without simply hopping down is something I still need to work on, but I am incredibly happy with my progress so far in both pole and hoop!
To sum up: always make sure you warm up properly, be mindful of your breathing, listen to your body and point those toes!