In Belgium, we have already spent four weeks in confinement and a daily routine is starting to set in. Honestly, the Belgian spring weather has never been so settled and sunny and, at the same time as helping maintain a positive outlook, I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling like the days are beginning to blend into one.
So it seems like as good a moment as any to look back over this month in quarantine and reflect on its effect on my pole training, as well as other aspects of daily life.
Although I couldn't train for about the first 10 days, due to illness with the virus in question, I tried to use the time productively (while resting). I managed to film a couple of videos before I started to feel ill, which I was able then to work on and post. I looked out recent videos of training and class combos and started to create tutorials that didn't require any new filming. I created this blog and wrote my first posts. The time allowed me to set up projects that I could carry forward.
A major source of motivation to get back on the pole was the challenge set on Instagram by Brussels Art & Pole, where I also teach. I participated in creating material for the challenge, along with the other teachers; a great team effort that kept us connected to one another. I enjoyed trying out new moves and creating combos in which to integrate the imposed figures according to the theme. Through this experimentation, I've discovered new transitions and flexibility I definitely did not have before! Scanning daily through Instagram, I have been excited to discover my feed full of my pole friends' ideas and interpretation of the same theme. The same studio has also been sending a daily newsletter to subscribers, to which we have contributed by creating videos of tutorials, conditioning exercises, dance moves or full choreographies, among other concepts. This way, practice continues and students can train and feel motivated by their teachers during this indefinite time apart.
Once I had started making tutorial videos and developing this blog, I felt like it all needed tying together somehow, so I created a Facebook page to connect the Youtube videos, blog posts and online class preparation. Now, I can post, share and interact with those who are interested in what I am trying to promote.
I hit a bit of a wall when the announcement came that this year's IPSF would not take place. A mix of profound disappointment with a wave of exhaustion, brought on by the pressure of attempting to pick up my competition training while still feeling ill. The dust settled over a period of a couple of days and I began to feel more positive. I signed up for a different competition and focused on the positive: now I can discover a new type of competition, with different rules, allowing me to develop fresh ideas. It turned out that I was more resilient than I had expected on this one!
One source of motivation that cannot go unmentioned was a completely unplanned choreography collaboration with a friend. I had created a dance to a particular song one day when I was recovering, which I shared with my group of pole friends. One of them then replied with a song that she really wanted to dance to and that I instantly loved (Hurts 2B Human, P!nk, feat. Khalid). She then drew inspiration from my choreography to create her own, which then inspired me with new ideas to complete the routine the following day. You can watch the video, posted below.
Eventually, my health returned and I felt my strength come back. I instantly wanted to teach pole again and had missed catching up with the girls in my regular Sunday class. We had discussed the idea of an online class and so I decided to set one up. Preparing for the session also provided me a purpose to train again. I'm so pleased that it was a success and that we will continue our classes in this way until the end of confinement.
A daily routine has started to emerge, where I train from about 10am until around 11:30. I seem to have the most energy then and the regularity helps me to plan my day and use the time efficiently. Without the July competition looming, there is no pressure to train, but I always have plenty of ideas that I can't wait to try out! It turns out that this is not a universal experience and that unfortunately many pole friends have been having a harder time getting motivated. For some, it is a case of lack of interest in poling alone, or lack of ideas. I discovered when I gave my first online lesson, that some students wanted to have class and thoroughly enjoyed our session, however had not used their home pole since confinement started. For others though, the issue runs deeper, where seeing others posting practice videos on social media promotes in the individual the feeling of inadequacy, leading to discouragement. I'm not going to ignore the fact that there is potential for a serious mental health issue here; indeed we can all play a role in helping by checking up on our friends and being there to listen. I think, however, that it is in our own power to keep a balanced view, remembering that we connect to these platforms to share ideas and post our achievements, but that if we are not enjoying the experience, we should take some distance. The image built up of others spending hours every day training is not a realistic one; the body could not cope. And, the real point I want to make is this: it doesn't matter what others are doing, as long as you do what makes you happy. If you want to train, then do so, and you will make progress, even indirectly, because that's how it works. If you don't want to train, then focus on a different activity that does motivate you. We must avoid comparing our achievements to each other's, as we are all different and as such, we have different strengths. We can instead take advantage of this, by allowing ourselves to be inspired by our friends' ideas and supporting one another.
I sincerely hope that confinement will not last too many more weeks and that we can all get back to our classes and meet up again. Until then, I hope to continue using my time productively, enjoying time with my family and preparing for life as normal, to be ready when it returns.
Collaboration with Maya Assaf, music: Hurts 2B Human (P!nk feat. Khalid). I filmed this in one shot. It's not perfect and I was still feeling weak from being ill, but this therapeutic choreography means so much to me.
So it seems like as good a moment as any to look back over this month in quarantine and reflect on its effect on my pole training, as well as other aspects of daily life.
Although I couldn't train for about the first 10 days, due to illness with the virus in question, I tried to use the time productively (while resting). I managed to film a couple of videos before I started to feel ill, which I was able then to work on and post. I looked out recent videos of training and class combos and started to create tutorials that didn't require any new filming. I created this blog and wrote my first posts. The time allowed me to set up projects that I could carry forward.
A major source of motivation to get back on the pole was the challenge set on Instagram by Brussels Art & Pole, where I also teach. I participated in creating material for the challenge, along with the other teachers; a great team effort that kept us connected to one another. I enjoyed trying out new moves and creating combos in which to integrate the imposed figures according to the theme. Through this experimentation, I've discovered new transitions and flexibility I definitely did not have before! Scanning daily through Instagram, I have been excited to discover my feed full of my pole friends' ideas and interpretation of the same theme. The same studio has also been sending a daily newsletter to subscribers, to which we have contributed by creating videos of tutorials, conditioning exercises, dance moves or full choreographies, among other concepts. This way, practice continues and students can train and feel motivated by their teachers during this indefinite time apart.
Once I had started making tutorial videos and developing this blog, I felt like it all needed tying together somehow, so I created a Facebook page to connect the Youtube videos, blog posts and online class preparation. Now, I can post, share and interact with those who are interested in what I am trying to promote.
I hit a bit of a wall when the announcement came that this year's IPSF would not take place. A mix of profound disappointment with a wave of exhaustion, brought on by the pressure of attempting to pick up my competition training while still feeling ill. The dust settled over a period of a couple of days and I began to feel more positive. I signed up for a different competition and focused on the positive: now I can discover a new type of competition, with different rules, allowing me to develop fresh ideas. It turned out that I was more resilient than I had expected on this one!
One source of motivation that cannot go unmentioned was a completely unplanned choreography collaboration with a friend. I had created a dance to a particular song one day when I was recovering, which I shared with my group of pole friends. One of them then replied with a song that she really wanted to dance to and that I instantly loved (Hurts 2B Human, P!nk, feat. Khalid). She then drew inspiration from my choreography to create her own, which then inspired me with new ideas to complete the routine the following day. You can watch the video, posted below.
Eventually, my health returned and I felt my strength come back. I instantly wanted to teach pole again and had missed catching up with the girls in my regular Sunday class. We had discussed the idea of an online class and so I decided to set one up. Preparing for the session also provided me a purpose to train again. I'm so pleased that it was a success and that we will continue our classes in this way until the end of confinement.
A daily routine has started to emerge, where I train from about 10am until around 11:30. I seem to have the most energy then and the regularity helps me to plan my day and use the time efficiently. Without the July competition looming, there is no pressure to train, but I always have plenty of ideas that I can't wait to try out! It turns out that this is not a universal experience and that unfortunately many pole friends have been having a harder time getting motivated. For some, it is a case of lack of interest in poling alone, or lack of ideas. I discovered when I gave my first online lesson, that some students wanted to have class and thoroughly enjoyed our session, however had not used their home pole since confinement started. For others though, the issue runs deeper, where seeing others posting practice videos on social media promotes in the individual the feeling of inadequacy, leading to discouragement. I'm not going to ignore the fact that there is potential for a serious mental health issue here; indeed we can all play a role in helping by checking up on our friends and being there to listen. I think, however, that it is in our own power to keep a balanced view, remembering that we connect to these platforms to share ideas and post our achievements, but that if we are not enjoying the experience, we should take some distance. The image built up of others spending hours every day training is not a realistic one; the body could not cope. And, the real point I want to make is this: it doesn't matter what others are doing, as long as you do what makes you happy. If you want to train, then do so, and you will make progress, even indirectly, because that's how it works. If you don't want to train, then focus on a different activity that does motivate you. We must avoid comparing our achievements to each other's, as we are all different and as such, we have different strengths. We can instead take advantage of this, by allowing ourselves to be inspired by our friends' ideas and supporting one another.
I sincerely hope that confinement will not last too many more weeks and that we can all get back to our classes and meet up again. Until then, I hope to continue using my time productively, enjoying time with my family and preparing for life as normal, to be ready when it returns.
Collaboration with Maya Assaf, music: Hurts 2B Human (P!nk feat. Khalid). I filmed this in one shot. It's not perfect and I was still feeling weak from being ill, but this therapeutic choreography means so much to me.
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